MailPixel
GUIDE / HOSTED PIXEL

How to use a tracking pixel

This guide shows how to use a tracking pixel without accidentally triggering it yourself. MailPixel gives you the same transparent image in two formats. Choose the format your email tool accepts, send a controlled test, then read the image requests on the private activity page.

Create a pixel ↗Start with your copied result ↓
A MailPixel result branching from Copy HTML and Copy pixel URL to two email editor workflows
Both copy buttons point to the same hosted one-pixel image.
01

Choose the format your sender supports

How to use a tracking pixel depends on what your email sender accepts. Do not paste either result into the visible message body as plain text. The email must contain an image element whose source is the MailPixel URL.

Copy HTMLFor an HTML source editor, template system, or sending API.Use the complete <img> tag →Copy pixel URLFor an editor with a remote image URL field or for your own HTML.Use the URL as the image source →
Using Gmail?

The regular Gmail compose window has no reliable raw-HTML mode. Use the MailPixel Gmail extension to add tracking without editing HTML.

02A

Use the copied HTML snippet

This is the fastest option when your tool accepts complete email HTML.

  1. Copy HTML

    Create a pixel and choose Copy HTML. The snippet includes the hosted URL, one-pixel dimensions, and empty alternative text.

  2. Open the HTML source

    Use your newsletter editor, transactional email template, or sending API. Switch to its HTML or source view.

  3. Paste near the end

    Place the snippet inside the message body, usually just before the closing </body> tag. Keep it as HTML, not visible code.

  4. Send a controlled test

    Send to an address you control. Open the email once, then use Open activity from the browser where you created the pixel.

Generic HTML email editor showing the tracking pixel image tag pasted before the closing body tag
Paste the tag in source view. A visual editor may strip or rewrite it.
<img src="https://mailpixel.org/p/YOUR_PIXEL_ID"
  width="1" height="1" alt="" />
02B

Use the copied pixel URL

Choose this route when the sender asks for a remote image address or when you write the image element yourself.

1

Copy pixel URL

The result looks like https://mailpixel.org/p/….

2

Use it as an image source

Paste it into a field named remote image, image URL, source, or src.

3

Keep the image hidden

Set width and height to one pixel and leave alternative text empty.

<img src="YOUR_COPIED_PIXEL_URL" width="1" height="1" alt="" />

Do not: paste the URL as visible message text. Do not open it in a browser just to inspect it; opening the URL creates an image request.

03

Check the activity page

MailPixel saves active pixels in the browser that created them. Open Saved on this browser, then choose Open activity. The page opens in a new tab so your generated HTML and pixel URL remain available.

MailPixel activity page showing one image request and a timestamped request list
The report counts image requests and shows when the server received them.

Read the signal carefully

An image request can come from a recipient, an email security scanner, or an image proxy. A mail client can also cache or block the image.

Treat the activity as a delivery and engagement clue. It is not proof that a named person read the message.

See how email tracking works →
04

Test before using it in a real message

Once the setup works in your sender, a short test catches editors that remove remote images or convert HTML to plain text.

  • The message source contains the mailpixel.org/p/ image URL.
  • The URL is inside an image source, not visible text.
  • Opening your test email adds a request on the activity page.
  • The final message and label contain no sensitive personal data.