How to remove tracking pixels in Gmail
Gmail routes remote images through Google's proxy, which can mask your browser's raw IP. Google may fetch and cache a remote image server-side before Chrome later requests a supported Gmail proxy URL. After you opt into mail.google.com, Mailshade uses Chrome's declarativeNetRequest to cancel receiver-side browser requests that match its reviewed tracker-pixel endpoint catalog, including supported Gmail proxy URL forms. This browser-side result does not establish whether Google fetched the remote image earlier. Mailshade's local DOM scan separately detects pixels and supported click-tracking redirect patterns; for a recognized link, you choose the direct destination or original URL. A local dashboard records detected tracker occurrences.
What Gmail's image proxy changes
Google can fetch remote images through its own infrastructure and serve cached content to the browser, reducing direct exposure of the browser's network address. A later receiver-side Chrome cancellation does not establish whether Google's server-side fetch already occurred.
Blocking reviewed tracker endpoints in Gmail
- Install Mailshade and opt into Gmail.
- Open Gmail at mail.google.com; the content script activates after permission is granted.
- Open a controlled test message; browser requests matching reviewed tracker-pixel endpoints, including supported Gmail proxy URL forms, are cancelled via DNR.
- Check the red-eye overlay for the tracker endpoint detected by the separate DOM scan.
Keep non-matching images
Mailshade targets reviewed tracker-pixel endpoints rather than disabling all images. Non-matching images can continue to load.
See what the local scan detected
Detected tracker occurrences are recorded in local IndexedDB and charted per sender. This history reports local detections; it is not by itself proof of a network cancellation or a sender-side outcome.
FAQ
What does Gmail's image proxy do?
Google can fetch remote images through its own infrastructure and serve cached content to the browser, reducing direct exposure of the browser's network address. That server-side fetch can occur before a receiver-side Chrome request is evaluated.
Do I have to turn off images in Gmail to stop tracking?
Mailshade uses declarativeNetRequest to target reviewed tracker-pixel endpoints, including supported Gmail proxy URL forms, while non-matching images can continue to load.
Does this work in the Gmail mobile app?
Mailshade is a Chrome MV3 extension for the Gmail web client at mail.google.com. It does not run inside the native mobile app, which does not support browser extensions.
What does Mailshade's Gmail cancellation prove?
It proves that the tested receiver-side Chrome request matching a reviewed endpoint was cancelled. It does not prove that Google had not fetched or cached the remote image earlier, and it does not establish every sender-side outcome.
How much does Mailshade cost for Gmail?
Core protection remains free after a 14-day Pro trial. Paid Pro starts at $3.99 per month or $19 one-time for Founders Lifetime. Mailshade source code is published under AGPL-3.0-or-later at mailshade.org/source/.