Event tracking
How Sendra tracks email opens, clicks, bounces, and complaints.
Sendra automatically tracks email events to give you insight into how your campaigns perform and how contacts interact with your emails.
Event types
| Event | How it's tracked | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open | Transparent 1x1 tracking pixel | Subject to accuracy limitations |
| Click | Links rewritten to pass through Sendra's tracking server | Records which link was clicked |
| Bounce | SES notification via SNS webhook | Hard bounces suppress the contact |
| Complaint | SES notification via SNS webhook | Contact is suppressed |
| Unsubscribe | Preference center interaction | Contact is marked as unsubscribed |
How tracking works
Opens
When a campaign is sent, Sendra inserts a unique tracking pixel for each recipient. When the pixel is loaded by the email client, an open event is recorded and attributed to the specific contact and campaign.
Clicks
Every link in the email is rewritten to route through Sendra's tracking server. When a recipient clicks a link:
- The request hits Sendra's server
- The click is recorded (contact, campaign, original URL)
- The recipient is redirected to the original URL
This happens in milliseconds — recipients don't notice any delay.
Bounces and complaints
Sendra configures an SNS webhook with AWS SES. When SES encounters a bounce or complaint:
- SES publishes a notification to SNS
- SNS forwards it to Sendra's webhook endpoint
- Sendra processes the notification and updates the contact
Disabling tracking
You can disable open tracking, click tracking, or both per campaign in the campaign settings. When disabled, Sendra sends the email without tracking pixels or link rewriting.
Privacy considerations
Tracking is a standard practice in email marketing, but consider your audience:
- Some recipients are privacy-conscious and may prefer untracked emails
- GDPR requires informing recipients about tracking in your privacy policy
- Sendra's preference center respects unsubscribe requests immediately