In the world of modern CRM, businesses often chase the latest tech trends hoping they’ll unlock hidden performance. One long-standing trend that’s still hanging around is “email tracking tools” that tell you when someone opens your email, where they opened it, and what device they used.
At first glance, that sounds powerful. But dig deeper, and you'll find that this type of tool and mindset for tracking communication is built on shaky ground. At BriteBiz, we’ve made a conscious decision not to include email tracking features—and here's why we believe email tracking is outdated, unreliable, and ultimately unhelpful in a CRM.
1. Email Opens Are Not Accurate (and Never Were)
Most people do not know how email tracking works. It may feel like it is an advanced technology, maybe even driven by AI, but the reality is that email tracking is a very basic feature, which often does not work.
Most email tracking tools rely on placing a tiny, invisible image embedded in the message (pixel). When that image loads (an email is opened), it triggers a notification that the email has been “opened”, which fires back to the CRM.
But here’s the problem: many email clients block images by default. I block all notifications myself by turning “auto-open images” off. Nobody is tracking me, and more and more are following this path.
If a recipient doesn’t manually enable images (which most don’t), the email will never register as “opened,” even if it was read thoroughly.
On the flip side, if an email preview pane auto-loads images, and this is often the case, it might count as an open—even if the recipient never actually read the message. There are many cases for false positives and false negatives opens.
Also, more and more people are moving away from browsers like Chrome and Firefox to newer browsers such as DuckDuckGo, which is built to provide privacy. These browsers, mainly by default, block email receipt notifications.
So you're left with data that's incomplete at best, and very misleading at worst.
2. You Can’t Take Action From an “Open” Anyway
Let’s say the tracking tool tells you someone opened your email. What then?
Can you call them immediately? No.
Should you email again right away? No, you cannot.
Did they open and read your email with focus and intent, or barely flick it open and close it again without reading? You have no idea?
Can you automatically put them onto the next stage of a sales automation sequence? No, you cannot.
Is that open a sign of interest or just curiosity? You’ll never really know.
The truth is, email open data often becomes a vanity metric. It makes us feel informed without actually giving us anything actionable. In CRM systems, where every insight should lead to a meaningful next step, open tracking is a dead end.
3. Privacy Is Becoming the Standard
As privacy awareness grows, so does resistance to tracking. Many individuals and businesses are now using tools that actively block tracking pixels, protect IP addresses, and disable external content. Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection and Gmail’s image caching are just the beginning.
In short, the web is moving away from email tracking, and savvy users know how to avoid being tracked. Trying to work around this just erodes trust—something no CRM should ever compromise.
4. Email Tracking Distracts More Than It Helps
One of the lesser-discussed problems with email tracking is how it derails productivity.
When you're constantly notified about email opens, re-opens, or even location-based tracking events, it’s easy to get sucked into a loop of monitoring rather than doing. You might find yourself:
- Checking if someone opened your email… again.
- Over-analyzing whether multiple opens mean they’re interested or just forwarding it.
- Wondering if now is the “right” time to follow up—based purely on tracking data.
- The result? You’re spending more time watching your emails than actually moving leads and bookings forward.
This false sense of activity is draining. It shifts your focus from meaningful, actionable work to micro-interpreting data that doesn’t change the outcome. In a modern CRM, where productivity and clarity should be the priority, this kind of distraction has no place.
5. Beware of CRM’s Offering Email Tracking
There are CRM’s that provide email tracking. However, you should note that the majority of these CRM’s are using an inbuilt email service like Mailgun, Sendgrid or SparkPost. When a CRM uses these platforms for all of its customer base, the emails are branded for the platform, not the venue/vendor/planner business. There are branding issues, the emails never appear in the sent folder of your Google/Office365 account, and there are deliverability spam and junk issues.
It may seem you are getting a win with tracking, but it comes at a deep cost. And at that, the tracking offered suffers the same challenges as those noted above, so reliability of data is still highly problematic.
For more understanding of how important it is to choose a CRM with a native email integration with Google Busines or Office365, Read Here.
6. It Is Often Illegal
Email tracking is often illegal. Especially in Europe due to strict privacy regulations, particularly the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
GDPR and Email Tracking
Under the GDPR, any processing of personal data—including data collected through email tracking—requires obtaining explicit, informed consent from the recipient before tracking occurs. This means:
- Transparency: Informing recipients clearly and specifically about the tracking activities.
- Consent: Obtaining unambiguous, affirmative consent (e.g., through an unchecked opt-in box).
- Opt-out Options: Providing recipients with easy ways to withdraw consent at any time.
Simply including information about tracking in a general privacy policy or assuming consent from prior interactions is insufficient under GDPR standards.
Legal Risks
Failing to comply with GDPR requirements for email tracking can lead to significant penalties, including fines up to £20 million or 4% of the company's annual turnover, whichever is higher. Additionally, non-compliant tracking practices can damage a company's reputation and erode customer trust. WikipediaGDPR EU
Privacy laws are also changing rapidly such as Canada, Australia and the USA. Soon, email tracking is likely to be illegal in all jurisdictions.
6. There Are Better Ways to Measure Engagement
At BriteBiz, we believe meaningful engagement comes from real conversations and actions. Instead of obsessing over email opens, focus on:
- Replies and follow-ups
- Meetings or tours booked
- Bookings closed, Revenue won
- Activity timelines and customer touchpoints
These are the signals that actually matter—the ones that grow your business, the ones you can act on and build strategy around. And you are not distracted chasing information that may or may not be real. Focus on results, the truth and cash in bank.
Final Thoughts
Email tracking might feel like a useful feature, but it’s a relic of the past. It’s not accurate, easily blocked, and doesn’t lead to smarter decisions.
We believe that modern CRMs should be about clarity, connection, and trust, not chasing clicks and opens that don’t move the needle. That’s why BriteBiz has not doubled down on email tracking—and we believe your business, and indeed the future of CRM should too.
