MailPoet can track when a subscriber opens your email and which links they click. Some subscribers prefer not to be tracked, and in some countries (currently France and Italy) you may need to offer them a way to opt out. This guide shows you how to add an opt-out link to your emails and how to control tracking for subscribers who have not made a choice.
Add the opt-out link to your emails
You add the link yourself, so you can place it where you want. Most people put it in the footer, next to the unsubscribe link. The steps depend on which editor you use.
New Email Editor (personalization tag)
Open the email editor in template mode. 
Click on “Edit template” 
Select the text where you want the link, or place your cursor where you want it. 
Scroll down to the bottom of the modal window and locate the Tracking opt-out URL 
Click on “Insert as link” 
Enter a text for the link. e.g Opt out of open tracking 
- Open your email in the Email Editor.
- Select the text where you want the link, or place your cursor where you want it.
- Open the personalization tags menu and find the Tracking opt-out URL.
- Choose Insert as link to turn the selected text into the opt-out link, or Insert to add the raw URL.
- Save your email.
Newsletter editor (shortcode)
- Open your email in the Newsletter editor.
- In a text block, open Select a shortcode.
- Go to the Links tab and choose Tracking opt-out link.
- Save your email
Prefer to type it yourself? Add this shortcode as a link in any text block:
[link:subscription_tracking_opt_out_url]Tip: Give the link clear text, for example “Stop tracking my opens and clicks.” Subscribers are more likely to trust a link they understand.
What happens when a subscriber opts out
When a subscriber clicks the link, they land on a short confirmation page and confirm their choice. After that:
- MailPoet stops recording their opens and clicks.
- MailPoet stops adding the tracking pixel to their future emails.
- They keep receiving your emails. Opting out of tracking is not the same as unsubscribing.
Subscribers can also change this on their manage-subscription page, using the Allow tracking of email opens and link clicks checkbox.
Choosing What Subscribers Can Decide
Go to MailPoet > Settings > Advanced and find Subscriber choice (open and click tracking). It has three options.
Track everyone, don’t ask
The default. Subscribers see no tracking controls, and MailPoet adds nothing to your emails, forms, or checkout. This is how MailPoet has always worked.
You can still add an opt-out link to your emails by hand, and it still works. See “Adding the Opt-Out Link” above.
Ask new subscribers
MailPoet shows the tracking control on the manage-subscription page, so subscribers can turn tracking off whenever they want.
Everyone already on your list keeps being tracked until they turn it off themselves, so your current open and click rates are unaffected.
Ask everyone
MailPoet shows the same control, and nobody is measured until they allow it, including subscribers already on your list.
Use this option if you send to people in France or Italy, where the rules are stricter. Expect your open and click rates to drop sharply until people respond, because subscribers who have not answered are not counted.
Subscribers who have not answered are also left out of the inactive-subscriber cleanup, re-engagement emails, and resends to people who did not open. MailPoet has no engagement data for them, so it will not treat their silence as disinterest.
Note: This works together with your global tracking setting. If Engagement analytics tracking is set to Basic / None, MailPoet does not track opens or clicks for anyone, whatever the setting above.
Your Setting After the Update
MailPoet 5.35.1 replaced the old Tracking consent for unknown subscribers setting with the three options above. Your existing choice was carried over:
| Old setting | New setting |
|---|---|
| Tracking consent for unknown subscribers: No | Ask everyone |
| Tracking consent for unknown subscribers: Yes (default) | Track everyone, don’t ask |
| New sites | Track everyone, don’t ask |
Nothing about your tracking changed on update. If you had set the old option to No, check that Ask everyone is still what you want, since it now also hides or shows the subscriber-facing control.
Changing the Choice Later
On the manage-subscription page, subscribers see a checkbox labelled Email activity tracking, with the text “Allow tracking of email opens and link clicks”. They can tick or untick it at any time.
This checkbox only appears when Subscriber choice is set to Ask new subscribers or Ask everyone. On the default setting, the manage-subscription page shows no tracking control at all.
A note on compliance
MailPoet gives you the tools to offer a tracking opt-out and to control tracking for undecided subscribers. Whether you need to use them, and how, depends on your audience and the rules that apply to you. This guide is not legal advice. If you are unsure, check with a qualified advisor.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
No. Unsubscribing stops your emails. Opting out of tracking only stops MailPoet from recording when someone opens your emails and which links they click. A subscriber who opts out still receives your emails.
You add it yourself, so you can place it where you want (most people put it in the footer). It is not added automatically. See the steps above for each editor.
MailPoet stops recording opens and clicks and stops adding the tracking pixel to future emails. They keep receiving your emails as usual.
No. Opens and clicks recorded before a subscriber opted out stay in your reports. From the moment they opt out, MailPoet stops recording their activity, so they are not counted in emails you send after that. Nothing is removed from past reports.
Opted-out subscribers still receive your emails, so they still count as sent, but their opens and clicks are not recorded. With fewer people tracked, your open and click rates appear lower.
No. MailPoet leaves them out of features that rely on tracking, such as re-engagement emails, “resend to non-openers”, and the automatic deactivation of inactive subscribers. Without tracking data, they would otherwise look permanently inactive. They keep receiving your regular newsletters and automations.
Yes. They can use the “Allow tracking of email opens and link clicks” checkbox on their manage-subscription page at any time.
It determines how MailPoet treats subscribers who have never been asked. When left on (the default), MailPoet continues tracking them, as it always has. When turned off, MailPoet tracks only subscribers who have actively opted in. Turn it off if you want a strict opt-in approach.
Go to Settings > Advanced and set Engagement analytics tracking to Basic / None. This turns off opens and clicks for all subscribers, with no per-subscriber setup.
You have two options: turn off tracking for everyone (Basic / None), or add the opt-out link to your emails and set “Subscriber choice” to Ask everyone for strict opt-in. Whether you need to and to what extent depends on your audience and your legal advice. This guide is not legal advice.
No. It only affects whether opens and clicks are recorded. Your emails are still sent the same way.
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