Open and click tracking

Courier records opens and clicks itself, separately from the delivery confirmation your provider sends back. That’s why a message can show OPENED before DELIVERED, or without it.

What each channel reports

Channel	Opened	Clicked	How Courier records it
Email	Yes, when open tracking is on	Yes, when click-through tracking is on	A tracking pixel for opens, a redirect on each link for clicks
Push	No	Yes	The Courier mobile SDK posts to the message’s `trackingUrl` when the user taps it
Inbox	Yes	Yes	The Courier client SDK reports opened and clicked events from the inbox
SMS	No	No	Delivery status only
Chat (Slack, Microsoft Teams, and others)	No	No	Delivery status only

A 0 in an Opened or Clicked column means “not measured”, not “nobody read it”, on any channel that can’t report that event.

Turn on email tracking

Open and click tracking for email are two workspace settings in :

Email-open tracking adds a tracking pixel to every email.
Click-through tracking rewrites every link in an email to pass through Courier’s redirect first.

Both apply to every environment in the workspace. Turning either one on or off is recorded in the . Courier adds the pixel after the email is rendered, so it works on templates built in Design Studio and on templates that use your own HTML.

Links must use absolute URLs. Courier doesn’t attach tracking to a relative URL: the email still sends, but the click doesn’t get counted.

Turn tracking off for one link

With click-through tracking on, you can still leave individual links untracked. Deep links into a mobile app are the usual case, since a redirect can stop the operating system from opening the app.

Design Studio
HTML
Elemental

Select the button, or the link inside a text block, and turn off tracking in its settings.

Add data-courier-link-tracking="false" to the <a> tag:

<a data-courier-link-tracking="false" href="https://example.com/app/orders/1234">Open in app</a>

Set disable_tracking to true on the , or on a link inside a :

{
  "type": "action",
  "content": "Open in app",
  "href": "https://example.com/app/orders/1234",
  "disable_tracking": true
}

Turn off open tracking for one send

Set tracking.open to false in the email channel override. The workspace setting stays as it is for every other send.

const { requestId } = await client.send.message({
  message: {
    to: { user_id: "user_123" },
    template: "nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40",
    channels: {
      email: {
        override: {
          tracking: { open: false },
        },
      },
    },
  },
});

response = client.send.message(
    message={
        "to": {"user_id": "user_123"},
        "template": "nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40",
        "channels": {
            "email": {
                "override": {
                    "tracking": {"open": False},
                },
            },
        },
    },
)

curl -X POST https://api.courier.com/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COURIER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "message": {
      "to": { "user_id": "user_123" },
      "template": "nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40",
      "channels": {
        "email": {
          "override": {
            "tracking": { "open": false }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }'

response = courier.send_.message(
  message: {
    to: { user_id: "user_123" },
    template: "nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40",
    channels: {
      email: {
        override: {
          tracking: { open: false }
        }
      }
    }
  }
)

response, err := client.Send.Message(context.TODO(), courier.SendMessageParams{
	Message: courier.SendMessageParamsMessage{
		To: courier.SendMessageParamsMessageToUnion{
			OfUserRecipient: &shared.UserRecipientParam{
				UserID: courier.String("user_123"),
			},
		},
		Template: courier.String("nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40"),
		Channels: shared.MessageChannelsParam{
			"email": shared.ChannelParam{
				Override: map[string]any{
					"tracking": map[string]any{"open": false},
				},
			},
		},
	},
})

SendMessageParams params = SendMessageParams.builder()
    .message(SendMessageParams.Message.builder()
        .to(UserRecipient.builder().userId("user_123").build())
        .template("nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40")
        .channels(MessageChannels.builder()
            .putAdditionalProperty("email", JsonValue.from(java.util.Map.of(
                "override", java.util.Map.of("tracking", java.util.Map.of("open", false)))))
            .build())
        .build())
    .build();
SendMessageResponse response = client.send().message(params);

$response = $client->send->message(
  message: [
    'to' => [
      'user_id' => 'user_123',
    ],
    'template' => 'nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40',
    'channels' => [
      'email' => [
        'override' => [
          'tracking' => ['open' => false],
        ],
      ],
    ],
  ],
);

SendMessageParams parameters = new()
{
    Message = new()
    {
        To = new UserRecipient { UserID = "user_123" },
        Template = "nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40",
        Channels = new Dictionary<string, Channel>
        {
            {
                "email",
                new Channel
                {
                    Override = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Dictionary<string, JsonElement>>(
                        """
                        { "tracking": { "open": false } }
                        """
                    ),
                }
            },
        },
    },
};

var response = await client.Send.Message(parameters);

courier send message \
  --api-key "$COURIER_API_KEY" \
  --message.to '{"user_id": "user_123"}' \
  --message.template nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40 \
  --message.channels '{"email": {"override": {"tracking": {"open": false}}}}'

With Courier MCP, send my nt_01kx4h2jdafq8bk9aftxak4b40 template to user_123 with email open tracking turned off.

The other email override fields are listed in .

Push tracking

Every push Courier sends carries a trackingUrl in its data. Posting an event to that URL updates the message:

DELIVERED when the push arrives on the device.
CLICKED when the user taps it.

The Courier mobile SDKs post both for you once your app is wired up. shows which part of your app reports each event on iOS and Android. If you handle notifications outside the SDK’s hooks, post the event yourself:

curl -X POST https://api.courier.com/e/123_channelTrackingId \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event":"CLICKED"}'

Inbox tracking

The Courier client SDKs report opened, read, and clicked events from the inbox as users interact with it, so inbox messages fill in their own engagement without any setup. When a template sends to both email and the inbox, opening the email marks the inbox message as read. This uses the email’s tracking pixel, so it needs open tracking on. Reading the inbox message doesn’t mark the email as opened.

Where tracked events show up

Where	What you see
	`OPENED` and `CLICKED` events on each message’s timeline
	`opened` and `clicked`: timestamps of the first open and the first click, in milliseconds since the Unix epoch
	A `message:updated` event each time the status changes to `OPENED` or `CLICKED`
	Open and click rates per template, journey, and broadcast
	`opened` and `clicked` counts as a time series

Every message keeps any metadata you sent with it, including utm (source, medium, campaign, term, content), tags, and trace_id. It comes back on the message and on every webhook event, so you can join engagement to your own campaign data.

Custom tracking domain

Tracked links go through Courier’s ct0.app domain by default. A custom tracking domain, such as tracking.acme-corp.com, puts your own domain in every link instead. Recipients see a domain they recognize, and some spam filters treat it more kindly than a shared tracking domain.

A custom tracking domain is available on the Business and Enterprise plans. Setup is done with Courier support.

Send Courier your subdomain

Email support the subdomain you want to use, for example tracking.acme-corp.com.

Add the DNS records

Courier sends you two records to add at your DNS provider:

A certificate validation record, so Courier can serve HTTPS on your subdomain.
A CNAME that points your subdomain at Courier’s tracking infrastructure:

tracking.acme-corp.com  CNAME  tracking.ct0.app

Wait for activation

Once the records propagate, Courier support turns the domain on for your workspace. From then on, every tracked link in every email uses it.

Verify

Send yourself an email with a link in it and hover over the link. It should point at your subdomain, not ct0.app.

Why open rates are unreliable

Open tracking depends on the pixel loading. Inbox security scanners and Apple Mail Privacy Protection load images automatically, which records an open before anyone reads the email, or when no one does. A scanner can even load the pixel on an email that later bounced. Email clients that block images, common in corporate mail, don’t load the pixel, so those opens go unrecorded.

Limits & behavior

Tracking is separate from delivery. DELIVERED comes from your provider. OPENED and CLICKED come from Courier. Either can arrive without the other.
Only the first open and first click are timestamped on the message. Later opens and clicks don’t change opened or clicked.
Push and inbox engagement comes from the SDKs. It’s reported regardless of the email tracking settings.
The tracking domain is workspace-wide. It applies to every tracked link in the workspace, across every template and tenant.

FAQ

Why are my open rates higher than expected?

Inbox scanners and Apple Mail Privacy Protection load the tracking pixel automatically, and Courier records that as an open. Weigh clicks more heavily when you judge engagement.

Why does a message show OPENED but not DELIVERED?

Opens come from Courier’s pixel and delivery comes from your provider, independently. Either the provider hasn’t confirmed delivery yet, or delivery tracking isn’t set up for it. See .

Why don't my SMS messages have an open rate?

A text message can’t carry a tracking pixel, so SMS reports delivery status but not opens or clicks.

Why aren't clicks on my push notifications showing up?

The Courier mobile SDK reports push clicks. If your app handles notifications without the SDK’s hooks, post CLICKED to the message’s trackingUrl yourself.

How do I stop Courier from rewriting a deep link?

Turn off tracking on that link: in Design Studio’s link settings, with data-courier-link-tracking="false" in HTML, or with disable_tracking in Elemental.

Do I need a custom tracking domain?

ct0.app works out of the box, with no custom domain required. A custom domain helps if you want your own brand in every link, or if your recipients’ filters are wary of shared tracking domains.

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Design

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Workspaces

Resources

Open and click tracking

What each channel reports

Turn on email tracking

Turn tracking off for one link

Turn off open tracking for one send

Push tracking

Inbox tracking

Where tracked events show up

Custom tracking domain

Why open rates are unreliable

Limits & behavior

FAQ

​What each channel reports

​Turn on email tracking

​Turn tracking off for one link

​Turn off open tracking for one send

​Push tracking

​Inbox tracking

​Where tracked events show up

​Custom tracking domain

​Why open rates are unreliable

​Limits & behavior

​FAQ

What each channel reports

Turn on email tracking

Turn tracking off for one link

Turn off open tracking for one send

Push tracking

Inbox tracking

Where tracked events show up

Custom tracking domain

Why open rates are unreliable

Limits & behavior

FAQ