Links in emails can't be opened in Safari or Firefox

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Level 1

43 points

Links in emails can't be opened in Safari or Firefox

Since updating Mac OS 11, many links in emails can't be opened in Safari or Firefox. Get messages that say "Safari can't open the page "link from email" because Safari can't connect to server "domain in link".

The links are always very long, as in the screenshot, and are _apparently_ inserted by the mass emailing service used by the organization sending the email.

I suspect they are tracking links designed to measure responses to the email, but they render the links as useless.

I also encountered a similar situation with software customer support that is provided by a 3rd party, e.g., zendesk.

I tried unchecking "Prevent cross-site tracking" in Preference/Privacy, but still can't load those pages.

I'm missing out on important information from these organizations.

Please advise.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Mar 16, 2021 2:20 PM

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Answer 1

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Mar 17, 2021 10:45 AM in response to rwzpv

Hello rwzpv,

Thank you for taking the time to post your question using Apple Support Communities. We understand that you're experiencing issues with loading links that are shared via email in multiple browsers. We're happy to take a closer look.

To confirm, does the behavior seem to be isolated to links sent from specific contacts?

Have you tried testing to see if the same behavior occurs while your Mac is in safe mode? If not, let's do so now with the steps here: How to use safe mode on your Mac We ask because safe mode can help with isolating the cause of the behavior you're experiencing.

We look forward to hearing the results.

Regards.

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Answer 2

Mar 17, 2021 11:07 AM in response to rwzpv

@rwzpv

don't worry about this link it is simply invalid. A correct link to a real web server should

start with:

http://…

or

https://…

The E-mail which caused this error is most probably a SPAM or an attack to steal you some

private information. Just to confirm it, check the original URL directly within

your E-mail.

This problem doesn't seem to be related to Big Sur.

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Answer 3

rwzpv Author

Level 1

43 points

Mar 17, 2021 1:51 PM in response to Zorba_le_grec

haven spoken with the webmasters of the organizations sending the emails, the emails are from legitimate organizations and not spam. Both web browsers add the "https://" automatically. Safari can't load the top level of the domains in the links, either. The URLs contain tracking information that the organizations use to measure responses to their emails--though in these cases are failing in their presumed duty. I've used similar techniques to measure response to emails in the past.

There seems to be something in Big Sur Mail and/or Safari that blocked this kind of tracing.

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Answer 4

Mar 18, 2021 5:09 AM in response to rwzpv

@rwzpv:

There seems to be something in Big Sur Mail and/or Safari that blocked this kind of tracing.

I think you might be right there. Check Safari > Preferences > Privacy > Website tracking:

I don't run Big Sur yet, so the complete access to privacy preferences might be slightly different

from my indication.

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Answer 5

rwzpv Author

Level 1

43 points

Mar 17, 2021 2:33 PM in response to jdo_apple

Still persists in Safe Mode. Very familiar with macOS restart codes and diagnostics; been using Macs since 1990.

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Links in emails can't be opened in Safari or Firefox

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