How to segment based on open/click behavior after MPP?
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Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) basically broke open tracking in 2021. Apple Mail started pre-fetching images, which means it looks like every email got opened whether the person actually read it or not. This hits around 50 to 60 percent of your list depending on your audience. So if you've been relying on open rates to build segments, you're working with dirty data.
The fix: shift your segmentation from opens to actions that mean something. Clicks still work. Purchase history works. Website visits from email links work. If your email platform can identify which device opened the email, you can still trust non-Apple opens. Or use engagement scoring that combines multiple signals instead of leaning on opens alone.
Here's the practical thing: treat clicks like currency now. Someone who clicks a link actually did something. Compare your click rate before and after MPP hit your list. You'll probably see a real drop, which is actually good news. It means you can now build segments on genuine intent instead of ghosts. A click today matters more than an open ever did.
If you're still building segments on opens alone, start testing click-based segmentation this week. Create one segment of people who've clicked in the last 30 days and send to them more frequently. Watch what happens to your unsubscribe rate and deliverability. That'll show you the real difference.
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