EOA News Archives - Email on Acid https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/category/eoa-news/ Thu, 20 Feb 2025 05:49:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://www.emailonacid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/cropped-eoa-favicon-32x32.png EOA News Archives - Email on Acid https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/category/eoa-news/ 32 32 What is Email on Acid and What are the Alternatives? https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/email-on-acid-alternatives/ Tue, 23 Apr 2024 20:03:27 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=26066 Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? If you want an Email on Acid alternative, you’re here for one of two reasons: You probably realize you’re visiting the Email on Acid blog right now. And you may assume we’ll be biased… that you won’t get an honest comparison of similar tools. That’s understandable. If […]

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Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? If you want an Email on Acid alternative, you’re here for one of two reasons:

  1. You’re searching for email testing tools and want to compare your options.
  2. You’re unsatisfied with Email on Acid for some reason, and you need an alternative.

You probably realize you’re visiting the Email on Acid blog right now. And you may assume we’ll be biased… that you won’t get an honest comparison of similar tools. That’s understandable.

If you’re in the first group, we promise to do our best to give you a straightforward explanation of these different platforms and services. If you’re in the second group, the least you can do is hear us out before you cancel. Right?

What is Email on Acid?

Before we explore the alternatives, it might help you to know exactly what Sinch Email on Acid does and why you’d want to use (or keep) it in the first place.

We built this platform to help senders with email quality assurance (QA). For most businesses, the email channel is very important for communication, marketing, and the overall customer experience. Senders need each message and every campaign to look its best and function as expected after arriving in subscribers’ inboxes.

However, achieving email perfection is much easier said than done. One of the biggest challenges is that different email clients have varied levels of support for HTML and CSS. They also use their own email rendering engines, which means the way a campaign looks in Gmail or Yahoo Mail could be very different in Outlook or Apple Mail.

What are email previews?

A key feature of our platform is the Email Preview engine, which shows you how an HTML email campaign renders on more than 100 clients, live devices, and mobile operating systems. This form of email testing happens before you hit send so you can troubleshoot and fix problems instead of finding out later that you sent a broken email to thousands of people.

Our email previews are screenshots that show users exactly how their campaigns are rendered in different scenarios. It could be Apple Mail on an iPhone 13 in dark mode or on a Pixel 5 in Gmail running Android 13 (just to name a couple). You send a test email, and we send you back a collection of screenshots for review. Check out this sample test result to see it for yourself.

This may sound simple and straightforward. But keeping things running isn’t as easy as you think – just ask our product team and software engineers. That’s why there really aren’t many comparable Email on Acid alternatives out there.

Some teams conduct manual email marketing QA, which means they send test emails to colleagues for review. While that’s better than nothing, it still leaves a lot of room for inaccuracy and human error.

Email on Acid features and benefits

You could also describe Email on Acid as an automated email marketing checklist. That’s because the benefits go beyond previews. If you’re currently using our software for previews only, there may be some tools you can start taking advantage of.

What else can Email on Acid do?

  1. Inbox Display: Optimize your subject lines, preview text, and sender name to improve open rates and ensure visibility on mobile devices.
  2. Accessibility checks: Add image alt text, check color contrast, and optimize your email for screen readers. This ensures every subscriber can easily engage with what you send.
  3. Deliverability checks: Check your IP address against major blocklists and spam filters before you hit send. This helps you avoid inbox placement issues that drastically reduce email ROI.
  4. Link Validation: Check every link in your email to be sure you never send subscribers to a 404. Replace broken links in real time. Plus, add missing UTM parameters for tracking visits to your website.
  5. Image Validation: Optimize images and graphics for the email inbox. This feature helps improve load time and lets you modify animated GIFs for Outlook.
  6. Spell Check: Make a final check for any typos and spelling errors before your campaign launches. This feature includes a profanity filter to help protect your brand reputation. We’ll check alt text and preview text for mistakes too.
  7. Edit email code: When you notice a rendering issue in an email preview, you don’t have to leave the platform to fix it. Troubleshoot and adjust code without going back and forth between your ESP and testing platform.
  8. Email Analytics: Go beyond the basic email metrics to gain a deeper understanding of your contact list. Our advanced analytics feature insightful engagement data such as Read, Glance, Delete rates. Plus, see geolocations, get heatmaps, and find out which clients your subscribers are using to view your emails. You can even filter out prefetch opens to improve the accuracy of reporting.
  9. Collaboration: Team management features let stakeholders review, comment, and approve campaigns during the QA process. You can also customize user roles and permissions to control access.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of using Email on Acid is that we offer unlimited testing with every paid plan. That means you can test as much as needed and see as many email previews as you want. Unlimited testing is a valuable differentiator you won’t find with many of our alternatives.

Why finding an Email on Acid alternative is confusing

Question mark on options for email testing alternatives

If you research email testing alternatives on some of the popular software review and comparison sites, you might get a little mixed up. That’s because there are different types of email testing with specific purposes.

Not all these services mentioned on tech review websites offer email previews. In fact, most do not. Some are for email validation testing. Others are for email A/B testing, and still others may be for SMTP testing and spam testing.

Even reputable websites like Gartner as well as G2 seem to be missing the mark when comparing Email on Acid alternatives. You’ll find completely unrelated SaaS brands listed as potential options, including CRMs like Salesforce. That’s just plain confusing and inaccurate.

What Email on Acid is not

To help you figure out what you really need and decide whether you’re ready for Email on Acid or another option, here are a few things our platform does not do:

  • Email on Acid is not an email service provider (ESP). That means you don’t use it to send emails or manage your contact lists.
  • Email on Acid does not offer a WYSIWYG email builder. While there is an Email Editor in our platform that lets you code campaigns from scratch, it’s generally used for find-and-fix functionality. There is no drag-and-drop email editor for non-coders.
  • Email on Acid is not for address validation. Verifying email contacts and conducting list hygiene is not part of our current offering.
  • Email on Acid is not marketing automation. Even though we talk about “workflows” for email QA and help automate the process, our software is not used to build automated email workflows.
  • Email on Acid is not a complete deliverability solution. While we do offers spam testing and pre-send checks to ensure you’re not on a blocklist, there are other options that provide more comprehensive support for improved inbox placement.
  • Email on Acid does not test SMTP or automated email sequences. We streamline QA for email marketers rather than for software engineers who are integrating email into apps and testing email infrastructure.

10 Email on Acid alternatives: Pros and Cons

This list of options focuses only on software that provides similar services to Email on Acid. It’s also possible that you will find ESPs and CRMs that offer email client previews. In many cases, these providers are using an API to white label the feature. The previews in these platforms often come from Sinch Email on Acid or our top competitor.

1. Litmus

Litmus logo

Litmus is the other recognizable name in email pre-deployment testing. When you come across online discussions about testing HTML emails, both brands are often mentioned together.

Interestingly, there are some email marketing teams who choose to use both Email on Acid and Litmus. That tells you something about how important this process is.

While there are differences between our two platforms, their main purpose is similar. Litmus offers more advanced features like a way to centralize brand assets, a drag-and-drop visual editor, and email personalization tools.

Litmus is certainly the most expensive Email on Acid alternative. You’ll need to decide if the extras that come with Litmus are helpful. If you already have tools to design and personalize email campaigns, you may not want to pay for what you don’t need.

You’re probably smart enough not to fall for those product comparison pages that inaccurately spin things to make one brand look perfect and the other look horrible. But just in case you want to see them:

Litmus – Pros

Like Email on Acid, Litmus provides comprehensive email client previews. Although, our screenshots do sometimes deliver different results for the same clients and devices.

Litmus can also be used as a tool to build email campaigns. However, you’ll still need an ESP to send emails. And that platform you’re using may already have a sufficient email building solution.

The personalization features from Litmus could be a valuable way to increase email engagement, assuming you don’t already have an adequate solution for personalization.

Litmus – Cons

Besides a higher price tag, the biggest downside of Litmus is that you will not enjoy the benefit of unlimited testing. Paid plans from Litmus have a set number of monthly email previews. When you exceed the volume limit, you are charged for overages.

Here’s what a Reddit user had to say about receiving overages from Litmus:

“I just got notice that my usage of email previews far exceeds what the basic account structure allocates — which was news to me that it even counted it that way! I’m pinging you all here to get a better understanding of the best way to use Litmus as it is marketed, without incurring–quite frankly–insane overcharges.”

You don’t have to worry about that with Email on Acid (just sayin’).

2. Mailgun Optimize

Sinch Mailgun logo

Mailgun Optimize is a comprehensive deliverability suite. It includes email previews that are powered by Email on Acid’s technology.

Pairing email deliverability with email previews makes a lot of sense. The way an email renders is part of deliverability. Rendering is a bit like the grand finale of inbox placement. For example, if an important campaign reaches the inbox, but it’s unreadable on a popular email client like Outlook, it may as well land in spam. That’s because your subscribers won’t be able to engage with it. So, what’s the point?

While previews are an excellent feature of Mailgun Optimize, the platform excels at providing insights to improve inbox placement. That includes sender reputation monitoring, solutions for email validation, and inbox placement reports. Users can integrate with services like Google Postmaster Tools as well as Microsoft SNDS.

Mailgun Optimize – Pros

You don’t have to use Mailgun as your ESP to take advantage of Mailgun Optimize. So, if you are looking for a deliverability solution as well as email previews, this is a convenient option.

If you’re concerned about the 2024 sender requirements from Gmail and Yahoo Mail, this tool can even help you check to make sure email authentication protocols are working correctly while keeping tabs on your sender reputation with Gmail.

Mailgun Optimize – Cons

Like Litmus, Mailgun Optimize has limits to the number of monthly previews available to users. Unlike Litmus, Mailgun is much more transparent about overages – listing them on the pricing page.

While Mailgun Optimize has more robust deliverability tools than Email on Acid, it doesn’t provide the same solutions for email QA that are available within our automated Campaign Precheck workflow.

3. Everest from Validity

Everest logo on blue mountain background

Everest from Validity bills itself as an “email success platform” that focuses on deliverability and increased engagement. It includes some features that are similar to Mailgun Optimize. It does not, however, offer as much in the way of email client previews.

Once upon a time, Everest was known as the separate services ReturnPath and 250ok, which used Email on Acid’s preview engine. Then there was this whole lawsuit thing that we’re not at liberty to discuss on our blog.

Today, what Everest offers are Design Tests. The site suggests that this is more for seeing how your email campaigns are displayed on different screen sizes (desktop, smartphone, tablet).

Everest – Pros

An interesting aspect of the Everest platform is its Competitive Intelligence feature, which could help senders differentiate themselves in terms of things such as subject lines and send times.

It’s designed to support email performance through deliverability and engagement improvements, but it’s lacking in terms of previews for pre-send email testing.

Everest – Cons

Everest is much more limited when it comes to the breadth and depth of previews available for testing. It states it offers nearly 20 email client previews (or 70+ email applications) whereas Email on Acid and Litmus provide more than 100.Design tests from Everest are also limited based on the plan. You’ll get zero of these email tests at the lowest pricing tier.

4. Email Preview Services

Email Preview Services (EPS) is a SaaS company based in Ukraine. As the name suggests, previews are the main feature of this service.

EPS also has spam testing, provides some analytics, and has an HTML email editor for building or fixing campaigns.

Like Email on Acid and Litmus, this alternative sends its users screenshots from inside live inboxes to review for problems. However, the breadth and depth of clients and device previews available is considerably less than the leading options.

Email Preview Services – Pros

Like Email on Acid, EPS customers get unlimited email previews each month. If previews are all you need, this also provides a cheaper, yet less-comprehensive alternative. The site currently only lists around 50 clients. Missing, for example, are previews from devices running the latest Android operating system. As of this writing it’s also missing previews for the latest iPhones.

Because new versions of smartphones are popular with consumers, and mobile carriers push people toward regularly updating their phones, you’ll want to be sure you’re getting previews from the latest devices.

Email Preview Services – Cons

While checking out previews may be a crucial step in the email QA process, it usually comes at the very end – once all the other possible problems are addressed. What EPS users are missing is a full quality assurance solution for email marketing.

There are no accessibility checks, no inbox display previews for subject lines, no image or URL validation for graphics and links. It’s also missing collaboration features, which allow teams to comment and approve screenshots before a campaign launches.

5. Mailosaur

Mailosaur logo

Mailosaur is software for testing both email and SMS. The platform’s most robust capabilities involve testing automated email and SMS workflows.

While it does offer some solutions for marketers, its strength may be in serving software engineers and those who are programming applications. Mailosuaur provides features like a developer sandbox and integrations with other testing platforms, including Cypress, Playwright, and Selenium.

While Mailosaur talks up its email previews, it turns out this feature is only available as a “bolt-on,” which we think is a cool way of saying you have to pay extra for it.

Mailosaur – Pros

If you need a solution that provides email and SMS automated workflow testing, Mailosaur looks like a valid option. As an Email on Acid alternative, however, it’s not quite comparable. The platforms seem to serve different primary audiences, and email previews are not a core part of the Mailosaur product. It does provide other key pre-send testing features such as checking for broken links.

Mailosaur – Cons

As mentioned, email client previews are only available as an add-on to the Mailosaur product. There’s no clear information on the website about what those additional costs are. While it may be ideal for email automation QA, it lacks some important features for email marketing QA.

6. Parcel.io

Parcel logo

Parcel is an email design and development tool that’s become very popular with email geeks who write code. Our own Megan Boshuyzen uses Parcel to code campaigns and run a component-based email design system.

Users can see live previews of different screen sizes while they’re coding. They can also send test emails to get screenshots sent back from a wide selection of clients and devices. Parcel provides email previews on more than 80 clients and devices

Parcel – Pros

If you want to test and preview HTML email campaigns as you code them, Parcel makes that very convenient. It’s a great tool for email developers because it also allows you to build a library of reuseable components.

For the non-coders on your team, there’s also a visual editor and team management features for collaboration.

Parcel – Cons

Parcel’s Inbox Previews are an add-on to the platform that starts at $49 for 500 previews per month and provides a pay-as-you-go model for additional previews.

7. Mailtrap HTML Checker

mailtrap logo

Mailtrap is a similar solution to Mailosaur in that it claims to help dev teams test, send, and control email infrastructure from one place. Beyond that, the platform also offers an HTML email checker that looks for code compatibility among popular email clients.

In this Mailtrap blog post covering different email preview tools, the writer even lists the product as better for software engineers than marketers, separating Email on Acid and Litmus into the marketing tool category.

Mailtrap – Pros

The previews in Mailtrap’s solutions are an acceptable alternative for software engineers who need previews along with other types of email testing and QA for sending. It claims to provide the most email clients on the market, but does not provide a definitive number. Mailtrap may be a good way for email marketers and software engineers who are developing automated workflows to connect and collaborate.

Mailtrap – Cons

As they point out, while it does provide previews, Mailtrap isn’t necessarily a tool for email marketing teams. If your goal is to optimize newsletters and promotional email campaigns for different inboxes, you may end up with a more technical tool that is missing helpful features for marketers.

8. HTML Email Check

HTML email check logo

HTML Email Check is a platform that primarily keeps email developers in mind. The offerings are separated into validation features and utility tools. Validation services include things such as HTML and CSS validation as well as link and image validation.  It also lists features to validate accessibility and mobile responsiveness.

To be clear, this software does not include email validations, which verify the legitimacy of email contact data for improved list hygiene.

The utility tools include checks for dark mode and an HTML editor among others.

HTML Email Check – Pros

This is a tool that specifically targets people coding HTML emails, which is nice. It’s built to help email developers find and fix problems with their code based on known best practices, email client support, and potential issues. But it’s missing a key component that helps email developers overcome email client rendering inconsistencies.

HTML Email Check – Cons

If you’re looking for a service that delivers actual screenshot previews from the most popular email clients and devices, you won’t get that from HTML Email Check.

The Visual Editor and Visual Editor Inspector tools explicitly state they are for “non-client specific devices”. Take that to mean you’ll see how an email will appear on desktops, tablets, and mobile phones (screen sizes), but not from inside actual email inboxes.

Also, if you need a collaborative solution for an email marketing team, this tool is mainly useful to coders.

9. Inbox Pirates

Inbox Pirates logo

Inbox Pirates is a Chrome extension that aims to provide preview services with a click. What’s not so clear is how well it works for previews of HTML email campaigns. The demo on the site only shows someone using a plain text email sent from a Gmail account.

Inbox Pirates does say that it integrates with a few popular platforms like Mailchimp and Hubspot as well as SendinBlue and Apollo.io. The focus also seems to be on inbox display previews rather than how an HTML email looks once it is opened.

Inbox Pirates – Pros

Inbox Pirates previews include how a message appears in the notification bar/lockscreen of mobile phones. That’s an interesting feature since it’s often the first place a contact sees your subject line and preview text.

Based on the demo, the tool seems to be designed mainly for sales teams looking to preview cold emails.

Inbox Pirates – Cons

Inbox Pirates says it provides previews from 20+ email clients, which is far less than most other alternatives. According to the Chrome web store, as of this writing, the Inbox Pirates extension was last updated in October of 2022. New devices have been released since then.

Inbox Pirates does not provide unlimited previews. Its pricing structure is confusing. The Basic plan, for example, limits users to 4 previews/day or 10 previews/month. That makes it sound like you’d hit your limit in less than three days.

10. Testi@

Testi@ is another service that’s purely dedicated to email rendering previews. Like InboxPirates, it also offers a Chrome extension. The site indicates it has the ability to generate screenshots from more than 100 rendering scenarios on different clients, devices, and operating systems.

Testi@ offers a free version, but that includes previews for just two webmail clients. According to its FAQ page, they are Gmail and Yahoo Mail on a Chrome browser. In addition to the screenshots, you can also use Testi@ to send test emails to up to 15 addresses for manual review.

Testi@ – Pros

This is a cheaper alternative that offers a pay-as-you-go model instead of a subscription. Rather than auto-renewing, you can choose the number of users and months you want to use the service. This might be a good option for senders who choose to test their email templates occasionally rather than testing every campaign before they send. But there are risks that come with not testing every email every time. You’ll notice the price doubles with every month or user you add.

Testi@ – Cons

If email previews are all you want, this could work. But you’ll be missing many of the additional checks that can add value and help optimize emails for performance and deliverability. More advanced services will offer advice on how to fix issues with email code, and some will even make automatic adjustments. Testi@ is limited to generating previews.

Testi won’t tell you if your emails are meeting accessibility standards, for example. You also can’t use it to check your links (unless you do it manually), spell check email copy, or preview inbox display.

Free Email on Acid alternatives

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. There are some free email testing and preview tools available, but you’re basically going to get what you pay for.

PutsMail: This a free tool for manual email testing that Litmus acquired in 2014. PutsMail makes it easier to send test emails to up to 10 inboxes for review. You paste in email code and enter email addresses for sending tests. Access to actual previews/screenshots is locked, and you will be pressured to sign up for Litmus.

MailNinja: For the price of your contact info, MailNinja will send you a link to its free email preview tool. It lets you paste in code to see how it looks on mobile and desktop as well as with images on or off. It does not show you email previews from specific clients and devices or alert you about any problems to fix.

Keep in mind, many of the subscription and pay-as-you-go options above also offer a free version or free trials of the email testing platforms.

Got more questions? We can help.

There’s a lot to digest here, we know. If you have questions about how Email on Acid works or anything else related to our platform, don’t hesitate to send a message and contact us.

You can also request a custom demo to find out more about how your organization can take advantage of Email on Acid. If you’d rather check things out for yourself, take advantage of our 7-day free trial and give our tools a test drive.

If you’re a current user who’s feeling frustrated, we welcome your feedback and we’re here to help. Please get in touch with customer support. Live chat will likely get you the fastest response. You can also post questions or concerns about our product in our vendor channel on the Email Geeks Slack.

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New Year, New UI: Check Out Email on Acid’s Updated User Interface  https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/new-ui/ Wed, 24 Jan 2024 14:28:46 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=24609 Ahhhh the New Year, a time when we reinvent ourselves in hopes of a healthier, smarter, more enjoyable 365 days (366 this year). On average, a New Year’s resolution lasts just under four months. Not bad! But we can do better. At Sinch Email on Acid, our New Year’s resolution is here to stay. It’s […]

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Ahhhh the New Year, a time when we reinvent ourselves in hopes of a healthier, smarter, more enjoyable 365 days (366 this year). On average, a New Year’s resolution lasts just under four months. Not bad! But we can do better.

At Sinch Email on Acid, our New Year’s resolution is here to stay. It’s a brand-spanking new user interface (UI). That means you’ll enjoy a better user experience when you run email quality assurance (QA) with the industry-leading tools and applications you’ve come to love.

Log in now to find out for yourself or keep reading to see what you can expect.

What’s changing (and what’s not)

Don’t worry… The Email on Acid tools and applications you rely on to deliver your best are staying the same. From unlimited email testing to the full Campaign Precheck process, you’ll continue to enjoy your favorites without any changes.

So, what is new? Our team updated the look and feel of the application to make it simplified, streamlined, and more modern. We made these design decisions so that the email testing experience is easier for you, the user. Let’s take a quick look around and see some updates!

New Navigation

The redesigned sidebar navigation still showcases all your top tools and applications. The new look, however, is simplified and generally easier to navigate, prioritizing your favorite features first.

New sidebar navigation in Email on Acid

Email Previews

Like the sidebar navigation, the new email preview results screen is stripped down and streamlined. This helps you focus on how your designs and email code are rendering on more than 100 of the most popular clients and devices.

New UI for email preview results

Analytics

The updated analytics dashboard now features a tabbed experience as well as improved graphic visualizations. It’s easier than ever to uncover all the most important data so you can analyze campaign performance and optimize your email strategy.

Unlike other platforms, Email on Acid’s Analytics dashboard offers detailed engagement metrics (Read, Skim, Delete) and a breakdown of the email clients your list is using to view your campaigns.

This new UI is for you

All of us here at Sinch Email on Acid appreciate the people who use our tools to deliver email perfection. We had you in mind as we worked to design the ideal experience for email testing.

They say, “less is more,” and that might be how you’d describe these UI updates. But it’s not a reflection of the solutions you’ll find inside. From reliable Email Previews and inbox optimizations to Accessibility checks, and features that help the entire team collaborate, you’ve got everything you need to put your best email forward.

There’s just one thing left to do… Log in and start testing.

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Bringing You Apple Mail Previews on the Newest iPhones   https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/previews-iphone-15/ Tue, 07 Nov 2023 16:14:52 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=24258 Apple unleashed the new iPhone 15 back in September. Do you know how your emails are rendering on these mobile devices? The only way to know for sure is to test and preview every campaign before you hit send.  That’s why the team at Sinch Email on Acid is excited to announce the release of […]

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Apple unleashed the new iPhone 15 back in September. Do you know how your emails are rendering on these mobile devices? The only way to know for sure is to test and preview every campaign before you hit send. 

That’s why the team at Sinch Email on Acid is excited to announce the release of seven new testing profiles that ensure you’re delivering an ideal experience to some of the most important subscribers on your list. Log in now to start testing with: 

  • Apple Mail iPhone 15 
  • Apple Mail iPhone 15 Plus 
  • Apple Mail iPhone 15 Pro 
  • Apple Mail iPhone 15 Pro Max 

You can start testing your emails on these clients and devices today. That includes both light and dark mode email previews. 

New iPhones = new email previews 

It’s estimated that more than 1.5 billion people globally will be active iPhone users at the start of 2024. That’s more than 27% of the smartphone market.  Apple devices are even more popular in the U.S. where smartphones running iOS make up more than 50% of the market share.

It’s no secret that the iPhone has many extremely dedicated fans who are eager to pick up the newest version of the world’s most-popular mobile phone. Plus, Apple has its own ways of pushing users toward their latest devices. Maybe you’ve heard about the controversy surrounding iPhone slowdowns as well as issues with iPhone battery health. Planned obsolescence anyone? 

But we’re not here to review smartphones. We’re here to help you deliver email perfection. The subscribers on your email list are upgrading to new mobile devices all the time. That’s why it’s important to keep your email testing profile up to date as well. 

Here’s another reason why many brands should care about what they’re delivering to subscribers with the newest iPhones… These people are early adopters. That means they are among the most likely to be the first to make purchases or try new products you’re offering. 

For these customers and prospects, you’ll want to send email messages that are optimized for their inboxes. That includes not just new campaigns, but all your email templates and automations as well. 

The next time you test and preview with Sinch Email on Acid, make sure to add the different models of iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 to your pre-send testing workflow. 

Bringing you the latest so you send your best 

Smart senders are already taking a mobile-first approach to email development. It’s now estimated that around 60% of email opens occur on mobile devices. So, you need to be running email quality assurance on the newest, most-popular devices. 

That’s why the team at Sinch Email on Acid works hard to keep your access to email previews updated.  

Rather than inflating our preview library with clients and devices that haven’t been touched by most people in 15 years, we use real consumer data to ensure you can test the clients and devices your subscribers are actually using. We’ve used this methodology to build a collection of email previews with more than 100 of the most relevant clients and devices

Unlike your other options, Sinch Email on Acid offers unlimited testing. That means you can test, preview, and refine email code and designs until you feel totally confident hitting that send button. 

Log in now to take advantage of these new mobile previews. New to our platform? Sign up for a 7-Day free trial and see how Sinch Email on Acid helps you put your best email forward.  

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Put Your Best Emails Forward – Start Testing on New Clients and Devices https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/new-clients/ Mon, 14 Aug 2023 14:43:03 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=23801 People on your email list are updating their phones, software, and mobile operating systems all the time. The only way to be 100% confident your messages render and function as expected is to test before you send. That also means it’s extremely important to preview email campaigns on the newest and most popular clients and […]

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People on your email list are updating their phones, software, and mobile operating systems all the time. The only way to be 100% confident your messages render and function as expected is to test before you send.

That also means it’s extremely important to preview email campaigns on the newest and most popular clients and devices. What worked fine on a Pixel 4 or Outlook 2019 might be a mess on a Pixel 7 or Outlook 2021.

Sinch Email on Acid has your back. We’ve expanded our list of client testing options to include the latest from Android, iOS, and Microsoft. That means whether your emails land in Gmail, Apple Mail, or Outlook, you can use our platform to make sure they always look their best.

What’s new in email client previews?

When we say our product team is always working on the latest devices and clients for our users, we mean it. We are excited to announce the release of these new clients and devices for testing:

  • Gmail App – Pixel 7 Android 13
  • Apple Mail 16 – macOS 13
  • Outlook 2021 – Windows 11
  • Microsoft 365 – Windows 11
  • Microsoft 365 – macOS 13

This makes 17 new email clients we’ve added to our pre-send testing platform in 2023, and we’re not done yet.

You could already preview email campaigns on more than 100 different clients and devices. These latest updates give you even more coverage when conducting email quality assurance (QA).

If your contact list looks like most others, it’s likely that the vast majority of email opens are happening in Gmail, Apple Mail, or Outlook. However, the mobile device, operating system, and version of desktop software can also impact the way a campaign renders.

That’s why the ability to preview emails in a wide variety of options is such a huge benefit to our users.

Log in now and start testing your email templates to make sure they’re rendering correctly in these newly added clients.

More email testing coverage and more security

New previews aren’t the only thing we’re excited about. We also recently released the industry’s first security protocol that keeps all of your email preview links private and safe.

We call it screenshot authentication, and it helps keep your results secured so bad actors and competitors can’t see what you plan to send.  If you still use other email preview tools on the market, you won’t have this peace of mind.

Protecting email screenshots with secure URLs could be especially important for digital agencies serving multiple clients as well as companies that access our email previews inside their own applications.

Why it matters

We work tirelessly to provide our customers with the latest and greatest email testing technology on the market. With the most client and device coverage paired with the best security, we’ve developed a platform that our customers can trust. And we don’t stop there…

Beyond just preview availability we are always working to create even better experiences for our customers. That’s why in the coming months you can expect:

  • A new and improved user interface (UI) inside the application
  • Previews for the Gmail app on the latest iPhone
  • An updated API for our email analytics
  • A better email testing experience

We’re on a mission to simplify the complexities of email marketing so that you no longer fear hitting the send button. If you’re new to Sinch Email on Acid, try us out with a 7-day free trial.

Stay tuned for more!

The post Put Your Best Emails Forward – Start Testing on New Clients and Devices appeared first on Email on Acid.

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Product Update: Setting New Standards for Compliance and Security   https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/product-update-compliance-security/ Tue, 18 Jul 2023 14:38:54 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=23426 Sinch Email on Acid has been a longtime provider of industry leading email testing with the best email preview functionality in the industry, comprehensive testing, and deep analytics. And no matter if you’re a large-scale enterprise, or a small-scale freelancer, we have the technology you need to put your best email forward 100% of the […]

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Sinch Email on Acid has been a longtime provider of industry leading email testing with the best email preview functionality in the industry, comprehensive testing, and deep analytics. And no matter if you’re a large-scale enterprise, or a small-scale freelancer, we have the technology you need to put your best email forward 100% of the time.

The same goes for security and compliance. We believe this is the foundation of our business and a driving factor for many leading brands. So, no matter what your goals and objectives are, you can rest assured that we have you covered.

Internal controls

The Chief Information Security Officer oversees the Information Security Program for Email on Acid. As with all our products, security is addressed with three broad areas:

  • Overall corporate security and controls.
  • The environment and application.
  • The connections to the system.

The Sinch Email on Acid security program includes technical, operational and automated controls to provide a secure and available environment.

Account and user controls

In addition to our internal security controls, we also provide unique features that ensure further account and user security:

  • Screenshot authentication – ensure every email preview link is both protected and secure with credential secured and time-rotated URLs.
  • Two-factor authentication – User-level two factor authentication is enforced for all accounts.
  • Customizable user permissions – Control permission at the user level to ensure proper access across the platform

Data retention Policy

The privacy of your data is important to us. That’s why among our other compliances and certifications, the in-app test data you generate will only be retained in our system for 90 days before it is permanently deleted. This ensures that your data footprint within our systems remains safe yet accessible. If you do need to save projects, you will have the opportunity to save select items that are used in your day-to-day email processes. Email analytics data will also be retained for longer than 90 days to ensure you have access to the information you need to maintain a successful email program. 

ISO 27001 Certified

ISO 27001 is the leading international standard focused on information security. A certification with this standard shows competence that an information security program is in place:

  • To protect customers through confidentiality, integrity, and availability attacks on data.
  • That aligns with 140+ controls to identify, investigate, and act on potential security incidents, with annual risk assessments completed to ensure threats are handled appropriately.

ISO 27701 Certified

ISO 27701 is similar to the ISO 27001, but takes into account data privacy in addition to Information Security. Our information security and privacy program are intertwined into one program, and this additional certification shows that Email on Acid has a privacy program in place that meets similar requirements to GDPR and is continuously improving. Email on Acid offers both certifications for all current products.

SOC 2 Type I Compliant

The SOC 2 Type I is an audit report given out annually that tests operational, security, availability, and confidentiality controls at a single point in time. This is a highly regulated audit that results in a professional opinion on the effectiveness of our system controls after rigorous testing. All reports can be found at https://security.mailgun.com.

GDPR Compliant

GDPR is known by most to be the most comprehensive privacy law in the world. Our products abide by this privacy law, and combined with our ISO 27701, Privacy Policy, and Data Processing Agreement, Email on Acid customers can be sure that their data is treated appropriately. GDPR applies directly to data of people in the EU, but given the global reach of Email on Acid, we treat all data the same. Given the constant changing landscape of individual state privacy laws in the U.S. (NYDFS, CCPA, etc.), abiding by GDPR covers all customers well. For more information in our privacy program, please visit
https://mailgun.com/gdpr.

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Year in Review: Email on Acid in 2022 https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/year-in-review-2022/ Fri, 30 Dec 2022 15:35:47 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=22107 Even though a year can fly by like nobody’s business, that doesn’t mean there was no time to get stuff done. A lot can happen over the course of 365 days. Many of us are about to do a little self-reflection as we head into 2023, and that’s a good thing. SaaS brands can look […]

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Even though a year can fly by like nobody’s business, that doesn’t mean there was no time to get stuff done. A lot can happen over the course of 365 days.

Many of us are about to do a little self-reflection as we head into 2023, and that’s a good thing. SaaS brands can look back on what was accomplished in a year’s time too. Call it “SaaS-reflection” if you will (but we digress).

Here’s a rewind of 2022 and a rundown of what turned out to be a big year for Email on Acid.

The Sinch acquisition

Sinch logo

You may recall that Email on Acid joined the company formerly known as Pathwire in the middle of 2021. A few months later, we found out we were joining an even bigger family when Sinch acquired the Pathwire brands Mailgun, Mailjet, and Email on Acid.

While the Sinch acquisition became official late last year, things really got rolling in 2022. As part of Sinch Email, we are excited to belong to a company that helps brands achieve an effective omnichannel communication strategy.

Sinch’s supernetwork is powering meaningful, personalized engagements at scale. That includes SMS and MMS marketing, mobile messaging, voice, video communication, and more.

Brands need to meet customers and prospects wherever they are, and we know the inbox is still one of the best places to connect and engage.

Notes from the Dev: Video Edition

In the spring of 2022, we launched an ambitious project with our in-house email developer, Megan Boshuyzen, that’s helping to spread the knowledge of some of the smartest, most-creative email geeks out there.

“Notes from the Dev: Video Edition” is a web series featuring tips and tricks from email developers around the world. We’re producing this show because we know email coding ain’t easy. Luckily, email geeks are among the most generous folks on the planet.

A huge THANK YOU to our expert guests in 2022:

Check out every episode and be sure to subscribe on YouTube because you know there’s a whole lot more coming in 2023.

Tracking Apple bots and dark mode opens

Apple Devices

Our goal at Sinch Email on Acid is to simplify the complexities of email marketing. In 2022, dark mode and Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) were two challenges on many of our minds.

The email industry was a bit thrown off when everyone realized new privacy protections from Apple Mail meant it was going to be awfully hard to count on the open rate as an accurate metric. Long story short – bots are pre-opening mail for many Apple Mail users – which makes things tougher to track.

While we are all about data privacy around here, senders still need to know what’s going on with subscriber engagement. That includes identifying inactive subscribers and measuring how well subject lines work.

So that our customers get a more accurate picture of open rates, we added the ability to find out which subscribers are using MPP. By identifying opens that come from Apple bots, we help senders understand how much MPP is impacting their metrics while allowing them to filter or segment MPP users if desired.

Many email marketers are also in the dark when it comes to emails that are opened in dark mode. A couple of years ago, we came up with a DIY hack that has been built into the Email on Acid platform. Now you can track dark mode opens in our Advanced Analytics to get a better idea of how much of your list prefers a darker user interface. That helps you decide if optimizing your campaign designs for dark mode emails is worth the effort (Hint: It probably is).

Email Camp: Road Trip Edition

Email camp logo with character driving on a road trip

We love being part of Email Camp because it’s a chance to get the whole gang together. In 2022, the virtual event took on a road trip theme and dedicated an entire day to email development.

Attendees got to watch veteran email developer Jay Oram of ActionRocket live code an interactive email. Plus, we got an in-depth breakdown on dark mode from Roland Pokornyik of Chamaileon.io, and some awesome interactive email ideas from Akshaya Dinesh of Spellbound.

Email on Acid’s own Megan Boshuyzen co-hosted a keynote on the future of email design. She also led an email developer Q&A panel that was jam-packed with great discussions. There was plenty for marketers as well. That included a keynote from Oracle’s Chad White on email and omnichannel marketing.

If you missed all this, you’ll find a playlist featuring all Email Camp 2022 presentations on YouTube.

We’re already starting to make plans for Email Camp 2023. So, sign up to get updates on what to expect at the next big event.

The latest Android and iOS mobile email previews

Android and Apple logos inside mobile devices

Of course, we know what matters most to our customers is that we keep investing in and improving the Email on Acid platform.

Just one of the ways we did that in 2022 was with the introduction of new email previews for the latest Android and iOS operating systems and devices.

  • Android 11 – Gmail on Pixel 5 (light and dark mode)
  • Android 12 – Gmail on Pixel 6 (light and dark mode)
  • Android 13 – Gmail on Pixel 6 (light and dark mode)
  • iOS 16 – iPhone 14 (light and dark mode)
  • iOS 16 – iPhone 14 Pro (light and dark mode)
  • iOS 16 – iPhone 14 ProMax (light and dark mode)

Knowing how your campaigns render on the most popular mobile devices is essential. These new previews for email testing mean you can confidently send to subscribers who upgrade their devices and have the latest iPhone or Android smartphones. And with Email on Acid, you can preview emails as much as needed thanks to unlimited testing with every plan.

Finally, we want to thank all of our customers (new and old) for choosing us in 2022 or continuing to work with Email on Acid. Our team is constantly striving to improve our products and we always appreciate your feedback. Don’t hesitate to reach out using our vendor channel in the Email Geeks Slack. And feel free to contact us with any questions.

Here’s to more big ideas, big projects, and email perfection in 2023!

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How Email on Acid Proves Our Commitment to Security and Privacy https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/commitment-security-privacy/ Wed, 28 Dec 2022 15:01:33 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=22116 Talking the talk and walking the walk are two very different things. In the digital world, there aren’t many topics that are more important than security, privacy, and compliance. They’re not something you want to brag about unless you’re truly doing what it takes. Sinch Email on Acid is proud to announce that we’ve taken […]

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Talking the talk and walking the walk are two very different things. In the digital world, there aren’t many topics that are more important than security, privacy, and compliance. They’re not something you want to brag about unless you’re truly doing what it takes.

Sinch Email on Acid is proud to announce that we’ve taken steps to back up and prove our dedication to providing customers with a secure platform that focuses on data privacy, including GDPR compliance.

How’d we do it? Great question. It involves some industry audits and international certifications that evaluate our security programs, processes, and preparedness:

  • ISO 27001 and ISO 27701
  • SOC 2 Type I audit

No matter who you work with, these certifications and audits are a sign of a technology partner you can trust. To explain exactly why, let’s take a closer look at what goes into getting certified as well as passing security and compliance audits.

What is ISO 27001?

There’s a good chance you’ve heard of ISO standards before. The International Standards Organization is a global, non-governmental organization that defines, develops, and publishes all sorts of standards.

That could include sustainability standards such as net zero emissions. A fairly well-known standard is ISO 9001, which certifies quality management processes.

ISO 27001 focuses on information security standards. We pursued and achieved this certification because it shows competence and indicates that a reliable information security program is in place. To be more specific, ISO 27001 certifies the following:

  • Customers are being protected and informed through confidentiality, integrity, and the availability of attack data.
  • That our program aligns with more than 140 controls to identify, investigate, and act on potential security incidents.
  • That annual risk assessments are completed to ensure threats are handled properly.

For us to earn an ISO 27001 certification, independent auditors test our information security program against all those controls. That means we need to clearly identify risks, set clear objectives on what needs to be achieved with information security, and define the safeguards and mitigation efforts that will handle the risks.

Plus, ISO 27001 requires that we show how we regularly measure our information security controls and that we are continuously working to improve security.

What is ISO 27701?

ISO 27701 is in the same family of certifications as ISO 27001. The main difference is that an ISO 27701 certification adds data privacy into the mix along with information security. An important reason for this is to evaluate controls related to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

While ISO 27701 is not a literal GDPR certification, it does show that Email on Acid and Mailgun Optimize have a privacy program in place that meets similar requirements to the regulation – and that we are continually working to improve data privacy.

Data privacy is crucial in the world of email. As a customer or user, not only do you want your personally identifiable information (PII) protected, but you also need to protect the data of your customers and subscribers. That includes their email addresses.

Dan Ross leads the team responsible for much of this and works directly with the auditors. He understands why GDPR is such a big deal to email senders.

GDPR is known by most to be the most comprehensive privacy law in the world. Our products abide by this privacy law, and combined with our ISO 27701, Privacy Policy, and Data Processing Agreement, our customers can be sure that their data is treated appropriately.
Dan Ross Sr. Manager, Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)

Even though GDPR only applies to the personal data of EU citizens, all Sinch Email brands treat data the same way. This means everyone is protected, and it helps prepare our platforms and our customers for future legislation, such as the proposed American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA).

The ISO 27701 certification is important because, as an email sender, you need to find GDPR-compliant technology partners. This is the proof.

What is a SOC 2 Type I audit?

The word “audit” never really sounds like fun, does it? Dan Ross can confirm that, when our brands undergo these audits, it gets intense and involves some very long days.

A SOC 2 Type I audit happens annually. It is a highly regulated audit, which results in a report that provides a professional opinion on the effectiveness of around 400 controls. (That’s a lot.) With SOC 2 Type I, auditors rigorously test those operational, security, availability, and confidentiality controls at a specific point in time.

There is also a SOC 2 Type II report, which follows the same controls, but takes place over a 12-month period rather than one point in time. Our sister brands, Mailgun and Mailjet, have already passed the SOC 2 Type II audit. In 2023, we’re working to achieve this for all Sinch Email products, including Email on Acid and Mailgun Optimize.

During a SOC 2 audit, the independent auditors will test things such as whether we’ve provided cybersecurity training to our employees. They’ll also find out if we are testing product code changes for security vulnerabilities before we push them live to our platforms.

What does all this mean to you?

Cybersecurity and data privacy compliance can get complicated – and honestly – a little bit scary too. We pursue these reports and certifications and make them available because we want our customers to have peace of mind.

When you work with Email on Acid, Mailgun Optimize, or any of the Sinch Email solutions, you can rest easy and know that you can trust us. We don’t just tell customers and prospects that we are secure and compliant. We get our programs tested so you can be confident we mean what we say.

If you’d like to learn more about our ISO certifications or the results of our SOC 2 Type I audit, you can request and download documentation at the Mailgun Security Portal. There, you’ll find a ton of information that could be especially helpful for those evaluating us as a potential technology partner.

Find out more about email security

Interested in learning more about cybersecurity and email? Our friends and colleagues at Sinch Mailgun published a comprehensive guide you can download for free. You’ll discover:

  • How the email threat landscape is constantly changing and how it impacts your company.
  • Advice on how to comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and the CCPA.
  • Why email authentication is crucial to protecting your subscribers and your brand.
  • Guidance on choosing technology partners who take security and privacy seriously.

Head over to Mailgun.com and get your copy of The Mailgun guide to email security and compliance.

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New Mobile Email Previews: Start Testing with the Latest from Android and iOS https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/mobile-previews-android-13-ios16/ Fri, 04 Nov 2022 13:42:24 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=21052 We all know how important the mobile experience is in email marketing. You don’t need us to show you another statistic. All you need to do is look at your own analytics to see how often your campaigns are being opened on mobile devices. Not only do you have to worry about mobile responsiveness, but […]

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We all know how important the mobile experience is in email marketing. You don’t need us to show you another statistic. All you need to do is look at your own analytics to see how often your campaigns are being opened on mobile devices.

Not only do you have to worry about mobile responsiveness, but you also need to consider how different clients, devices, and mobile operating systems will render your emails. Making that challenge even bigger is the fact that those operating systems are regularly updated.

It’s our No. 1 goal to help you keep up with those changes. That’s why Sinch Email on Acid provides screenshot previews from 100+ different clients and devices – because the more you know, the more confident you can feel when you hit send. We are proud to announce new Email Previews for the latest from Android and iOS. If you’ve got an account, you can log in now and start testing.

With the majority of the U.S. running iOS and much of the rest of the world using Android, it’s more important than ever to make sure your marketing and transactional emails are rendering properly across these devices.

New Email Previews on Android and iOS 16

In the U.S., iOS usage has a bit of an edge. According to StatCounter.com, as of this writing, there’s a 55% to 45% split between iOS and Android. However, Android is much more popular than iOS internationally. Android lays claim to around 70% of the world’s market share.

With limited Android availability across the email testing industry, Email on Acid is excited to announce the release of email previews for the latest Android operating systems including:

  • Android 11 – Gmail on Pixel 5 (light and dark mode)
  • Android 12 – Gmail on Pixel 6 (light and dark mode)
  • Android 13 – Gmail on Pixel 6 (light and dark mode)

In addition to these new Android clients, we are also bringing Apple’s iOS 16 availability to our platform for the iPhone 14. This means you can confidently send your email campaigns to subscribers who upgrade their devices and have the latest iPhone.

  • iOS 16 – iPhone 14 (light and dark mode)
  • iOS 16 – iPhone 14 Pro (light and dark mode)
  • iOS 16 – iPhone 14 ProMax (light and dark mode)

You’ll also notice that all these new clients include dark mode email previews. That’s a big benefit for email quality assurance. With the dark mode UX gaining popularity, you’ll want to make sure your campaigns are still readable and accessible, even when mailbox providers invert your color scheme.

We won’t leave you trying to imagine what these new previews might look like, sample them live with our email preview sample page here.

How do email previews help?

Why are email previews and testing such an essential element of your email production process? Well, let’s paint a picture. You spend weeks crafting the perfect email; it’s designed well, written well, and targeting your most engaged audience – you hit send and quickly find that half of your audience is experiencing major rendering issues.  This would cause a huge dip in engagement, damage your brand’s reputation, and could easily reduce the revenue you generate from that campaign.

Email on Acid’s Email Previews allow you to see exactly how your emails will render across more than 100 different devices and clients so you can see what your subscribers will see before you send.

Our previews are on live clients, so you see exactly what your recipients will see, not what they might see. As an Email on Acid customer, you also get access to completely unlimited previews, so you don’t have to make sacrifices when it’s time to send.

If you’re already using our platform, log in now and try it out. If you’re new around here, you’re in luck. Email on Acid offers a free 7-day trial so you can see how it works for yourself. Keep reading for some tips on testing your campaigns and previewing the latest from Android and iOS.

How to Preview Emails in Android 11, 12, 13, and iOS 16

Email previews can be a quick and highly effective way to make sure your subscribers are receiving flawless emails that they can easily open and interact with, without issue. If you want to try out the new previews for yourself, simply follow the instructions below:

  1. Log in to your Email on Acid account. On the left-hand navigation menu under Campaign Precheck, select Start Testing
Email on Acid platform screenshot start testing for Android 13 and IOS 16.
  • Enter your HTML into the designated field
Email on Acid platform screenshot paste html code
  • Use the existing Campaign Precheck workflow which checks all essential spelling, grammar, accessibility, and spam content, or simply create a new workflow to skip right to previews.
Email on Acid platform screenshot of campaign precheck selections
  • Once you’ve completed the steps above you can preview your email across all the latest devices and clients
Email on Acid platform screenshot mobile preview

Get much more than email previews

No matter how perfect your email may look, test and send with confidence with 100+ clients and devices available.. Email on Acid offers all the latest devices and clients to test your campaigns with lots of other features that help you put your best email forward:

Save time and money and put your best email forward with Email on Acid’s suite of email testing tools.

Email on Acid Email Previews have played a huge role in helping some of the world’s biggest brands test and perfect their messages before it’s time to send. With over 100 different devices and clients in our platform, Email on Acid has been the go-to resource for fast, reliable testing.

To ensure our users have all the tools and resources they need to put their best email forward, we are consistently updating our preview availability with the latest and most popular devices and clients. Stay tuned for new releases!

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Track Dark Mode Opens with Email on Acid Analytics https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/track-dark-mode-opens/ Thu, 27 Oct 2022 21:27:11 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=21144 Feeling in the dark about whether your subscribers are opening emails in dark mode? Now you can track dark mode opens using Advanced Analytics from Sinch Email on Acid. Dark mode usage is a popular topic of discussion among both email developers and marketers. Lots of people wonder how popular dark mode for email really […]

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Feeling in the dark about whether your subscribers are opening emails in dark mode? Now you can track dark mode opens using Advanced Analytics from Sinch Email on Acid.

Dark mode usage is a popular topic of discussion among both email developers and marketers. Lots of people wonder how popular dark mode for email really is. What’s the big-picture breakdown between people who prefer dark mode vs light mode? Turns out, that’s pretty tough to calculate.

But here’s the thing… a statistic that covers the average doesn’t mean much to you. What you really need to know is how many people on your contact list are opening emails in dark mode.

Why is understanding dark mode usage helpful?

Ask any email developer, coding emails for dark mode isn’t easy. It creates extra work because, as you may have heard, email clients are inconsistent in the way they render HTML and CSS. The dark mode user experience is yet another area of inconsistency.

Some email clients invert the colors used in your email campaigns, and they all do it a little differently. If you aren’t optimizing for dark mode in the inbox, your emails could be unreadable for some subscribers. There are also issues with logos in dark mode as some graphics can disappear against the background in a darker user interface.

It’s highly likely that a significant portion of your list is viewing emails in dark mode. However, knowing how many subscribers prefer dark UX helps you understand how much time and effort you should spend developing dark mode emails.

Introducing dark mode open tracking

Now, when you log in to the Email on Acid application, you’ll notice a new breakdown of email clients in Analytics. In the list of top clients, certain dark mode options will appear separately. For example, you’ll notice how Apple Mail’s results in the screenshot below shows a dark-mode-specific result.

screenshot of numbers depicting dark mode open tracking in email clients
Dark mode open tracking in Email on Acid Analytics

Take note, this is a hypothetical example and does not necessarily reflect a sender’s typical results.  It’s also important to mention that this feature is only available for email clients that support the media query prefers-color-scheme-dark. This is what allows developers to build themes for dark and light mode, and it allows us to track opens in dark mode. Find out more about that dark mode media query and grab some code snippets. See the latest on information on email client support for the prefers-color-scheme query from CanIEmail.com.

You’ll also notice that this user is viewing the Email on Acid platform in dark mode. That, however, is not because we’ve introduced dark mode settings in the app. It’s because we got this screenshot from one of our software developers. Dark mode settings are pretty popular with developers because it tends to make it easier on the eyes when you stare at code all day long.

This brings up an excellent point. Understanding your audience is key. In email marketing, “your audience” is your contact list. Knowing how they prefer to view emails helps you create an ideal inbox experience.

Let’s pretend the graphic above represents real results. In that case, around 50% of this sender’s subscribers are opening emails in dark mode. So, optimizing for those display settings is certainly going to be worth the time and effort.

Back in 2021, we used a pixel tracking hack to conduct a dark mode open tracking experiment. Our developer discovered that as many as 14% of Email on Acid subscribers were using dark mode. We found that about two-thirds were using light mode and another 21% were unknown (the test only worked with email clients using WebKit).

Start testing emails in dark mode

Dark mode email preview in Gmail
Dark mode email preview for Gmail Pixel 5

Let’s say you start to track dark mode email opens and you find that at least 1/3 of your list seems to prefer a dark email interface. That’s enough for your email team to decide that taking on the challenges of dark mode is worth it.

Now, how do you know if you’re optimizing your campaigns for dark mode in the best way possible?

You’ve got to test and preview those campaigns before you hit send.

The Email Previews from Email on Acid cover all the most popular clients. When you’re testing emails on our platform, you can preview emails in dark mode on Apple Mail as well as Outlook desktop clients for macOS and Windows. Plus, you can also preview how dark mode looks on the latest iPhones and with Gmail on Google Pixel phones.  Check out a sample test result right now.

Even though you can’t track dark mode opens in Gmail, with pre-send email testing, you can still preview the dark mode experience for those inboxes and optimize it before a campaign launches.

Find out more about dark mode emails

We’ve got quite a collection of dark mode email content for you to check out. Here are some of our top picks:

While you’re brushing up on the ins and outs of dark mode, the team at Email on Acid will keep working to improve our platform so you’ll always put your best email forward. Log in now to start tracking dark mode email opens or sign up today and take advantage of our unlimited testing.

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Find Out if Your Subscribers Use Apple Mail Privacy Protection https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/eoa-news/apple-mail-privacy-users/ Thu, 24 Feb 2022 12:44:00 +0000 https://www.emailonacid.com/?post_type=article&p=19106 As consumers, we all want stronger security and more privacy around our personal data and online activity. As email marketers, however, we also want to be able to do our jobs effectively and efficiently. So last year, when Apple announced new Mail Privacy Protection features that prevent marketers from accurately tracking email open rates (and […]

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As consumers, we all want stronger security and more privacy around our personal data and online activity. As email marketers, however, we also want to be able to do our jobs effectively and efficiently.

So last year, when Apple announced new Mail Privacy Protection features that prevent marketers from accurately tracking email open rates (and more), a collective groan arose from the email geek universe.

Simpsons booing animated GIF

No. Apple Mail Privacy Protection did not mean the death of email. We’re all still here and have jobs… for now

Yes. It does mean email marketers need to adjust the way they measure campaign performance, and it’s prompting teams to re-examine their approach to things like A/B testing, send-time optimization, and certain types of real-time, dynamic content as well.

But what if you could know exactly who is using Apple Mail Privacy Protection?

A new analytics feature from Sinch Email on Acid helps you do that. But first, let’s take a closer look at what we’re dealing with and why you’d want to know who’s using this protection.

The big question

How many of my subscribers are actually using Mail Privacy Protection?

That’s the first thing many email marketers wondered when Apple’s changes went into effect in September 2021. It’s not exactly simple to figure out.

Mail Privacy Protection is an optional security feature in iOS and macOS. So, you can’t assume every subscriber using the Apple Mail app has it turned on. Plus, Apple Mail is an extremely popular email client. It’s likely the first or second most common mailbox provider on your list.

So, we all knew the feature would mess with the way email marketers are used to doing things. But how far-reaching is the impact? Let’s take a look at an explanation of the privacy feature that’s still causing headaches and heated discussions.

Apple Mail Privacy Protection problems

Frank Costanza has problems animated GIF

We know, we know. This topic has been discussed in webinars and on email marketing blogs ad nauseam, but bear with us here as we set things up…

Apple Mail Privacy Protection (AMPP) keeps marketers from tracking when subscribers open an email. That’s because Apple preloads the message in a proxy server where it downloads all the content. This includes the tracking pixel used to measure email opens. So, the initial “open” doesn’t happen in the subscriber’s inbox at all.

This is how Apple explains it to its customers:

“The new feature helps users prevent senders from knowing when they open an email, and masks their IP address so it can’t be linked to other online activity or used to determine their location.”

Here are some of the biggest issues email marketers are struggling with now.

Open rates

A proxy server will open any messages sent to an Apple Mail user who has the feature turned on, So, problem numero uno is inflated open rate metrics.

At first, this was tough to accept. Increasing open rates has always been a standard key performance indicator (KPI) in email marketing. But the open rate has also always been a bit unreliable for various reasons. Put simply, it’s not a true measure of an effective email.

Click-to-open rates (CTOR), on the other hand, have been a trusted metric for email. But CTORs are also impacted since the rate is determined based on opens. So, the most reliable email performance metric becomes the sheer number of clicks.

Subject line testing

One thing that the open rate metric has been useful for is split testing subject lines. With inflated email open rates, can you really be confident that subject line A is performing better than option B? The same problem exists for any other tests that rely on open rates.

Send time optimization

Send time optimization (STO) is artificial intelligence that allows marketers to deliver emails at a time that’s ideal for individual contacts. Let’s say Sally tends to check her email around noon on weekdays. With STO, you can optimize to send a campaign at the perfect time so it’s sitting at the top of her inbox.

Obviously, that’s much harder to do if it’s not really Sally opening the email.

List hygiene

Many marketers used the open rate metric to identify engaged and unengaged subscribers. The logic was, “If they’re still opening our emails, they must still want to hear from us.”

Traditionally, if inactive and disengaged subscribers hadn’t opened any messages from a brand over a certain period of time, they’d get removed during the email list cleaning process. But it’s tough to determine who’s an unengaged Apple Mail user if nearly all of them appear to open every email you send.

Dynamic email content

Open tracking pixels can also be used to determine a contact’s location. This means dynamic email content that relies on geolocation could be inaccurate for some Apple Mail users.

That includes cool email features such as personalized maps with store locators based on the subscriber’s location as well as countdown timers and other types of real-time personalization.

Unfortunately for both subscribers and senders, the price for increased privacy protection could mean a less relevant and less personalized inbox experience.

The Apple Mail app and other clients

At first, you might assume you could simply identify all the contacts in your database with email addresses ending in @icloud.com, @mac.com, or @me.com. Then, put those subscribers on a separate list. That way, you filter out potential Mail Privacy Protection users and can still do things the same way with the rest of your list.

Not a bad idea. But not exactly foolproof.

That’s because the Apple Mail app can be used to open emails from any email client. So for example, someone with a Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo address and an iPhone could be viewing their emails in Apple Mail while using Mail Privacy Protection.

Sailor kid is foiled again animated GIF

Still, you were on to something there! What if you knew which subscribers had Apple Mail Privacy turned on regardless of their email address? You can do that with Email Analytics from Sinch Email on Acid. And besides being good to know, you can use the information in strategic ways.

Why track Mail Privacy Protection usage?

If it’s not clear already, here are a few reasons why you’d want to figure out which subscribers are using Apple Mail Privacy Protection.

1. People always ask about open rates

Many experienced email marketers say they could smell the end of open rates coming a mile away. The problem is, there will still be people in your organization who ask about this metric – it may even be your boss or your biggest agency client.

You could take the time to make excuses and explain why open rates are unreliable and inaccurate and how AMPP inflates everything. Or, you could find a way to provide a fairly accurate average open rate.

If you know who’s using Mail Privacy Protection, you can segment or filter those contacts and use the open rate that excludes those subscribers. And there you go – no more inflated open rates (okay, less inflated).

2. Strategic list segmentation

Speaking of segmentation, if you know who’s using Apple Mail Privacy Protection, and you put them on their own list, it could solve some of your other problems.

With AMMP users are on a separate list, the rest of your contacts can still benefit from send-time optimization, location-based personalizations, and other dynamic content that relies on email opens.

Granted, in some cases, this may require a little more work if you have to develop two campaigns. But you can always pick and choose the campaigns where this approach makes sense.

3. Inbox display testing and optimization

Say what you want about open rates as a metric, convincing people to open and read emails isn’t easy. Understanding which combination of subject line, preheader text, and sender name works best is important.

If you’re able to create a segment of subscribers using Mail Privacy Protection, you can still split test subject lines and other elements to help you optimize inbox display for more opens.

How to identify subscribers using AMPP

If you’re already an Email on Acid customer with a Premium plan or higher, you have access to our platform’s analytics. And in those analytics, you will find our product team has added a new email client: Apple Mail Privacy Protection.

Essentially, the Email on Acid platform lets you separate subscribers using AMPP from other subscribers using the Apple Mail app without the privacy feature turned on.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to email client reporting

Inside the analytics reporting for a particular campaign, you’ll see tabs at the top for different sections of your full report. Click on the Email Clients tab.

Email Analytics dashboard tabs in Email on Acid

This is where you’ll find information on the mailbox providers, browsers, devices, and display engines subscribers used to view your emails.

2. Find the client popularity breakdown

Scroll down in the Email Clients report to find a list with the numbers and percentages of total opens and unique opens for the campaign you’re analyzing. 

Email Analytics results with Apple Mail Privacy Protection stats

Keep in mind, this image reflects test data. Actual results will vary depending on your list of contacts. So far, it seems the adoption of Mail Privacy Protection is high. Chad White, head of strategic research at Oracle Marketing Consulting, thinks we can expect AMPP adoption rates similar to the 96% of U.S. consumers who opted out of ad tracking.

3. Download a CSV of your report

So, now you know how many of your subscribers use Mail Privacy Protection, but what you really need is to find out who they are. To do that, all you need to do is download a CSV of your Email Analytics report. 

You’ll find a button to Download CSV right underneath the tabs of your analytics report. Once you have the CSV file, you’ll be able to see the unique email addresses for which AMPP automatically opened the email. 

CSV of email analytics for Apple Mail Privacy Protection

Now, you can filter these subscribers and create a separate list of contacts you know are using Apple Mail Privacy Protection.

4. Use the information wisely

It may not be necessary to create different campaigns for AMPP users every time you send an email. However, there are bound to be scenarios where this information will be helpful.

You may need to run a test to optimize a campaign based on open rates and you don’t want the metric to be inflated. Or, you may want to implement a dynamic feature that Mail Privacy Protection won’t allow.

In that case, you’re separating the AMPP users so that you can continue providing them with an ideal inbox experience – even if it isn’t as personalized and cool as everything else.

Don’t forget – you’ll want to go through this process on a regular basis to update your lists.

Navigate other email challenges

Email marketers are pretty comfortable with overcoming obstacles like this. From Outlook rendering issues to lack of support for video, email geeks always find a way to make things work. So, AMPP is just one more hurdle to jump.

It’s Email on Acid’s mission to help you simplify the complexities of email marketing. The benefits of our email readiness platform extend way beyond tracking Apple Mail Privacy Protection users.

Use our automated Campaign Precheck workflow to run final checks on everything from inbox display and accessibility, to link validation and deliverability. Our reliable email previews show you how your campaign will render on dozens of clients and devices, and you can preview as much as needed thanks to unlimited testing with every plan.

No matter what gets thrown at email marketers, we’ll come up with ways to help you put your best email forward.

The post Find Out if Your Subscribers Use Apple Mail Privacy Protection appeared first on Email on Acid.

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