# HawkOpen — Questions and answers (English)
> Short, checked answers about email tracking, read receipts, campaigns, documents and signatures, plans, privacy and the law. Each answer says what the product does today.
> This information is general and concerns the features of HawkOpen (TriStiX S.L.). It is not individual legal advice or an assessment of whether a specific campaign or document complies with the law. Customers make their own decisions about their activities and, where needed, consult a qualified specialist. This does not limit any rights they have under mandatory law.
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq
JSON: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq.json
Checked: 2026-11-13
## Mailboxes, Outlook and phones
Where HawkOpen works: Gmail, Outlook on the web and desktop, Yahoo and IMAP, browsers, notifications and phones.
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes
### How do I track email opens in Outlook?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/how-to-track-email-opens-in-outlook
In Outlook on the web, install the HawkOpen extension for Chrome or Firefox; if you use the Outlook desktop app, connect your Microsoft mailbox to HawkOpen and send from the HawkOpen dashboard; there is no Outlook add-in. Opens are tracked only after your company’s owner or an administrator switches tracking on, and only for recipients whose consent to open tracking is recorded.
To connect, choose Sign in with Microsoft in HawkOpen, or enter the IMAP and SMTP details of your mailbox. Emails you send from the dashboard go out through your own mailbox, and each recipient gets a separate copy with their own tracker.
You then see every image load and click with a category. When Outlook.com loads the image through Microsoft’s image server, HawkOpen marks it as **proxy cache** (R-OPEN-MSPROXY) rather than as human activity. Outlook’s own read receipts are a separate feature that works without HawkOpen.
Related questions: [How can I get a notification when someone opens my email?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/get-notified-when-someone-opens-outlook-email), [Does Outlook have read receipts and how do I request one?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-outlook-have-read-receipts), [How do I track email opens?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/how-works/how-to-track-email-opens)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### How can I get a notification when someone opens my email?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/get-notified-when-someone-opens-outlook-email
HawkOpen does not send a notification for each single open. On the Pro and Business plans you set alert rules about opens, such as several opens within 30 minutes or a return to the message after 7 days; when one fires, the browser extension shows a notification, and on Business it can also come by email. Replies notify you on Pro and Business too. This works for emails sent from Outlook on the web, Gmail, Yahoo Mail or the dashboard; machine opens never fire an alert.
The free plan has one fixed rule, an alert when there is no reply within 24 hours, and no alert for opens. A single open or click never sends a notification, so the extension settings have no switch for it.
Remember that an open alert rests on opens, which are not proof of reading. Opens by Apple Mail, a provider’s proxy or a scanner never fire one. And opens and clicks are recorded only in tracked copies: after your company switched tracking on, and only for recipients whose consent is recorded.
Related questions: [How do I track email opens in Outlook?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/how-to-track-email-opens-in-outlook), [How do I track sent emails and replies?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/how-works/how-to-track-sent-emails), [Why does an open appear seconds after I send the email?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/accuracy/why-open-appears-seconds-after-send)
Checked: 2026-11-13
### Does open tracking work when the recipient reads on a phone?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/email-open-tracking-on-mobile
Yes, when the phone’s mail app loads images. iPhone Mail with Mail Privacy Protection loads them in advance through Apple’s servers, which HawkOpen marks as a privacy proxy, and the Gmail app loads them through Google’s proxy. Opens from other mail apps on a mobile network are classified at most as possible human activity.
Links work on phones too: a tap on a tracked link is recorded and rated like any other click. If the phone app blocks images, no open is recorded, but clicks and replies still are.
On your own side, sending tracked emails needs the HawkOpen extension in a computer browser or the HawkOpen dashboard. A message you send from your phone’s mail app is not tracked.
Related questions: [Is there a HawkOpen app for Android or iPhone?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/email-tracking-app-for-android-iphone), [What is Apple Mail Privacy Protection?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/accuracy/what-is-apple-mail-privacy-protection), [Why do opens come from Google’s image proxy, and how do I tell them from real ones?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/accuracy/google-image-proxy-opens)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Is there a HawkOpen app for Android or iPhone?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/email-tracking-app-for-android-iphone
No. HawkOpen has no app for Android or iPhone. You send tracked emails from a computer, with the extension for Chrome or Firefox or from the web dashboard, and you see the results in the dashboard.
Your recipients can read on any phone: opens and clicks from mobile mail apps are recorded and rated as usual. What is missing is sending tracked email from your phone’s own mail app.
If you want to hear about activity while away from the computer, the Business plan can send alerts to your email address, which you can read on any phone.
Related questions: [Does open tracking work when the recipient reads on a phone?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/email-open-tracking-on-mobile), [How can I get a notification when someone opens my email?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/get-notified-when-someone-opens-outlook-email)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Which email tracker extension for Gmail is best?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/best-gmail-email-tracker-extension
There is no independent ranking we can point to, and HawkOpen will not call itself the best. Compare what matters to you: whether opens from Apple Mail, Gmail’s proxy and scanners are kept apart from people, which mailboxes and browsers are supported, what the free plan includes, and whether recipients are told about tracking.
What HawkOpen offers: an extension for Chrome (also meant for Edge, Brave and Opera) and for Firefox, working in Gmail, Outlook on the web and Yahoo Mail, plus a dashboard for any connected mailbox. Every open and click gets a category and a rule code. The free plan has no limit on tracked opens, tracks links in 10 emails a month, keeps 7 days of history and adds a short HawkOpen signature.
What to weigh honestly: HawkOpen is a new and small product without public reviews, while older trackers have many more users and reviews. HawkOpen tracks only recipients whose consent is recorded for your company, and every tracked email carries a visible notice for the recipient. And any Gmail extension depends on Gmail’s page layout, which Google can change.
Where rules that require consent apply, tracking may start only after that consent has been obtained. The link in the message lets the recipient withdraw consent later.
Related questions: [How can I see if my Gmail message was opened without a Workspace read receipt?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/email-tracking-vs-read-receipt-gmail-free), [How do I track email opens?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/how-works/how-to-track-email-opens), [What does the HawkOpen Free plan include?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/pricing/what-does-the-free-plan-include)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Can I track emails sent from Apple Mail, Thunderbird or another desktop mail app?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#track-apple-mail-or-thunderbird
Not from inside those programs: HawkOpen has no add-on for Apple Mail, Thunderbird or other desktop mail apps. Connect the same mailbox to HawkOpen and write tracked emails in the HawkOpen dashboard; they go out from your address.
Gmail and Outlook connect with your Google or Microsoft login, and iCloud, Zoho and most other mailboxes with IMAP and SMTP. Each recipient of a dashboard email gets a separate copy with their own tracker. The browser extension works only in webmail (Gmail, Outlook on the web and Yahoo Mail), not in desktop programs.
An email you send directly from Apple Mail or Thunderbird is not tracked, because HawkOpen never sees it before it leaves.
Related questions: [How do I track email opens in Outlook?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/how-to-track-email-opens-in-outlook), [How do I connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP, and do I need an app password?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-a-mailbox-with-imap-and-smtp), [Can I check on the mail server or in Thunderbird whether an email was read?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipts-on-server-or-thunderbird)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Is there a free email tracker for Outlook?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#free-email-tracker-for-outlook
Yes, HawkOpen’s Free plan works with Outlook: open tracking has no limit, links are tracked in 10 emails a month, and you get 1 mailbox and 7 days of history. In Outlook on the web you use the browser extension; with the Outlook desktop app you send from the HawkOpen dashboard.
Every open is shown with a category: when Outlook.com loads the image through Microsoft’s image server, it is marked as a proxy, not as human activity. As on every plan, tracking works only after your company’s owner or an administrator switches it on, and only for recipients whose consent is recorded. The Free plan adds a short HawkOpen line to the footer of your tracked emails and has no time limit.
Related questions: [How do I track email opens in Outlook?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/how-to-track-email-opens-in-outlook), [What does the HawkOpen Free plan include?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/pricing/what-does-the-free-plan-include), [Is there a free email tracker for Gmail?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/pricing/free-email-tracker-for-gmail)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### How do I connect Gmail or a Google Workspace account to HawkOpen?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-gmail-or-google-workspace
Choose Sign in with Google when you add a mailbox in HawkOpen and allow access. This works for personal Gmail and for Google Workspace accounts; HawkOpen then sends your tracked emails through Gmail from your own address.
Google asks for full mail access, because HawkOpen sends through Gmail and, on Pro and Business, checks for replies; reply detection reads only the headers of unread messages. In a company account your Google Workspace administrator may first have to allow the app.
Google Workspace itself has no open tracking: its admin email log shows delivery, not whether a message was opened. HawkOpen is in a controlled launch, so each provider connection is verified before it is offered in production.
Related questions: [Which email tracker extension for Gmail is best?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/best-gmail-email-tracker-extension), [How do I disconnect a mailbox and remove HawkOpen’s access?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#disconnect-a-mailbox), [Does Google Workspace email log search or Microsoft message trace show whether an email was opened?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#google-workspace-email-log-search-and-opens)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### How do I connect Outlook, Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com to HawkOpen?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-outlook-or-microsoft-365
Choose Sign in with Microsoft when you add a mailbox in HawkOpen and allow access. This works for Microsoft 365 work accounts and for Outlook.com and Hotmail addresses; HawkOpen then sends your tracked emails through Microsoft from your own address.
HawkOpen asks Microsoft for permission to send mail (SMTP) and to read the mailbox over IMAP, which reply detection uses on Pro and Business. In a company tenant, your Microsoft 365 administrator may have to approve the app and allow this kind of sending for your mailbox.
Opens of Outlook.com mail that Microsoft loads through its image server are marked as a proxy, not as human activity. If you prefer, you can also connect the mailbox with its IMAP and SMTP details.
Related questions: [How do I track email opens in Outlook?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/how-to-track-email-opens-in-outlook), [Is there a free email tracker for Outlook?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#free-email-tracker-for-outlook), [How do I disconnect a mailbox and remove HawkOpen’s access?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#disconnect-a-mailbox)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Is there an email tracker for Yahoo Mail?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#email-tracker-for-yahoo-mail
Yes. The HawkOpen extension for Chrome and Firefox works in Yahoo Mail in the browser, and you can also connect your Yahoo mailbox with IMAP and SMTP and send tracked emails from the HawkOpen dashboard.
For the IMAP and SMTP connection Yahoo asks for an app password, which you create in your Yahoo account security settings; your normal password does not work there. When Yahoo loads the tracking image through its own proxy, HawkOpen marks the open as a proxy (R-OPEN-YAHOO), not as human activity.
Related questions: [How do I connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP, and do I need an app password?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-a-mailbox-with-imap-and-smtp), [In which webmail does the HawkOpen extension work?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#extension-supported-webmail)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### How do I connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP, and do I need an app password?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-a-mailbox-with-imap-and-smtp
When you add a mailbox, choose IMAP/SMTP and enter the server names, ports and password from your mail provider; HawkOpen suggests port 587 for SMTP and 993 for IMAP. Whether you need an app password depends on your provider: many require one when two-step sign-in is on.
SMTP is what HawkOpen sends with; add IMAP as well if you want reply detection on Pro and Business. The password is stored encrypted, and after saving you can run a connection test of the SMTP server; the IMAP server is not tested yet.
Only public mail servers can be used: an address on a private or local network is refused. HawkOpen is in a controlled launch, so each provider connection is verified before it is offered in production.
Related questions: [Can I connect iCloud, GMX, web.de, Zoho, Proton or Fastmail mailboxes?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-icloud-gmx-zoho-proton-or-fastmail), [Why does my mailbox connection fail?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#mailbox-connection-fails), [Is there an email tracker for Yahoo Mail?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#email-tracker-for-yahoo-mail)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Can I connect iCloud, GMX, web.de, Zoho, Proton or Fastmail mailboxes?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-icloud-gmx-zoho-proton-or-fastmail
Most of them, through IMAP and SMTP: iCloud, GMX, web.de, Zoho and Fastmail offer it, usually after you turn IMAP on in their settings and create an app password. Proton Mail cannot be connected, because it offers IMAP only through its Bridge app on your own computer, which HawkOpen’s servers cannot reach.
HawkOpen connects mailboxes through Google, Microsoft or IMAP and SMTP only; it does not use JMAP, so a Fastmail mailbox is connected with its IMAP and SMTP details. HawkOpen is in a controlled launch, and each provider connection is verified before it is offered in production, so a provider may need extra checks first.
Related questions: [How do I connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP, and do I need an app password?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-a-mailbox-with-imap-and-smtp), [Does HawkOpen work with every email provider?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#does-hawkopen-work-with-every-email-provider)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Does HawkOpen work with every email provider?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#does-hawkopen-work-with-every-email-provider
On your side, HawkOpen works with Gmail and Microsoft through their sign-in and with any provider that offers IMAP and SMTP on a public server. On the recipient’s side it works with any mail app that loads images; when images are blocked, clicks and replies are still recorded.
Some providers load images through their own proxy, such as Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo, and Apple Mail may load them in advance; HawkOpen labels those opens so they are not classified as human activity.
Related questions: [Can I connect iCloud, GMX, web.de, Zoho, Proton or Fastmail mailboxes?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-icloud-gmx-zoho-proton-or-fastmail), [Which email providers block trackers?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/detect-block/email-providers-that-do-not-track)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### How do I disconnect a mailbox and remove HawkOpen’s access?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#disconnect-a-mailbox
Remove the mailbox in HawkOpen’s mailbox settings. HawkOpen deletes its stored sign-in data or password for that mailbox at once and then asks Google or Microsoft to revoke its access; from that moment it cannot send, check or refresh anything for that mailbox.
Scheduled emails that were waiting to go out from that mailbox are cancelled. To be sure, you can also check the list of connected apps in your Google or Microsoft account security settings and remove HawkOpen there. For an IMAP/SMTP mailbox, change its password or delete the app password you created for HawkOpen.
Related questions: [Does HawkOpen read the content of my emails?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/data-privacy/does-hawkopen-read-my-emails), [How do I connect Gmail or a Google Workspace account to HawkOpen?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-gmail-or-google-workspace)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### In which webmail does the HawkOpen extension work?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#extension-supported-webmail
In three: Gmail, Outlook on the web (including Outlook.com and Microsoft 365 in the browser) and Yahoo Mail. For any other mailbox, connect it to HawkOpen and send tracked emails from the dashboard.
The extension exists for Chrome and for Firefox 109 or later; the Chrome version is also meant for Edge, Brave and Opera. With the extension, each tracked email goes to a single recipient.
Related questions: [Which email tracker extension for Gmail is best?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/best-gmail-email-tracker-extension), [Can I track emails sent from Apple Mail, Thunderbird or another desktop mail app?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#track-apple-mail-or-thunderbird), [How do I install the HawkOpen extension in Chrome?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/setup#install-the-chrome-extension)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Can I see the activity of all my mailboxes in one place?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#all-mailboxes-in-one-view
Yes. Tracked emails from every mailbox you connect appear together in your HawkOpen history, and you can search them by subject or address and filter them by mailbox. Free includes 1 mailbox, Pro 3, and Business has no mailbox limit.
When you send from the dashboard, you choose which connected mailbox the email goes out from. In a team, each person sees the mailboxes they connected themselves.
Related questions: [How many mailboxes can I connect on each HawkOpen plan?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/pricing/how-many-mailboxes-per-plan), [Can teammates see each other’s tracked emails?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/account#can-teammates-see-my-tracked-emails)
Checked: 2026-11-13
### Does HawkOpen sync my mailbox folders and show my inbox?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#hawkopen-inbox-and-folder-sync
HawkOpen has an inbox view for a connected mailbox: it lists the mailbox’s folders and shows a message when you open it, and a folder is refreshed when you ask for it. It does not replace your mail program, and your mail stays with your provider.
Reply detection on Pro and Business is separate from this view: it reads only the headers of unread messages, not their text.
Related questions: [Does HawkOpen read the content of my emails?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/data-privacy/does-hawkopen-read-my-emails), [Can I see the activity of all my mailboxes in one place?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#all-mailboxes-in-one-view)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Can I send tracked emails from a shared mailbox or an alias?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#shared-mailbox-or-alias
With Sign in with Google or Microsoft, HawkOpen sends as the account you signed in with. For another address, such as an alias or a shared mailbox, add it as an IMAP/SMTP mailbox with that address and the login your provider gives you; whether the provider accepts sending from that address is up to the provider.
Test the connection after saving and send yourself a first email to check the sender shown to recipients. HawkOpen has not published a tested list of shared-mailbox setups.
Related questions: [How do I connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP, and do I need an app password?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-a-mailbox-with-imap-and-smtp), [Can I send a test email to myself to see how tracking works?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/setup#send-a-test-email-to-yourself)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Why does my mailbox connection fail?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#mailbox-connection-fails
For IMAP/SMTP the usual causes are a wrong server name or port, a normal password where the provider wants an app password, or IMAP switched off at the provider. For Google or Microsoft it is usually a sign-in that was not completed, access that was later revoked, or a company administrator who has not allowed the app.
For a saved IMAP/SMTP mailbox, use the connection test: it checks the sending (SMTP) server; the receiving (IMAP) server is not tested yet. HawkOpen also refuses server names it cannot find, ports that are not allowed and addresses on private networks.
HawkOpen is in a controlled launch, so each provider connection is verified before it is offered in production; if a provider still fails, it may not be verified yet. Removing the mailbox and connecting it again starts a fresh sign-in.
Related questions: [How do I connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP, and do I need an app password?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-a-mailbox-with-imap-and-smtp), [How do I connect Gmail or a Google Workspace account to HawkOpen?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-gmail-or-google-workspace), [How do I connect Outlook, Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com to HawkOpen?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-outlook-or-microsoft-365)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Does Google Workspace email log search or Microsoft message trace show whether an email was opened?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#google-workspace-email-log-search-and-opens
No. These admin tools show the path of a message: whether it was sent, delivered, delayed or bounced. They do not show whether the recipient opened it. HawkOpen records opens and clicks separately, each with a category.
HawkOpen also keeps delivery states apart: “accepted” means the sending server took the message, not that it reached the inbox or was read.
Related questions: [What is the difference between a delivery receipt, a read receipt and open tracking?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipt-vs-open-tracking), [How do I connect Gmail or a Google Workspace account to HawkOpen?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-gmail-or-google-workspace)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Can HawkOpen give me a custom-domain email address for Gmail?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#custom-domain-email-address
No. HawkOpen does not sell mailboxes or domains. You connect a mailbox you already have, through Google, Microsoft or IMAP and SMTP, including one on your own domain from any host that offers IMAP and SMTP.
Sending from your own domain also needs the domain’s email settings (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) set up at your host; HawkOpen does not manage them.
Related questions: [What is DMARC and do I need it?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/deliverability/what-is-dmarc-and-do-i-need-it), [How do I connect a mailbox with IMAP and SMTP, and do I need an app password?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes#connect-a-mailbox-with-imap-and-smtp)
Checked: 2026-11-11