This post will walk you through activating an iOS 15 privacy feature that prevents emails from tracking your device. Read on to learn how to set up and use Mail Privacy Protection on iPhone 13 in iOS 15.2.1.
Modern iOS devices including the latest iPhone 13 series are already packed with more privacy features. And Mail Privacy Protection is among them. If you’re wondering what this feature is for and how it exactly works on the new iPhone 13, then you might as well read further for more information.
Protect Mail Activity in iOS 15
Getting unsolicited emails on your phone is inevitable nowadays as more and more marketing platforms are created to gather more audience and potential clients. But the sad truth is that many of these unsolicited emails are specifically designed and sent to know where you were at the time you open the emails. This is by far one of the widespread tracking methods employed by third-party marketing platforms. And iPhone users are among the potential victims.
Thankfully, leading smartphone manufacturers are also doing their part in retort to such illicit online tricks. And thus Apple has rolled out major updates containing its very own Mail Privacy Protection tool.
First announced during the WWDC 2021 keynote, Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection is one of the latest privacy features on an iPhone. It works by barring potential email trackers from acquiring your information including your IP address through an email.
When enabled, this feature hides your IP address and loads images and content in a private manner. All remote contents downloaded by Mail are routed through multiple proxy servers while applying a generated IP address for your device. This therefore prevents email senders from identifying your IP address. What they get instead is only generic information about your online activities.
Mail Privacy Protection Setup Wizard in iOS 15
When you open the Mail application on your iPhone for the first time in iOS 15, you’ll be asked whether you would want to turn on Mail Privacy Protection. If you opted not to, then you should consider turning it on the Mail app settings to hinder any sort of web trackers from gathering information through emails.
If you’re new to the iOS platform and need some input on how to get this done on the new iPhone 13 device, I’ve mapped out a quick walkthrough as follows.
Easy Steps to Set Up and Use Mail Privacy Protection on iPhone 13
The following steps are also applicable when activating the Mail Privacy Protection feature on other iPhones that are running on the same iOS version with that of the iPhone 13 series.
However, there may be some slight distinction on every device’s interface given that actual screens and menu items vary between device models and wireless service providers.
By default, Mail Privacy Protection is disabled unless you enable it the first time you launch the Mail app in iOS 15.
To manually enable this feature, simply access the Mail app settings menu on your iPhone 13 and carry out these steps to protect mail activity on your device.
Step 1: Open the Settings app by tapping on the Settings icon from the Home screen.
Step 2: While on the main Settings app menu, scroll down and then tap Mail. The iOS Mail settings menu opens next.
Step 3: Scroll down to the Messages section and then tap Privacy Protection.
Step 4: Finally, toggle to turn the Protect Mail Activity switch ON. When the switch turns green, the feature is enabled.
If the Protect Mail Activity is turned off, you can turn on the options to Hide IP address and Block All Remote Content individually instead.
What happens when Mail Privacy Protection is enabled?
Most tracking emails are facilitated by remote images. These images typically load when viewing an email. Some of these images are even schemed with invisible tracking pixels. Once you open any of the messages containing tracking pixels in your email client, the code embedded in these invisible pixels is silently sent. This code identifies certain type of information including your IP address. The identified information will then be sent back to the sender.
As a result, the sender will be able to identify your IP address, track your mail or online activity and may likely be able to access your location and gather information through that IP address.
Preventing all these from happening only requires a single tap on the Mail Privacy Protection switch to make it green and active.
By then, your IP address will be hidden and remote contents are loaded privately in the background even when the message is not open. Keeping this feature on will make it difficult for senders or any potential hacker to track and follow your Mail activity. All these things happen in the background.
And that’s all about activating the iPhone 13 Mail Privacy Protection feature in iOS 15.2.1.
Please keep posted for more comprehensive iOS tutorials and troubleshooting guides on this site. Or you can check out this YouTube channel to view more comprehensive tutorial and troubleshooting videos including recent iOS devices.