Invisible tracking gives people insight to your email

LEE COUNTY, Fla. – New software programs allow anyone to track your email without you ever knowing.

Technology has come a long way, and most people know they are being tracked while using the internet. However, there are programs out there that allow anyone to send you emails and find out not only that you opened it, but when and where you were, when you did.

WINK News tested one program call ‘Sidekick’ that is free to use. The program requires you to download Google Chrome, and then you can send as many emails as you like and track when the recipient opens the email and from where.

Bob Johnson used email tracking for job applications. The software alerted him every time a potential employer opened his application.

“I know that my resume has gone where I sent it. I know how many times it’s been opened, if an email has been opened six times,” Johnson said.

He admitted it sounds a little creepy, but said it is a helpful tool when job hunting. However, not everyone agreed with Johnson. Most people we talked to felt the new software was an invasion of their privacy.

“I think that’s, that’s pretty scary,” said Daniel Rangel. “I don’t like it…It takes the privacy away.”

Cyber security expert and owner of CPR Tools Inc, John Benkert, said the software operates similar to malware.

“They’ll embed a hidden image into the email, into the text of the email. It’s an image you can’t see as a user. Sometimes, it’s a little dot, sometimes it’s white, that image then contains code that once you connect to it or see it, view it, it will send back code to the server on the other end,” Benkert explained.

According to several tracking companies, the sender will know when you open your email, how long you read it, where you were and from what device.

“I think it’s easier to say what are they not able to get,” Benkert said. “Virus and malware work the same way, so yes we should be worried about this because even though this system, the program we are working with, seemed like it’s legit [sic], is it really? We have no way of knowing what information they’re collection from our computer and sending back, and if it makes a tunnel, so they can get back to our computer.”

Benkert said to avoid being tracked, put your email settings in text only mode. He said that will prevent the invisible image to be automatically downloaded.

There are several email tracking programs available for free or at a low cost. Some options include GetNotify, MailTrackerApp, and Sidekick.