Apple Mail Privacy Protection (iOS 15)
Apple first introduced Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) as part of iOS 15, which was officially released in September of 2021. Apple framed this release as part of their bigger privacy-first strategy - the same push behind App Tracking Transparency, Safari’s antri-tracking, and iCloud+ features. The goal of MPP was to protect users from “Invisible Tracking”, limit cross-app and cross-service profiling, support regulatory trends, and strengthen Apple’s privacy branding. Unfortunately, these privacy enhancements have had fundamental impacts in the email space, causing publishers to rethink their monetization strategies in a privacy-first world.
What’s changed?
Auto-loading of tracking pixels
Apple mail now preloads email email content before the recipient opens the email. This means that every email may appear as “opened” without the recipient actually opening the email.
IP address masking
The sender can no longer track the recipient’s IP address or location.
Hidden device details
Information like device type and the email header details are no longer visible to marketers.
Optional email anonymization
Using features like “Hide My Email” and “Private Relay”, iCloud+ users can mask their real email addresses and obscure their location further.
Impacts on Email Monetization
Inflated metrics
Because of the auto-opened tracking pixels, open rates are artificially inflated and no longer a reliable metric and decrease the value of impressions.
Weakened targeting capabilities
Because Apple masks IPs and utilizes proxy routing via Private Relay, personalized and localized targeting is limited. Additionally, there is no longer a reliable way to segment campaigns by device since the sender can’t see whether an email was accessed on mobile, desktop, etc.
How To Adapt
Prioritize Clicks vs. Opens
Since clicks are a stronger signal of actual engagement, these should be used as a primary metric for monetization
Opt-in Forms & Surveys
Ask users directly for their preferences or other identifying information
Improve List Hygiene
Remove invalid emails and hard bounces
Authenticate Your Emails
Setup proper identification (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to maintain deliverability trust
What is RevContent Doing About This?
We are committed to helping you adapt to industry changes and maintain confidence in your email monetization data, so we’ve released additional reporting metrics to offer more granular insights into your Email Monetization Partnership with RevContent. Reporting now includes:
Requests
Total number of ad calls generated from email opens on this day
Unique Opens
Counts one open per user per newsletter deployment, within a 24-hour window. Multiple opens by the same user for the same deployment are deduplicated
Unfiltered Clicks
All clicks recorded before IVT filters are applied
Billable Clicks
Clicks that passed IVT checks and were billed
Apple RPM
Apple Mail opens may be auto-triggered due to iOS 15 privacy changes. This separates impacted traffic from more reliable signals.
Non-Apple RPM
Revenue per 1,000 unique opens from non-Apple Mail users
Blended RPM
Average revenue per 1,000 unique opens across all clients
To learn more about RevContent's publisher reporting interface, click here.