Learning Objective
By the end of this guide, you'll know how to disable tracking for email opens and link clicks, understand when and why you might disable tracking, and troubleshoot common tracking issues when tracking is enabled.
Why This Matters
By default, lemlist tracks email opens and link clicks to provide campaign performance data. However, there are scenarios where you might want to disable tracking. Tracking email metrics like open rates can be unreliable due to factors such as privacy features blocking pixels and spam filters artificially inflating data.
Privacy compliance:
Some industries or regions require minimal tracking for compliance (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
Testing campaigns:
Test email sequences without tracking your own opens/clicks
Reducing technical issues:
Some email clients block tracking pixels or redirect links, causing deliverability issues. Privacy features like Apple Mail Privacy Protection can block tracking pixels entirely, limiting the accuracy of open metrics.
Simplifying links:
Tracked links are modified with tracking parameters; disabling tracking keeps original URLs
When tracking is disabled, you won't see open or click stats, but you gain control over privacy and link appearance.
Prerequisites
Before disabling tracking:
You have a campaign created in lemlist
You're in the campaign Settings with access to Tracking settings
You understand the trade-off – Disabling tracking means you won't see open/click data for that campaign
How to Disable Tracking
Step 1: Go to your campaign
Go to Campaigns, then select the campaign where you want to disable tracking.
Step 2: Open Tracking settings
In the campaign, click the Settings (gear) icon, then select Tracking settings.
Step 3: Toggle tracking options
In Tracking settings, use the switches to enable/disable the tracking you want:
Track email opens: toggle off to stop tracking opens
Track link clicks: toggle off to stop tracking clicks
Blue switch = Enabled | Gray switch = Disabled
Click the switch to toggle tracking on or off for each option.
Step 4: Save changes
Your changes are automatically saved once you toggle the setting.
What Happens When Tracking Is Disabled
Email Opens Disabled:
An open tracking pixel is not added to emails
Campaign stats will show N/A for email opens
You won't know if leads opened your emails. There are no alternative methods to reliably measure opens without tracking pixels, so decisions should rely on reply and click metrics.
Link Clicks Disabled:
Links in your emails are not modified with tracking parameters
Campaign stats will show N/A for link clicks
You won't know if leads clicked your links
💡 Note: lemlist also includes a Track replies option in Tracking settings. Replies are typically tracked via your email inbox connection rather than pixels/redirects, so only disable reply tracking if you specifically want to stop recording replies for that campaign.
When to Disable Tracking
Scenario 1: Privacy-focused campaigns
You're sending to leads in industries or regions with strict privacy requirements. Disable tracking to avoid using tracking pixels or link redirects.
Scenario 2: Testing your own campaigns
You want to test email sequences without inflating open/click stats with your own activity. Disable tracking before sending test emails to yourself.
Scenario 3: Deliverability issues
Some email clients (Outlook, corporate firewalls) block tracking pixels or flag modified links as spam. Disable tracking to improve deliverability.
Scenario 4: Keep original links
You want recipients to see original URLs (e.g., yoursite.com/demo) instead of tracked links (e.g., track.lemlist.com/redirect?url=...). Disable link click tracking.
Troubleshooting Common Tracking Issues
Even when tracking is enabled, you might encounter issues. Here are common problems and solutions:
Issue: Replies Are Not Tracked
Symptoms: Leads are replying, but replies don't show in campaign stats.
Common causes:
Email provider integration is disconnected
Replies are going to a different inbox
Thread detection is failing (replies aren't recognized as part of the campaign)
Fix: Check out: Why Are My Replies Not Tracked?
Issue: Link Clicks Are Not Tracked
Symptoms: Leads are clicking links, but click stats show 0 or N/A.
Common causes:
Link click tracking is disabled in Tracking settings
The email client or firewall is blocking tracking
Link was copied/pasted instead of clicked directly
Fix: Check out: Why Are My Link Clicks Not Tracked?
Issue: Email Opens Are Not Tracked
Symptoms: Leads are opening emails, but open stats are low or N/A.
Common causes:
Open tracking is disabled in Tracking settings
Email client blocks tracking pixels (Apple Mail Privacy Protection, Outlook)
Emails are read in plain text mode (no images = no tracking pixel). Spam filters and automated email checks may trigger tracking pixels, leading to inaccurate or inflated open rates.
Fix:
Verify open tracking is enabled in Settings → Tracking settings
Understand that some clients (Apple Mail) automatically block tracking pixels
Focus on reply and click metrics instead of opens for more reliable engagement data
Optimization Tips
Disable tracking selectively: Don't disable tracking for all campaigns. Use it strategically for privacy-focused or test campaigns only.
Test with tracking disabled: Before launching a high-stakes campaign, send test emails with tracking disabled to see how links and emails appear to recipients.
Focus on reply metrics: If open/click tracking is unreliable in your industry (e.g., corporate B2B with strict email clients), prioritize reply rates as your engagement metric. Reply metrics also avoid the technical barriers associated with tracking pixels and provide more dependable insights into campaign engagement and user interest.
Re-enable after testing: If you disabled tracking to test a campaign, remember to re-enable it before launching to actual leads.
Document tracking settings: If managing multiple campaigns, keep a log of which campaigns have tracking disabled and why (e.g., "Client X campaign - privacy compliance, tracking disabled").
Check compliance requirements: Before disabling tracking, verify whether your privacy policy or client agreements require tracking disclosures. Sometimes, disclosing tracking is required even if you can technically track.
Use untracked links for sensitive content: If sending links to sensitive documents (contracts, legal docs), consider disabling link tracking to avoid modified URLs.