How can I tell if an email has been read?

Additionally, in the "good old days", you could not (and still cannot) tell if a recipient read your snail mail letter. You can pay for a receipt/signature confirmation, but that does not mean that they read it - it is only proof that it was delivered (used with legal proceedings mostly). Once you send a letter (or email), it is no longer yours to decide what can be done with it - it is the recipient's property and decision.

Call the recipient and ask them if they read the email. Use an email client that allows read receipts, but know beforehand that whether or not a receipt is returned is controlled by the recipient. So even if you use an email client that allows read receipt requests you still won't know if the recipient read the email unless they choose to send you the receipt. Most email clients and recipients do not allow read receipts because it is a way for scam artists/phishers to determine if you received their phish/scam.

I occasionally get emails that pop up a button to confirm receipt. I can click that and the sender is happy. However, that doesn't mean I've read it. Except to confirm you've sent your email to a live address (and not necessarily even to whom you intended), it's a pretty useless tool.

Joanna ~ On a related note:

Email tracking cold war!

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