Is (why is) SBO tracking my internet use...?

Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
A few months ago I installed an app on my gmail to let me know if my emails is being tracked. If the app detects tracking an eyeball appears next to the message link. It seems that at sometime yesterday, SBO started tracking my email. Is that correct?

1584388383729.png
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,918
- - Bainbridge Island
This is more than you asked for, but here goes:

Emails sent by our web server look different than regular email sent from an email app. That's one reason they often land in spam folders. So, we use a "transactional email service" to send system-generated emails. These services are large, established, and Gmail, Hotmail, Comcast, etc. know who they are so the mail coming from them is less likely to land in a spam folder, or even worse, get blocked.

We use this service for order confirmations, customer service notifications, shipping notifications, classified ad inquiries... and forum notifications.

We switched to a new transactional email service yesterday, so that would explain the change in your inbox.

Yes, we do monitor email *we* send because we want to know if it was delivered and opened. Frankly, we don't care about that info as it relates to the forum but for obvious reasons, it's quite important for ecommerce communications. Knowing if our mail is being blocked or not opened can help us head off serious problems that have consequences. However, tracking is an all or nothing setting. If we track any email we have to track everything we send through that service provider. Regarding email from the forums, we do not save any of that data.

It should also go without saying that we have no way of tracking anything we don't send through that specific provider, nor can we see anything at all except whether it was sent, delivered, opened, or clicked. (We do save that info for ecommerce email.)

And that degree of tracking, from this service provider, would be what's flagging the email as "tracked" in your inbox.

Let me know if I didn't answer anything you have questions about.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
This is more than you asked for, but here goes:

Emails sent by our web server look different than regular email sent from an email app. That's one reason they often land in spam folders. So, we use a "transactional email service" to send system-generated emails. These services are large, established, and Gmail, Hotmail, Comcast, etc. know who they are so the mail coming from them is less likely to land in a spam folder, or even worse, get blocked.

We use this service for order confirmations, customer service notifications, shipping notifications, classified ad inquiries... and forum notifications.

We switched to a new transactional email service yesterday, so that would explain the change in your inbox.

Yes, we do monitor email *we* send because we want to know if it was delivered and opened. Frankly, we don't care about that info as it relates to the forum but for obvious reasons, it's quite important for ecommerce communications. Knowing if our mail is being blocked or not opened can help us head off serious problems that have consequences. However, tracking is an all or nothing setting. If we track any email we have to track everything we send through that service provider. Regarding email from the forums, we do not save any of that data.

It should also go without saying that we have no way of tracking anything we don't send through that specific provider, nor can we see anything at all except whether it was sent, delivered, opened, or clicked. (We do save that info for ecommerce email.)

And that degree of tracking, from this service provider, would be what's flagging the email as "tracked" in your inbox.

Let me know if I didn't answer anything you have questions about.
Thanks Phil
 
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Oct 1, 2007
1,857
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
This is more than you asked for, but here goes:

Emails sent by our web server look different than regular email sent from an email app. That's one reason they often land in spam folders. So, we use a "transactional email service" to send system-generated emails. These services are large, established, and Gmail, Hotmail, Comcast, etc. know who they are so the mail coming from them is less likely to land in a spam folder, or even worse, get blocked.

We use this service for order confirmations, customer service notifications, shipping notifications, classified ad inquiries... and forum notifications.

We switched to a new transactional email service yesterday, so that would explain the change in your inbox.

Yes, we do monitor email *we* send because we want to know if it was delivered and opened. Frankly, we don't care about that info as it relates to the forum but for obvious reasons, it's quite important for ecommerce communications. Knowing if our mail is being blocked or not opened can help us head off serious problems that have consequences. However, tracking is an all or nothing setting. If we track any email we have to track everything we send through that service provider. Regarding email from the forums, we do not save any of that data.

It should also go without saying that we have no way of tracking anything we don't send through that specific provider, nor can we see anything at all except whether it was sent, delivered, opened, or clicked. (We do save that info for ecommerce email.)

And that degree of tracking, from this service provider, would be what's flagging the email as "tracked" in your inbox.

Let me know if I didn't answer anything you have questions about.
Duh....you guys are way smarter than I am. So what emails are we talking about? Is SBO tracking emails I send via my ISP when I'm not even in SBO?
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,918
- - Bainbridge Island
No, only the NSA, Google, and that nerdy 12-year-old down the block have the power to do anything like that. We really don't want to know what's your personal email :yikes: and the tracking we do is limited to noting the send, receive, open, and click actions on mail *we* send from our server, and the vast majority of that we don't see or save.
 
Oct 1, 2007
1,857
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
No, only the NSA, Google, and that nerdy 12-year-old down the block have the power to do anything like that. We really don't want to know what's your personal email :yikes: and the tracking we do is limited to noting the send, receive, open, and click actions on mail *we* send from our server, and the vast majority of that we don't see or save.
Thanks Phil.
Google apparently knows everything. I was forced to download a "free" app from google play when my home security company decided they would only allow access via phone. Now, garbage appears on my phone reminding me that the news source on my LAPTOP has such and such a story. So apparently they connected my phone to my laptop to provide an "integrated experience". I hate this.
 

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,918
- - Bainbridge Island
I'm not very knowledgeable about phones and apps, but I doubt Google Play caused the problem. On iOS you could go to Settings -> Notifications -> {whatever the news app is} and turn off notifications on your phone. I don't know the Android equivalent.

But yeah, things do spiral out of control like usual. Definitely a thing.
 
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Feb 14, 2014
7,400
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
I recently changed my Email address from AOL.com. which is now so crazily tracked. I am quitting AOL.com, except as a Proxy for new sites that insist on email address.

I changed my SBO email to an Apple.com secure email server.

Since I did the SBO verification...

Zero problems, Zero Spam, and I assume all is good from SBO side.

Phone apps not used.
Jim..

PS: Laptops, iPads, and desktops have notifications controls too.
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
The fact that Gmail and Chrome users expect privacy is quite absurd. Also, this site utilizes scripts created and hosted by Google. Anytime your computer accesses those scripts Google records and analyzes it
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
@Phil Herring
FYI:
So I suspect this is related to my O.P. but today my "Boat Stuff" folder was empty. Seemed strange that no one posted on SBO all night so I went looking for a problem. I eventually found the posts in my spam folder. My guess is that the tracking and gmail flagging them as spam are related. I was able to fix it but you might hear from others having similar problems.
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
I previously had issues when Phil and I were conversing over email. I had to 'whitelist' him so he would not end up in my trash. This too was a Google thing. So I suspect the issue is shared with Google. But far be it for them to fix the issue. We'll keep an eye out for more problems.

Thanks rranger for keeping us up to date on this matter.
 
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