Ackify vs Email: Why Read Receipts Aren't Enough
The email read receipt (MDN - Message Disposition Notification) is often used as 'proof' that someone has read a document. But this approach has many flaws.
The limits of email read receipts
Most email clients allow blocking read receipts. Even when sent, the receipt only proves the message was opened, not that the content was read. It can be generated automatically without the recipient actually consulting the attached document.
Email read receipt
- ✗ Can be blocked by the recipient
- ✗ Only proves opening, not reading
- ✗ Can be generated automatically
- ✗ No evidentiary value
Ackify
- ✓ Active confirmation from the reader
- ✓ Signed proof of acknowledgment
- ✓ Non-repudiable Ed25519 signature
- ✓ Cryptographic timestamp
Tracking pixel: a false solution
Some tools use tracking pixels to detect email opens. But image blockers and email pre-loaders make this method unreliable. It also raises GDPR compliance issues.
Why tracking pixels are not enough
Image blockers, Apple Mail's privacy protection, and corporate pre-loaders make tracking pixels unreliable. Moreover, their use without consent raises GDPR compliance issues (Article 5 — fairness of processing).
Ackify: real proof of acknowledgment
With Ackify, the reader must actively confirm their reading after viewing the document. This action generates a timestamped, non-repudiable, independently verifiable Ed25519 cryptographic signature. It is infinitely stronger proof than an email read receipt.
Switch from email to proof
Replace fragile email read receipts with solid cryptographic proofs, timestamped and non-repudiable.