After macOS Monterey 12.0.1 update my mail messages do not display any images

Same question. I want to use Mail Privacy Protection but it does not work on my Mac. If the suggested "fix" is to turn it off....that isn't really a fix because then I don't have any protection. I assume a fix will be forthcoming, but it seems odd that MPP works on iOS but not on macOS.

I am surprised that Apple has not acknowledged this problem with Mail on the MacBook Pro (M1chip). I have been using Mail for a very long time (I eschewed MS Outlook).

I tried to fix the problem using the published suggestions. It worked once for about 5 minutes and then reverted back to not allowing me to view the attachment.

I found that Outlook did indeed allow me to open the attached documents. I also could use iCloud for my mail (on my Mac).

It is strange how iOS does not have this problem with Mail. I don't like using MS Outlook as my primary mail reader.

I loaded ver 12 weeks ago and had received messages last week that downloaded images/pictures in my email. Went back to look at a previous email and had to click the download button to see them. Don't understand what changed to cause this.

Same story here. I do not use any antivirus on macOS. I am glad for you that found a solution disabling or tweaking your AV options but there has to be something else here provoking the issue.

And as others have posted Mail works perfectly in iOS 15.2. It is just Monterey 12.1 where the problem shows

Does this help me if I don't have a VPN at all? Does it mean that all I have to do is turn on the macOS firewall? If so, what firewall options should I have?

It seems to me that what you're saying is that Protect Mail Activity works if there is no VPN and the firewall is on with appropriate options. Is that correct? If so, what firewall options do I need?

Or does it mean that I have to have a VPN installed but not turn it on? Does it have to be Express VPN? Would a free VPN work?

I tried that. It didn't help. In fact there's nothing in the instructions for Protect Mail Activity that says you need iCloud Private Relay. According to the link you provided, iCloud Private Relay has nothing to do with Mail. It "helps protect your privacy when you browse the web in Safari." Not even other browsers; just Safari.

I too have the same problem and found at least on my machine unchecking the Protect Mail Activity does nothing , also unchecking Block all Remote Content does nothing . I agree this load content directly feature is a pain in the ***.

I think useless is a bit strong, but when I go through email I want to do so quickly, and an extra click for every email in which I want to see content was more than I could bear -- reverted after 2 days. Note that so much content is delivered in images these days since no one wants to read. Wish there was a more elegant solution.

Indeed. I guess the problem is the senders who don't embed images directly in the emails. Unfortunately that's most of them even if they are not trying to track you. I hope this practice of Apple will push the legitimate senders to change their behavior.

The more elegant solution is for the legitimate senders to inline images in the emails instead of providing a url. Unfortunately most of them don't do that. So we just have to assume that every sender is malicious.

Yes , and it worked for a while . Then when i reopened Mail after 8 hours it started to do the same behavior . This new quirk in Mac software is horrible and very irritating . I like to use stronger words but i would be blocked .

If they want this to be a feature most people actually use, then they need to make an easy Whitelist component. If I've determined that I'm okay with a certain company tracking me, I should be able to set that one and not click "load content" and 15 emails a day while simultaneously blocking other companies. It's a half baked implementation of this feature.

this suggested "fix" does not work (for me) on mail (Monterey 12.1) and i am stuck and tired of having to click the "load content directly" button so that I can see the content and decide to delete or save the message - wonder how many that I needed that I accidentally deleted ????? v This is poor interface design and Apple should duo better - eg be able to access the appropriate preference option by clicking in the banner instead of having to go searching for it after trolling a dozen discussion threads

-still no success BTW.

@jodywoodcock As far as protection goes in part of your above response: "You may already know this part but in case you don't. The trackers insert a single pixel in the image that comes from a different server. If you have images loading then everytime that pixel is downloaded the sending server knows what IP address it is sent to. Then they can compare that address to other collected data to know who you are and what you are then looking at."

With the protection toggled on, even if you decided to view images of a certain email, wouldn't seeing said image(s) circumvent the Apple protection anyway!? I mean, you have just turned off the Apple Protect Mail Activity for that one particular email. So I guess, using a VPN or Apple Private Relay as you mentioned is an alternative.

"everytime that pixel is downloaded the sending server knows what IP address it is sent to. Then they can compare that address to other collected data to know who you are and what you are then looking at"

Blah blah blah. This part of the scare propaganda put out by VPN companies and others. It's just not true.

Firstly, your ISP would have to be compelled (by search warrant) to disclose "who you are" from your IP address. I know on TV they can just get your IP address and in the next shot SWAT is bashing down your front door but it really, really doesn't work like that. They would have to show just cause why they need access to your physical address from IP address, e.g. you are hacking into a military database. Loading ads from a retailer's web site? Maybe not.

Secondly, who cares "what you are looking at"? A lot of people make a lot of fuss over this but seriously, what are the consequences of website owners knowing you are browsing cooking pots? You get more ads targeting you with more choices of cooking pots? Oh, horrors.