Images not showing in webmail messages: remote content, privacy and when to allow it

E-mail·· 56 views· 3 min read

The short answer: by default, webmail does not load images that come from outside the message (from an address on the internet). It is not a fault: it protects your privacy, because a remote image tells the sender that you opened the message, when and from where. A notice above the message offers to allow them. You can allow them once, always allow them for that sender, or change the rule in settings.

Why images are blocked

An e-mail can carry two kinds of image. Attached ones (inside the message) always show. Remote ones are downloaded from a server when you open the message, and that request is what lets senders count opens and confirm your address is read. Newsletters and spam almost always use remote images. More on this in read receipts and tracking pixels.

Allowing the images

Option When to use it
Allow for this message only A message from a sender you know but who rarely writes.
Always allow from this sender Suppliers, banks and newsletters you signed up for. The sender joins your trusted senders list.
Change the general rule Under Settings, Preferences, Displaying Messages: never, only from your contacts, from trusted senders, or always.
The rule that balances best: allow remote resources from trusted senders (or from your contacts). Mail from people you know shows in full; mail from strangers does not.
Never allow images in a suspicious message, spam, or anything asking for passwords or payments. Loading the images tells the scammer the address is live. See how to recognise phishing.

And when it is your message that arrives without images?

Your customers may have images blocked too. So a message must read well without them: real text instead of a picture of text, and a signature that works even without the logo. The details are in building an HTML e-mail that displays everywhere and signatures.

Images still missing after you allow them? Open a ticket and tell us which sender the message is from.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Read receipts and tracking pixels in e-mail: what they tell you and what they do not

How to recognise a phishing e-mail or message, and what to do if you clicked

Webmail settings worth changing: time zone, reply style, HTML and refresh

Building an HTML e-mail that displays everywhere: width, images and dark mode

Adding a signature to your e-mails: webmail, computer and phone

The webmail address book: collected addresses, groups and wrong autocomplete suggestions

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