Difference between revisions of "Read Receipts"

Revision as of 02:09, 4 February 2022

A read receipt, or return receipt, is a notification, indicative of seen status, returned to the sender of a message once the receiver has opened said message. This software is nowadays used in Instant Messaging (IM), Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), but originally began with email tracking software. Email tracking technology was limited to monitoring delivery status before the introduction of “seen”-status tracking. Depending on the platform used and method that receipts are fetched, other robust forms of data points can be obtained using more modern code that track the receiver’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. Beyond the status of whether the message has been seen by the receiver, the notification returned to the sender may include embedded information like reception time, the time that the message has been opened, and location data indicating the receiver’s continent, country, state, city, or even rough coordinates within a multi-square-mile radius of where the message was opened. Dependent on the platforms used in exchanging read receipts, tracking isn’t considered to be perfectly accurate. Some products function better than others, especially with internal end-to-end encryption like Apple iMessage, but other software fails to scrape IPs and return the data successfully. History SMS trackers have been around for a long time, email trackers even longer. Informed delivery (2014) Technologies & How It Works - Scrapes an IP address SMS/MMS & Instant Message Tracking Email Tracking - Reads one-pixel image Reliability - The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)is an organization that develops and regulates protocols for securely packaging and transporting messages across the Internet. The IETF indicates the lack of reliability and high fluctuation rate of tracking software’s success in Message Disposition Notification RFC 3798.

“MDNs may be forged as easily as ordinary Internet electronic mail and whilst they can provide valuable information to the mail user, they cannot be relied upon as a guarantee that a message was or was not seen by the recipient. Even if MDNs are not actively forged, they may be lost in transit.”

o Sources: (RFC 3798, https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3798), (Use of Message Disposition Notifications, https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/b2b-integrator/5.2?topic=higher-use-message-disposition-notifications SMS/MMS & Instant Message Tracking

Products & Implementation Apple iMessage In October of 2011, Apple released iMessage. Along with the SMS/MMS texting platform, implemented and branded Read Receipts. Facebook Messenger Gmail Gmail Help: Request or return a read receipt Newton Mail

Superhuman

Legal - Are read receipts legally binding? “Read receipts aren't a reliable way to prove email delivery and obviously they don't constitute legal evidence. … Email Tracking: Read Receipts Are Not Reliable Proof To Prove Email Delivery. Relying on read receipts to prove email delivery or that your message has been read isn't recommended. In fact, Google advises not to rely on read receipts for certifying the delivery of an email.” o Sources: Email Tracking: Read Receipts Are Not Reliable Proof To Prove Email Delivery Cultural Effects Psychological Implications Emotional & Cognitive Engagement How Do Instant Messages Reduce Psychological Withdrawal Behaviors?—Mediation of Engagement and Moderation of Self-Control Psychological Manipulation • People killed themselves after being left on read • Jobs apps, being left on read became more common Privacy Concerns

Cross-Platform Exclusion