# 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
## Read receipts in Gmail and Outlook
How read receipts work, why they often do not arrive, and how to tell whether an email was opened.
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts
### How do I know if someone read my email?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/how-to-know-if-someone-read-my-email
You can get three signals: a read receipt, if the recipient agrees to send one, a tracking image and a tracked link. None of them proves reading; only a reply or another deliberate action does, and HawkOpen rates opens and clicks as at most “likely” human.
**Read receipt.** Gmail offers it only in Google Workspace accounts; Outlook offers it in many versions. The recipient can refuse, and many programs never send one.
**Tracking image and link.** A tool such as HawkOpen adds an invisible image and redirected links; HawkOpen does so only after your company switched tracking on, and only for recipients whose consent is recorded. You see when they were loaded or clicked, but Apple Mail, Gmail’s image proxy and company scanners also do that without a person. HawkOpen labels these events, and events classified as a machine never fire an alert; a single open or click does not send a notification, while replies do.
**What to do:** send through HawkOpen, look at opens and clicks classified as likely human activity, and treat a reply as the only certain answer. If the answer matters, simply ask the recipient to confirm.
Related questions: [Does an open prove that someone read my email?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/accuracy/does-an-open-prove-the-email-was-read), [Does Gmail have read receipts?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-gmail-show-read-receipts), [How accurate is email open tracking?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/accuracy/how-accurate-is-email-open-tracking)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Does Gmail have read receipts?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-gmail-show-read-receipts
Only in Google Workspace (work or school) accounts whose administrator has turned it on; personal Gmail accounts do not have read receipts. In personal Gmail you can use a tracker such as HawkOpen instead.
In a Workspace account where receipts are allowed, open a new message, choose More options and then Request read receipt. The recipient may be asked whether to send it and can refuse, and some mail programs never answer.
In personal Gmail, the HawkOpen extension for Chrome or Firefox adds a tracking image and tracked links to the copy of a recipient whose consent to tracking is recorded, once your company’s owner or an administrator has switched tracking on; other recipients get an ordinary email. You then see image loads and clicks with a category such as **Gmail proxy** or **human**. Every tracked email ends with a visible notice and the link “Do not track my activity”.
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: [Why is the read receipt option missing or not working in Gmail?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/gmail-read-receipt-not-working), [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 enable read receipts in Google Workspace?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipt-workspace-admin)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Why is the read receipt option missing or not working in Gmail?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/gmail-read-receipt-not-working
Most often the account is a personal Gmail account, which has no read receipts, or the Workspace administrator has not allowed them. When the option is there, a receipt still arrives only if the recipient’s program supports it and they agree.
Check these in order: is it a work or school account in Google Workspace? Has the administrator allowed read receipts, and for which recipients? Did the recipient refuse, or does their program ignore receipt requests? Many personal mailboxes and phone apps never send them.
A tracker such as HawkOpen also works in personal Gmail, but HawkOpen tracks only recipients whose consent to tracking is recorded for your company. It shows image loads and clicks with a category and rule code, never proof of reading, and every tracked email tells the recipient it is tracked.
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: [Does Gmail have read receipts?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-gmail-show-read-receipts), [How do I enable read receipts in Google Workspace?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipt-workspace-admin), [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)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### How can I see if my Gmail message was opened without a Workspace read receipt?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/email-tracking-vs-read-receipt-gmail-free
Use an email tracker. With the HawkOpen extension in Gmail (Chrome or Firefox), the copy of each recipient who consented to tracking gets an invisible image and tracked links; the free plan has no limit on tracked opens and tracks link clicks in 10 emails a month.
Install the extension and connect your Google account. Tracking works once your company’s owner or an administrator has switched it on, and only for recipients whose consent is recorded, separately for opens and for links. Each image load and click appears with a category, for example **Gmail proxy**, **privacy proxy** (Apple Mail) or **human**, so you can tell a probable reader from a machine.
Unlike a read receipt, tracking asks nothing when the email is opened, but it needs the recipient’s consent recorded beforehand and it is not hidden: every tracked email ends with a notice and the link “Do not track my activity”. On the free plan, history is kept for 7 days and a short HawkOpen signature is added to your emails.
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: [Does Gmail have read receipts?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-gmail-show-read-receipts), [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
### Does Outlook have read receipts and how do I request one?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-outlook-have-read-receipts
Yes. In Outlook you can request a read receipt for one message or for every message, but the recipient can refuse and many programs never send one. Where the option appears depends on your Outlook version and account type.
For one message: in a new email, open Options and select Request a Read Receipt (you can also request a delivery receipt there). For all messages in classic Outlook for Windows: File, Options, Mail, then the Tracking section.
A receipt arrives only if the recipient’s program supports it and they agree, so silence does not mean the message was not read. If you want another signal, HawkOpen works in Outlook on the web through the extension, and from the Outlook desktop app by sending through the HawkOpen dashboard with your connected Microsoft mailbox; it tracks only recipients whose consent to tracking is recorded for your company.
Related questions: [Why don’t Outlook read receipts arrive?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/outlook-read-receipt-not-working), [How do I track email opens in Outlook?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/mailboxes/how-to-track-email-opens-in-outlook), [How do I turn off read receipts or stop sending them?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/turn-off-read-receipts)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Why don’t Outlook read receipts arrive?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/outlook-read-receipt-not-working
A read receipt depends on the recipient: their program has to support it and they, or their settings, have to agree to send it. Personal Gmail, Apple Mail and many phone apps do not answer Outlook’s requests, and an organisation can block receipts for outside senders.
Common causes: the recipient chose never to send receipts or declined this one; their program ignores receipt requests; an Exchange or Microsoft 365 administrator blocks them; the message has not been opened yet; or the receipt landed in a junk folder. A delivery receipt also depends on the receiving server, and many servers do not send one.
HawkOpen’s tracking image needs no answer from the recipient’s program, but it is added only for recipients whose consent to tracking is recorded, and it has its own limits: image blocking, Apple Mail and scanners. HawkOpen shows every image load and click with a category and rule code, and every tracked email carries a visible notice.
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: [Does Outlook have read receipts and how do I request one?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-outlook-have-read-receipts), [Do read receipts work between Gmail and Outlook?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipts-between-gmail-and-outlook), [What happens if the recipient blocks images?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/accuracy/what-if-recipient-blocks-images)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### What is a read receipt and where are its settings?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/what-is-a-read-receipt
A read receipt is a short automatic message that the recipient’s mail program sends back when they open your email, if the program supports it and the recipient agrees. You set it up in your mail program, not in HawkOpen, which does not use read receipts.
Your request travels as a hidden note inside the email. The recipient’s program then sends the receipt automatically, asks the recipient, or ignores the request, depending on its settings.
Where to find it: in Outlook, in the Options of a new message, and for all messages in the Tracking settings; in Gmail, under More options in a new message, but only in Google Workspace accounts that allow it. Other providers and webmail services have the option in the compose window, in settings, or not at all.
HawkOpen works differently: it adds an invisible image and tracked links and records when they are requested, only for recipients who consented to tracking by the sender’s company. That needs no reply from the recipient, cannot prove reading either, and is announced by a notice at the end of each tracked email.
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: [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 turn off read receipts or stop sending them?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/turn-off-read-receipts), [Does Outlook have read receipts and how do I request one?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-outlook-have-read-receipts)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### What is the difference between a delivery receipt, a read receipt and open tracking?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipt-vs-open-tracking
A delivery receipt says the recipient’s server accepted the message; a read receipt says the recipient’s program reported an opening, if they agreed; open tracking records that a tracking image was loaded, with no answer from the recipient’s program, and HawkOpen uses it only for recipients who consented to it. None of them proves that a person read the email.
Each one fails in its own way. Many servers never send delivery receipts. Read receipts can be declined or ignored. Tracking images are blocked by some programs and loaded in advance by others, such as Apple Mail with Mail Privacy Protection or Gmail’s image proxy.
HawkOpen does not use receipts. It shows the sending state of each message (prepared, accepted by the sending server, bounced), every image load and click with a category, and replies on the Pro and Business plans. Each tracked email tells the recipient that it contains tracking elements.
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: [What is a read receipt and where are its settings?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/what-is-a-read-receipt), [How can I prove that an email was sent or received?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/how-works/how-to-prove-an-email-was-sent-or-received), [What is email tracking and how does it work?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/how-works/how-email-tracking-works)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### How do I enable read receipts in Google Workspace?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipt-workspace-admin
Only an administrator can: in the Google Admin console, in the Gmail user settings under Email read receipts, they allow receipts and choose for which addresses. After that, users request a receipt in each message under More options.
The administrator can allow receipts only within the organisation or also for outside addresses. A change can take a while to reach all users. Even when it is on, a recipient can refuse, and many outside mail programs never send a receipt.
HawkOpen does not depend on this setting. You can connect a Workspace account with Sign in with Google and track image loads and clicks of recipients who consented to tracking by your company; they are signals, not proof of reading.
Related questions: [Does Gmail have read receipts?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-gmail-show-read-receipts), [Why is the read receipt option missing or not working in Gmail?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/gmail-read-receipt-not-working)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Do read receipts work between Gmail and Outlook?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipts-between-gmail-and-outlook
Sometimes. The request travels with the email, but a receipt comes back only if the recipient’s program supports it and they agree; personal Gmail and many phone apps do not send receipts at all. A tracking image does not depend on the provider, but has limits of its own.
Between two Outlook or Microsoft 365 users, receipts often work if neither side blocks them. From Outlook to a personal Gmail address, a receipt usually does not come back. Between Workspace accounts it depends on what the administrators allow.
A tracking image is loaded by most programs that display images, whatever the provider. But Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo often load it through their own image servers, and Apple Mail may load it in advance. HawkOpen marks these cases with their own rule codes, such as R-OPEN-GOOGLE, R-OPEN-MSPROXY, R-OPEN-YAHOO and R-OPEN-APPLE.
Related questions: [Why don’t Outlook read receipts arrive?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/outlook-read-receipt-not-working), [Does Gmail have read receipts?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-gmail-show-read-receipts), [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
### Can I check on the mail server or in Thunderbird whether an email was read?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipts-on-server-or-thunderbird
Not reliably. A server may know that a message in a mailbox was marked as read, but not that a person read it, and no setting can force a recipient to confirm. Thunderbird can request a return receipt, which the recipient can refuse.
In Thunderbird you request a return receipt in the Options of the message you are writing, and you decide how to answer other people’s requests in the privacy settings, under Return Receipts. A “read” flag can also be set by a phone app, a preview or the recipient marking the message, so it says little about real reading.
HawkOpen tracks only emails you send through it. It cannot look into anyone’s mailbox or server; it records image loads and clicks on your tracked emails and rates each event as an estimate.
Related questions: [What is a read receipt and where are its settings?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/what-is-a-read-receipt), [How do I turn off read receipts or stop sending them?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/turn-off-read-receipts)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Can I tell if an email was read without the recipient knowing?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-without-recipient-knowing
Not with HawkOpen. It tracks only recipients whose consent is recorded for your company, and every email it tracks ends with a visible notice that it contains tracking elements, with the link “Do not track my activity”; no plan or setting removes it.
The notice is short and readable, in one of seven languages chosen from the text of your email, English when unsure. Opening the link refuses tracking by your company at once and deletes what was measured about that address before; no one in your company can switch it back. After that, your later emails to that address go out without the tracking image and without tracked links.
If you do not want to track certain people at all, you can exclude addresses, domains or countries in your settings. And if you need certainty that someone read your message, the honest way is to ask for a reply.
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: [Will recipients know that my email is tracked?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/recipients/will-recipients-know-their-email-is-tracked), [How can a recipient turn off HawkOpen tracking?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/recipients/how-can-a-recipient-turn-off-tracking), [Can I exclude some recipients or countries from tracking?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/recipients#exclude-recipients-or-countries-from-tracking)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### How do I turn off read receipts or stop sending them?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/turn-off-read-receipts
In your mail program. In classic Outlook for Windows go to File, Options, Mail, Tracking and choose never to send a read receipt; Outlook on the web has a similar choice under Mail, Message handling. This stops receipts, but not tracking images.
In Thunderbird the setting is in the privacy settings under Return Receipts. Other programs and webmail services have it in their settings, or ask you each time.
Tracking images work without a receipt, so they need a separate step: block remote images in your mail program. In an email tracked by HawkOpen you can also use the link “Do not track my activity” at the end of the message: opening it refuses tracking by that sender’s company at once; the company cannot switch it back.
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 do I block email tracking?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/detect-block/how-to-block-email-tracking), [What is a read receipt and where are its settings?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/what-is-a-read-receipt), [How can a recipient turn off HawkOpen tracking?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/recipients/how-can-a-recipient-turn-off-tracking)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### How do I request a confirmation of receipt for an email?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/request-email-acknowledgement-of-receipt
In Outlook, open Options in a new message and request a delivery receipt or a read receipt; Gmail offers read receipts only in Workspace accounts. The surest way is to ask the recipient to confirm by replying.
A delivery receipt comes from the receiving server, and many servers never send one. A read receipt comes from the recipient’s program and needs their agreement. A short line such as “Please confirm that you received this” often works better than either.
HawkOpen does not send receipt requests. For each tracked email it shows whether your sending server accepted it, whether it bounced, and when the tracking image was loaded or a link clicked. Those are signals, not a confirmation from the recipient.
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 can I prove that an email was sent or received?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/how-works/how-to-prove-an-email-was-sent-or-received), [Does Outlook have read receipts and how do I request one?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-outlook-have-read-receipts)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Why does my Exchange or Microsoft 365 policy block read receipts?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts#admin-blocks-receipts-exchange
Read receipts are controlled by the mail system: in Exchange and Microsoft 365, an administrator can stop receipts going to or coming from outside the organisation, or route them elsewhere. Only that administrator can change it; HawkOpen does not use or alter read receipts.
If you receive receipts meant for someone else, a forwarding rule, a shared mailbox or a delegate setting is the usual cause; the administrator can trace it. HawkOpen works differently, with an image and tracked links in each copy.
Related questions: [Why don’t Outlook read receipts arrive?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/outlook-read-receipt-not-working), [Does Outlook have read receipts and how do I request one?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/does-outlook-have-read-receipts)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Are read receipts reliable, and is it rude to request one?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts#are-read-receipts-reliable-or-rude
Not very reliable: a receipt arrives only if the recipient’s program supports it and they agree, and it can be sent when a message is merely previewed or marked as read. Whether a request feels rude depends on the relationship; many people find a receipt on routine emails pushy.
If you need an answer, a clear question with a date usually works better than a receipt. HawkOpen does not use read receipts; its signals are estimates too, and every tracked email says it is tracked.
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: [What is a read receipt and where are its settings?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/what-is-a-read-receipt), [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)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Do read receipts or email trackers reveal the recipient’s device or location?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts#read-receipt-privacy-device-info
A read receipt is a short message with little more than the time. HawkOpen shows, for each request, its time, category and rule codes, the technical identification the request carried and at most the country of the network, never a city, a street or who the person is.
Even the country is often that of a proxy, such as Apple’s or Google’s, rather than of the reader. Treat it as a hint about the network, not about the person.
Related questions: [Can an email tracker show the recipient’s location?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/accuracy/can-email-track-location), [What is a read receipt and where are its settings?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/what-is-a-read-receipt)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Can I force the recipient to send a read receipt?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts#force-recipient-to-send-read-receipt
No. A read receipt always depends on the recipient’s program and choice. HawkOpen does not use receipts; it records requests for a tracking image and clicks on tracked links, which have their own limits, and every tracked email says it is tracked.
HawkOpen tracks only recipients whose consent is recorded, and a recipient can also block images or refuse tracking with the link “Do not track my activity” in the message. If you need confirmation, ask for a reply.
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: [Why don’t Outlook read receipts arrive?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/outlook-read-receipt-not-working), [Can I tell if an email was read without the recipient knowing?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-without-recipient-knowing)
Checked: 2026-11-12
### Can I request or turn off read receipts in iPhone Mail?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts#request-read-receipt-on-iphone
Apple Mail on iPhone has no option to request read receipts. HawkOpen has no iPhone app either: it tracks emails you send from the HawkOpen dashboard or with the browser extension on a computer.
Apple Mail does not send receipts either, so there is nothing to switch off there. To limit tracking images when you read on iPhone, turn on Mail Privacy Protection.
Related questions: [How do I turn on Mail Privacy Protection on iPhone or Mac?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/detect-block/protect-mail-activity-iphone), [What is a read receipt and where are its settings?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/what-is-a-read-receipt)
Checked: 2026-11-11
### Do read receipts work for groups and mailing lists?
URL: https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts#read-receipts-not-sent-to-groups-or-lists
Usually not: Gmail, for example, handles receipts only for individual accounts, and a group address has no single reader. HawkOpen avoids the problem by sending each recipient their own copy from the dashboard or a campaign; it cannot tell apart people behind one group address.
If you send to a group address, all its members share one copy and one tracking image, so events cannot be tied to a particular member.
Related questions: [What is individual-delivery attribution?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/how-works#individual-delivery-attribution), [How do I enable read receipts in Google Workspace?](https://hawkopen.com/en/faq/read-receipts/read-receipt-workspace-admin)
Checked: 2026-11-11