You may have an administrator that administers your Google account if you use it with the company, organization, or school. This person will look after those Google devices or services. Besides several benefits, an administrator put a read receipt on Gmail. So, it may recognize when the email got opened at the receiver’s side using this feature.
Read Receipt
Putting a read receipt on Gmail is simple, but it works only for the Google Workspace Administrators. As an administrator, you must only turn the ‘Request read receipt’ on after clicking on ‘More Options’ while composing an email.
How To Put A Read Receipt On Gmail?
Initial Steps
You must be an administrator of a Google Workspace and remember that the ‘read receipt’ feature works only for school and work Gmail accounts. To get ready to use the feature, log in as an administrator.
The Google Workspace Core Services from the Google apps will come to your rescue. Then, click on the ‘Gmail’ icon. Under ‘Settings,’ you may decide whether to use this feature in the case of all recipients, selected recipients, or no recipients.
Actual Steps
It was only about the initial setup. The following steps will allow you to put a read receipt on Gmail:
- Start composing an email after clicking on ‘Compose Email.’
- You will see three dots at the right bottom of the ‘Compose Email’ window. They refer to ‘More Options.’ Click on those three dots and select the ‘Request read receipt’ option.
- Finally, send your email.
Declining To Send Read Receipts
The receiver must also enable ‘Return read receipts.’ Accordingly, you will get notified when the receiver opens your email. The receiver must also be an administrator of a Google Workspace Account because it does not work on standard accounts. In the former case, the receiver can also turn the read receipts option off through outlook.
Turning Read Receipts Off Through Gmail
The receiver must go to the ‘Settings’ as the sender went in the previous section. Further, it must select an appropriate option to not allow the sending of email read receipts. The other two options allow you to send read receipts to selective email addresses or none.
Turning Read Receipts Off Through Outlook
The receiver must begin by going to Outlook Options under the file menu. Click on ‘Mail’ and scroll down. Under the ‘Tracking’ section, select the appropriate option to not send a read receipt at all.
Issues With ‘Read Receipt’ On Gmail
The following are the issues with a read receipt on Gmail:
- This feature works only for Google Workspace accounts for work and schools, and not for the standard Gmail accounts. Similarly, the administrator cannot enjoy this feature while sending an email to a group of recipients. It works only with ‘To’ and ‘CC.’
- The receipt may automatically get sent, even if the recipient does not open it if it uses IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol) or POP (Post Office Protocol).
- It works with Thunderbird and Outlook, but not with all service providers.
- The read receipt may not get sent if the recipient uses Gmail on mobile but has no IMAP system. So, the effectiveness of ‘Read Receipt’ depends on the service used by the recipient to open the email.
- It also depends on whether the recipient wants to send a red receipt because the recipient has a right to say no.
Substitutes To ‘Request Read Receipt’ In Gmail
The following are some Google Chrome extensions that act as substitutes to the ‘Read Receipt’ in Gmail:
Right Inbox
After downloading this extension in Google, an ‘eye’ icon will appear at the bottom of the ‘New Message’ window. This window appears when you want to send an email. You may track clicks, opens, or both. It also tells where the email got opened, how many times it got opened, and how many devices it got opened.
Mailtrack
You may track as many emails as you want. Mailtrack sends real-time notifications for how many times and when the email got opened. The same is also in the case of PDF documents. You will also get to know if someone clicks on the links in the email you sent.
Gmelius
It claims to make your Gmail account into a collaborative inbox. However, it provides a 14-day free trial and asks you to choose a plan afterward. This extension also tells who opened the email sent by you and how many times.
Conclusion
As a Google Workspace Administrator, you must turn the ‘Request read receipts’ options on before sending your email. The recipient must also be an administrator and turn the ‘Return read receipts’ option on at their side. However, this facility may not always be reliable and the recipient has the right to refuse to send the read receipt. So, you may look for some Google Chrome extensions like Mailtrack, Gmelius, Right Inbox, and more.