WTF are tracking pixels?

Tracking pixels have been a digital marketing fixture for years. And yet they’ve largely stood in the shadow of the third-party cookie, despite their similar tracking capabilities.

Tracking pixels are effectively tiny, invisible images that can be embedded in web pages and emails and used to collect information, such as a device’s IP address, as covered in the video below. Earlier this year, ad security monitoring company Confiant discovered an ad tech company using tracking pixels as part of a fingerprinting ploy that co-opted IAB Europe’s Transparency and Consent Framework.

Imperceptible as tracking pixels may be, they have garnered the attention of companies like Apple and Mozilla. The former’s Mail Privacy Protection feature blocks tracking pixels from loading in emails, which has posed a threat to email marketers. Meanwhile, both Apple and Mozilla provide options in their web browsers to similarly block tracking pixels on web pages.

https://digiday.com/?p=474474

More in Marketing

Chasing U.S. growth, Tony’s Chocolonely focuses on a retail media and social blend

Premium chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely is focusing on retail media and paid social as it targets U.S. growth.

The year the memes took over reality – and marketing followed

Subcultures aren’t niche anymore — they’re the culture. And for marketers, that changes everything.

How to expand programmatic advertising up the funnel, with TripAdvisor’s Matteo Balzani

TripAdvisor marketing exec Matteo Balzani broke down the company’s plans for broadening its programmatic strategy during a live recording of the Digiday Podcast at the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit.