- All images in messages will be loaded automatically.
- IP addresses and the location of recipients will be hidden.
- All received messages are counted as opened.
For years, email service providers have embedded, simply put, hidden 1x1 pixel images that helped us track the open rate. This happened automatically, and when recipients opened the emails they generated an impression, which allowed the open rate to be calculated.
Now all opened messages on devices with iOS 15 - iPhone, iPad, Apple Watches - will be counted as opened, regardless of whether they took that action.
The result is inflated open rate percentages.
Impact to date
Apple iPhone holds about 48% of the smartphone market in Europe. In 2022, most messages are opened on a phone - up to 75%. So approximately 36% of all email recipients in Europe (48% x 75%) could use iOS 15.
It is unknown how many iOS 15 users have enabled Mail Privacy Protection. According to Apple's description - "Protect Mail Activity. Hide IP address and load all remote content privately" - this is likely to entice most users to enable it.
Consider the following scenario.
Email recipients, Europe:
iOS 15: 36%
All others: 64%
Actual open rate so far, average: 20%
After the update:
iOS users: 100%
All others: 20%
Total, calculated: (36% x 100%) + (64% x 20%) = 48.8%
In short, your subscriber list may now show an open rate of 48.8%, instead of the actual rate of around 20%.
However, this calculation assumes that all Apple mobile device users have updated to iOS 15, that all have chosen Mail Privacy Protection, and that all live in EUROPE, where the iPhone has a 48% market share.
Open rate: before and after iOS 15
The actual open rate increases
The example above shows the maximum impact. My clients - mostly large companies - report a doubling.
Their click-through rate remains constant, but the percentage has dropped because of the artificially high open rate.
Here are the average values I see.
Open rate:
Before iOS 15: 6% - 12%
After: 18% - 25%
Click-through rate:
Before and after: 1% - 4% (no change)
Open rate:
Before: 7% - 15%
After: 1% - 5%
Strategic consequences
Email testing is compromised. This includes testing content, time of day, and day of the week. However, an A/B test of, say, different subject lines should still correctly identify the winner, assuming the share of iOS 15 recipients is consistent across both groups. For this reason, we will continue to rely on A/B tests.
What would not be accurate is comparing the results of content sent before and after iOS 15. An example would be holiday emails for 2020 versus 2021.
Tracking the user journey is also compromised. For example, the flow is likely inaccurate.
The solution is to use click rate data so that we can accurately track the user journey. Some segment iOS 15 recipients and track them separately from each group. This segmentation is likely the best option if your email provider can identify recipients' devices.
Industry response
Users generally care about Mail Privacy Protection. However, email marketers understand the unintended consequences. Before iOS 15, any user who had not opened a single email for a certain period of time should have been removed from the list, because there was no place for them there.
Now that is no longer the case.
In addition, before we could understand recipients' preferences in order to adjust content and frequency accordingly. That is now a thing of the past!
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