How to block click-tracking links
Open-tracking gets the attention, but click-tracking is the other half: senders rewrite the links in an email so each one routes through their own server first, logging which link you clicked and when, before redirecting you to the real page. You see the destination eventually, but the detour has already reported the click. Blocking the open pixel does nothing about this — it is a separate mechanism. Mailshade handles both: alongside cancelling tracking pixels via declarativeNetRequest, it unwraps click-tracking redirect links so that clicking a URL in an email goes straight to the real destination without phoning home to the sender's tracker. It does this across Gmail, Outlook, Office 365, Superhuman, Yahoo Mail and ProtonMail. This guide explains how redirect tracking works, how to spot it, and how unwrapping stops it.
How click-tracking works
Instead of linking directly to example.com, the email links to track.sender.com/abc123 which records the click and then 302-redirects you to example.com. The log entry — which recipient, which link, what time — is created before you ever reach the page.
How to spot a tracked link
- Hover a link and the visible URL is a tracking domain, not the brand's site.
- The path is an opaque token rather than a readable page path.
How Mailshade unwraps them
Mailshade detects known click-tracking redirect patterns and rewrites the link to its true destination, so the click goes directly there. The sender's redirect server is never contacted, so the click is not logged.
Why this matters with open-blocking
Blocking the open pixel hides that you read the email; unwrapping links hides what you did next. Together they close both tracking channels — most tools address only the first.
FAQ
Is click-tracking different from open-tracking?
Yes. Open-tracking uses a pixel that fires when you read the email; click-tracking uses redirect links that fire when you click. They are separate, so blocking one does not stop the other — Mailshade handles both.
How does Mailshade stop click-tracking?
It detects known click-tracking redirect links and unwraps them to their real destination, so clicking goes straight there. The sender's redirect server is never contacted, so the click is not recorded.
Will unwrapping links break where they go?
No. Unwrapping resolves the link to the same final destination the sender intended, just without the tracking detour. You land on the correct page, only without the click being logged.
Does click-link unwrapping work outside Gmail?
Yes. Mailshade unwraps click-tracking links across Gmail, Outlook, Office 365, Superhuman, Yahoo Mail and ProtonMail, the same six clients where it blocks open-tracking pixels.
How much does Mailshade cost?
Paid plans start at $3.99 per month or $19 one-time for the Founders Lifetime tier. Pricing is at mailshade.org and the source is open under AGPL-3.0.