{"id":5936,"date":"2019-08-26T12:58:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T19:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/?p=5936"},"modified":"2020-05-23T01:22:37","modified_gmt":"2020-05-23T08:22:37","slug":"what-are-tracking-pixels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/careerkarma.com\/blog\/what-are-tracking-pixels\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Tracking Pixels and Why Are They Important?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What\u2019s a tracking pixel? It\u2019s just about as interesting as it sounds, and you\u2019ve probably loaded thousands of them (or more) this year alone. But are they a privacy concern? Tracking pixels themselves, despite their almost Orwellian name, are actually quite simple and relatively innocuous. It\u2019s what advertisers do with them that\u2019s controversial\u2014but there are a few things you can do about it. So, are they a serious threat to privacy? Not really, but it\u2019s still essential for everyone to be aware of them and what they do. Hopefully, we can shed some light on this common tracking tool and give you a better idea of how it works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tracking Pixels Explained<\/strong>
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Advertisers, online marketers use tracking pixels, and companies to collect data for targeted ads and site analysis. A tracking pixel is just that\u2014a pixel. It\u2019s a tiny 1×1 pixel embedded into emails, websites, and other forms of digital information, and it\u2019s almost always impossible to see. A tracking pixel is embedded by code (which contains a link) into the media. When a client opens an email and then views a website, their browser loads this pixel and the code. The pixel then registers the visit and sends information to the \u2018pixel server\u2019 through the link embedded into the code. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the tracking pixel is combined with JavaScript, it can begin to collect other data as well. These can harvest more sensitive information, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n