What the badge actually means
The Opened badge on a report means one thing: a tracking pixel loaded in someone’s email client. That’s it. Not “they read it.” Not even “they saw it.” Just “their client requested a 1x1 image from our server.”
So when you look at the open rate on the monthly report, treat it as a vibe check, not a count. It’s directional. It tells you “this is roughly in the right ballpark” or “something’s off.” It does not tell you how many humans engaged with the report.
Why the number lies in both directions
Apple Mail inflates it. Since 2021, Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection pre-fetches images for anyone on iCloud Mail and the default iOS Mail app, whether the recipient opened the email or not. If your client list skews Apple, your open rate looks suspiciously healthy.
Image-blockers under-report it. Outlook on desktop, Gmail with images off, anyone on a strict corporate firewall, anyone reading in plain-text mode: pixel never loads, badge stays at Delivered, even though they read every word.
Forwarding muddles it. Your client forwards the report to their boss, boss opens it, pixel fires under your client’s send. One open, two readers — or no open and three readers, depending on the chain.
How to read it honestly
- Compare opens against your own baseline, not industry benchmarks. If your reports usually sit around 60% and one drops to 20%, that’s a signal. The absolute number isn’t.
- There’s no click metric to fall back on. SendTidings deliberately doesn’t rewrite report links for click tracking — it keeps them clean and real — so opens are the only in-email signal you get. Weigh them as the soft one they are.
- Don’t pitch open rates to clients as a KPI. It’ll bite you.
- If the
Openedbadge isn’t appearing at all, that’s a setup issue, not a tracking-honesty issue; see the link below.
The reports are designed to live in your client’s inbox quietly. The open rate is a rough pulse, not a pulse oximeter.
See also: Why the Opened badge hasn’t appeared yet