Latest / Sidekick's What Just Shipped / HubSpot email tracking consent: no yes, no opens | Shipped Oct 2026
Transcript
- Rob (AI host): Your email open counts are about to change for anyone who never said yes to tracking. Dana (AI host): HubSpot can now require consent before it tracks opens and clicks, one email address at a time. Rob (AI host): Hang on for the reporting math, because the rate works differently than most people expect. Narrator (AI voice): This is Sidekick's What Just Shipped, presented by Sidekick Strategies. Narrator (AI voice): Your hosts, Rob and Dana, are AI. Narrator (AI voice): The voices are synthetic, the research is real, and humans check every claim before it reaches you. Rob (AI host): Rob here, with Dana, and yes, we're both AI hosts. Rob (AI host): Today: consent-based email tracking, from HubSpot's help article, updated at the end of October. Dana (AI host): New seat for me: today I'm playing a hypothetical marketing ops manager whose list includes customers in France and Italy. Rob (AI host): Good seat. Rob (AI host): Why it matters: regulators in France and Italy now generally expect prior consent before an email tracking pixel fires. Rob (AI host): HubSpot tracks opens with exactly that kind of pixel, and clicks with rewritten tracking links. Dana (AI host): So what does the feature do, plainly? Rob (AI host): When it's on, HubSpot checks each recipient's email tracking consent status before tracking opens and clicks. Rob (AI host): Consent given means tracked. Declined, or nothing recorded, means not tracked. Dana (AI host): Which accounts can use it? Rob (AI host): HubSpot lists all products and plans, with extra subscriptions for certain features. Rob (AI host): It's a beta, and a Super Admin opts the account in. Dana (AI host): And who can turn it on? Rob (AI host): HubSpot requires Super Admin permissions, or one other admin role it lists, to turn it on and to set consent statuses. Dana (AI host): Is the status stored on the contact? Rob (AI host): On the email address. Rob (AI host): If a contact has a second address, HubSpot checks whichever address actually receives the email. Dana (AI host): Huh. That's a real modeling detail. Rob (AI host): And each status carries a timestamp, a source, and the method used to collect it. Dana (AI host): Walk me through the statuses. Rob (AI host): Not specified is the default, and it isn't tracked. Consent declined, not tracked. Consent given, tracked. Rob (AI host): Consent not applicable is tracked too, for recipients who don't need prior consent based on location or other circumstances. Dana (AI host): So a brand new address starts untracked. Rob (AI host): Yes, which is why HubSpot recommends setting statuses for existing recipients before you switch it on. Dana (AI host): Which emails does it cover? Rob (AI host): Marketing emails, including workflow and blog emails. One-to-one emails from the CRM or the sales extension. Rob (AI host): Sequences, help desk and inbox emails, and transactional emails, including the single-send API. Dana (AI host): Any exception? Rob (AI host): Transactional email sent through the SMTP API isn't supported yet. Dana (AI host): Can I limit it to France and Italy? Rob (AI host): No. Rob (AI host): HubSpot says the setting applies to all recipients in your CRM, and it cannot be limited to specific countries or regions. Dana (AI host): Bigger switch than I pictured. Rob (AI host): Here's the setup. Settings, then Privacy and Consent. Rob (AI host): Turn on Require consent to track emails, click I understand, then turn on marketing and one-to-one email tracking. Dana (AI host): And to see one contact's status? Rob (AI host): Add the Email tracking consent card to the contact view. Rob (AI host): That's in Objects, then Contacts, then Record Customization, on the About tab. Dana (AI host): How do I set statuses in bulk? Rob (AI host): From the contacts index page or a segment, select contacts, click More, then Edit email tracking consent. Rob (AI host): You pick the status and which email addresses to update. Dana (AI host): And with automation? Rob (AI host): Contact-based workflows have an action called Manage email tracking consent. Rob (AI host): Workflows need a Professional or Enterprise subscription. Dana (AI host): Can a form collect it? Rob (AI host): Not directly. Rob (AI host): Add a custom property to the form, then use a workflow to update the status when someone submits. Dana (AI host): And our old platform's consent data? Rob (AI host): Statuses cannot be imported directly, and they cannot be updated through the API. Rob (AI host): Import into a custom property, then update in bulk or with a workflow. Dana (AI host): Can I see who changed a status later? Rob (AI host): Yes. Rob (AI host): On the card, click View and manage statuses, then the History tab shows who updated it, the update source, and the date. Dana (AI host): What if someone withdraws consent after the email goes out? Rob (AI host): HubSpot uses the current status at the moment of the open or click, so a later open isn't recorded. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Hey, it's George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Full honesty, this is my AI voice clone, made with my permission. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): A consent switch reaches into workflows, segments, and reports that somebody built years ago. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Sidekick's HubSpot portal audit reviews every workflow, property, automation, pipeline, report, and integration, then ranks what to fix by business impact. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Start with what's safe to touch. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): You'll find HubSpot Portal Audit on the services page at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Dana (AI host): Now the contact's side. How does someone opt in or out? Rob (AI host): A checkbox is added to the subscription preferences page. Rob (AI host): It reads: Can we track opens and clicks on future emails sent to this email address. Dana (AI host): Does everyone see it? Rob (AI host): It's hidden for Consent not applicable. Rob (AI host): And it isn't part of the default unsubscribe settings for one-to-one emails. Dana (AI host): What about brands? Rob (AI host): Consent applies across brands. You can't set a separate status per brand. Dana (AI host): Okay, the reporting math. Our research says open rates will drop. Rob (AI host): HubSpot calculates it differently. Rob (AI host): Marketing email open and click rates use only emails that were both delivered and tracked. Rob (AI host): Untracked deliveries are left out, and the Recipients tab shows tracked and untracked counts. Dana (AI host): So fewer opens get counted, but the untracked mail doesn't drag the rate down. Rob (AI host): That's how we read it. And sequence performance calculations don't change. Dana (AI host): What about workflows that trigger on opens? Rob (AI host): For Not specified or declined addresses, HubSpot doesn't collect open or click events, and that can affect graymail suppression, workflows, and segments. Dana (AI host): Does opting out erase old data? Rob (AI host): No. Earlier open and click data stays. Only future tracking stops. Dana (AI host): Could it track anonymously instead? Rob (AI host): Not in this beta. Dana (AI host): Skeptic question. Dana (AI host): Our research named the workflow step the Email Tracking Consent action, and said setup needs a Super Admin. Rob (AI host): HubSpot's article names it Manage email tracking consent, and it lists more than one admin role for setup. Dana (AI host): Here's what we couldn't confirm: any fine amounts, or which countries come next. Dana (AI host): HubSpot says its list of regions isn't exhaustive, and its article isn't legal advice. Rob (AI host): So check with your legal team before you mark anyone Consent not applicable. Dana (AI host): Rollout plan, hypothetical marketing ops manager. Dana (AI host): Step one: list the workflows and segments that use opens or clicks. Rob (AI host): Step two: set statuses for existing recipients, using Consent not applicable only where your legal team agrees. Dana (AI host): Step three: add the contact card, then flip the consent setting on in Privacy and Consent. Rob (AI host): Step four: brief whoever reads the email reports, so a smaller open count doesn't cause panic. Dana (AI host): Ops manager's verdict: worth piloting this week, once statuses, the contact card, and that report briefing are ready. Rob (AI host): Consent first, then the tracking. Dana (AI host): Both HubSpot articles and our research are in the show notes, and there's more at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Rob (AI host): Thanks for opting in to this one. Dana (AI host): Set the statuses before the switch. Narrator (AI voice): Sidekick's What Just Shipped is presented by Sidekick Strategies, with AI hosts Rob and Dana and AI-generated music. Narrator (AI voice): We're independent, and not affiliated with HubSpot. Find our research at Sidekick Strategies dot com.