Email Read Receipts: good or bad? Oct29 '07
Michelle recently asked me if I could help her test email "read receipts" for a tutorial she is writing for work. She sent me an email, and once I verified that I opened it, she waited to see if she got a "read receipt" response sent back to her.
She didn't. And it's because I intentionally turn off the "send response to read receipts" feature in Outlook. In Outlook 2003, you can set this preference under Tools > E-mail Options > Tracking Options.
Other email clients allow this as well, but support is varied.
I leave this feature off because I think it's rude on the part of the sender to request this kind of information without asking. It's kind of like a sneaky way to spy on me. If you need to know if I've read an email, just simply come out and say it. You could include an extra line in the email, something like: "Please reply when you've read this."
I understand, though, that there is a legitimate business need for "read receipts," and even a broader level called "delivery receipts."
For example, if you're sending out highly classified documents or information via email, you'll need to know if it's been:
- Delivered.
- Acknowledged by the recipient (In other words, perhaps it got delivered, but moved to spam, so the recipient never saw it.)
However, since support for such receipts is varied by email client (for example, web email clients like Gmail do not have this feature), it's too risky to assume every recipient will have a "read receipt" feature turned on.
Your best bet is to include the "human touch," by requesting a reply upon acknowledgment.
An even better idea is to remove the document and important information from the email entirely, and put it into an application on the web where you can more easily track visitors (by authentication) to see who has logged in, downloaded the documents, etc. This is a more secure way of doing it, anyway.
I wouldn't trust the email "read" or "delivery" receipts.
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Interesting info, glad to see I'm not the only person who thinks it's a bit annoying when these things are used :-) ... Read more.
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Thank you for the tip on Outlook settings, and for the confirmation that I'm not the only person who finds it irritating when someone requests a re ... Read more.