Skip to content

emailrules.today

Topic

Consent and tracking

Permission to email, permission to measure, and why they are not the same thing.

Who should care. Anyone who collects emails or sends marketing across borders.

If you are new. Consent means a clear yes to marketing. Tracking opens can be a separate yes in some countries. Your email tool (ESP) stores the address; you still own whether the permission was real.

Common mistake. Assuming “they bought once” is enough forever, or treating open pixels like free data.

13 rules below · Glossary · Filter to your desk

YoursUpcomingUpdatedLegal · IT · EU

Italy requires consent for individual open tracking from 29 October 2026

Italy follows France: from 29 Oct 2026, tying an open to a named person needs — aggregate open counts do not.

Skip if Nobody on your list is in Italy.

SharedLegal · EU

EU marketing email needs prior consent, with one narrow customer exception

In the EU, marketing email needs a yes — is only for your own similar products after a sale, with at capture.

Skip if You only email outside the EU.

YoursUpdatedLegal · FR · EU

In France, tracking email opens needs its own consent

In France, agreeing to get your email is not the same as agreeing to be tracked with an .

Skip if Nobody on your list is in France.

SharedNew on siteLegal · US-CO · US

Colorado GPC stops sale and cross-site targeting, not ordinary email

In Colorado, a signal means stop sale and stop targeted advertising — not automatic newsletter deletion unless you designed that.

Skip if You are outside Colorado Privacy Act thresholds and do no sale or targeted advertising.

SharedUpdatedLegal · US-CA · US

California GPC opts out of sale and sharing, not marketing email

A browser signal is mainly “stop selling/sharing my data for ads,” not “delete me from the newsletter” by default.

Skip if You have no California consumers and no sale/share of personal information.

YoursUpdatedLegal · US-MD · US

Maryland restricts default profiling of under-18 users

In Maryland, default ad-style profiling of known under-18s is restricted — fix age capture and suppress abuse, do not panic-wipe every family account.

Skip if You have no under-18 users and no reason to know of any.

SharedLegal · CA

In Canada, commercial email needs provable express or statutory implied consent

Canada needs you can prove — not US-style “mail until they .”

Skip if You never send commercial email to Canada.

SharedNew on siteLegal · CA

In Canada, relationship implied consent expires and unsubscribes take ten business days

Canadian implied expires (about two years after a purchase, shorter for inquiries) — unsubscribes must complete within ten business days.

Skip if You only mail Canadians with current express .

SharedNew on siteLegal · UK

In the UK, marketing email to individuals needs consent or a complete soft opt-in

UK marketing email needs or a complete (sale, similar products, at capture and in every mail) — bought lists fail on arrival.

Skip if You never email individual subscribers in the UK.

YoursUpdatedLegal · DE · EU

In Germany, marketing email needs express consent or the four-part customer exception

Germany defaults to express for marketing email — B2B is not a free pass; the customer exception is four strict conditions.

Skip if You never send advertising email to Germany.

SharedNew on siteLegal · AU

In Australia, commercial email needs consent, identity and a working unsubscribe

Australia needs , clear identity, and a working actioned within five business days — fake “” promos get fined.

Skip if You have no Australian-link commercial messages.

YoursUpdatedLegal · EU · FR · DE

EU B2B email has no blanket legitimate-interest permission

There is no EU-wide “B2B legitimate interest” free pass — France may allow careful B2B; Germany still wants or the customer exception.

Skip if You only email consumers under clear , or never email the EU.

YoursNew on siteLegal · Global · US · EU

Transactional vs commercial email is classification, not a subject-line trick

Calling a promo “” in your does not make it transactional under the law.

Skip if You only send pure service messages with no promotional content, under clear account relationships.