Email tracking pixels have been a standard part of email marketing for years, helping organizations measure opens and understand engagement. But in 2026, European regulators put a much greater focus on how these tracking technologies are used and when consent may be required.
What's changed?
France
In April 2026, France's data protection authority, the CNIL, published its final recommendation on tracking pixels in emails. The recommendation clarified how existing privacy rules apply to email tracking, including when consent is required. Following a transition period, the recommendation became applicable in July 2026.
Italy
Italy's Garante published its own guidance on tracking pixels in April 2026. It states that, in ordinary circumstances, consent is required for this type of tracking, subject to limited exceptions. Organisations have been given six months to adapt, with the compliance deadline falling on 29 October 2026.
Important: This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Requirements can vary depending on how tracking pixels are used. Ensure your approach and consent wording have been reviewed by the appropriate privacy or legal team.
Recommended setup in Formulayt
1. Create a field in Formulayt to capture tracking consent e.g. TrackingConsent
This should be a checkbox so the user can provide a clear positive action to give consent. The checkbox should not be pre-selected.
2. Add a consent label
Use wording that clearly explains that tracking pixels will be used, what information they may collect and why.
For example:
I agree that [Company] may use tracking pixels in its emails to know whether and when I open them and on which device, in order to measure and improve the performance of its communications and to adapt their content and frequency. I can withdraw my consent at any time.
Important: Confirm with your appropriate privacy or legal team that the consent wording complies with applicable regulations.
3. Set the matching field in your MAP as the pre-population source
Set the corresponding field in your marketing automation platform (MAP) as the pre-population source for TrackingConsent.
Where an existing consent value is available in your MAP, it can be pre-populated into TrackingConsent when the gate loads. This value can then be used by your Formulayt rules to determine whether the consent field needs to be shown.
4. Enable Don't submit value if hidden for the field
This prevents an existing consent value from the MAP from being overwritten when TrackingConsent is hidden
5. Create a hidden field e.g. TrackingConsentHidden
This field is used only by the Formulayt rules to determine whether TrackingConsent should be displayed.
6. Configure your rules
Field: TrackingConsentHidden (hidden field not visible to users)
Trigger: On load
Conditions (IF)
{TrackingConsent} is checked
Action (THEN):
Change the value of this field > Fixed value > TRUE
Otherwise:
Clear any value from this field
Field: TrackingConsent (checkbox field for users to interact with)
Trigger: Continuously
Conditions (IF):
Country is FR or IT
and
{TrackingConsentHidden} is empty
Action (THEN):
Show this field
Otherwise:
Hide this field
This means the consent field is shown for visitors in France or Italy where no existing consent value is available.
Note: If you have chosen to always show this field, even when consent has already been given, use Country is FR or IT as the only condition. You will not need the hidden field in this case. In this instance, visitors in France or Italy will always see the checkbox but it may already be checked through pre-population. This will give visitors the opportunity to opt-out.
7. Add the field to ALL form types
Add the checkbox field (TrackingConsent) to ALL form types where email addresses may be collected and subsequently used to send emails containing tracking pixels.
The checkbox must be optional.
8. Update translations
If your forms are available in multiple languages, add translations for the consent label in Setup > Translations.
What happens to the consent value?
When the form is submitted, the value of the checkbox (TrackingConsent) is included with the other submitted form data and passed to your marketing automation platform (MAP).
TrackingConsent is the field that is used to pass the user's consent value between Formulayt and your MAP:
If the user gives consent, the value is submitted to the matching MAP field.
If an existing consent value is available in the MAP, it can be pre-populated into the checkbox when the gate loads.
If the consent field is hidden because an existing consent value is available, Don't submit value if hidden prevents the existing value from being overwritten.
The hidden field (TrackingConsentHidden) is used only within Formulayt to support the rules that determine whether the checkbox should be displayed. Hidden fields can also be submitted so ensure your MAP does not use this helper field as the contact’s consent value.
What to do with the consent value in your MAP
Once the checkbox (TrackingConsent) has been submitted to your MAP, the consent value should be used to manage whether email tracking is applied to that contact.
The exact implementation will depend on your MAP and email platform, and the controls they provide for email tracking. As part of your setup, consider:
Store the consent value against the contact so there is a record of their consent status.
Use the consent value when sending emails to determine whether tracking should be applied to that contact, where supported by your email platform.
Prevent tracking where consent has not been given, where required for your use case and supported by your email platform.
Keep the consent status up to date if a contact changes their preference. If consent is withdrawn, ensure the change is reflected in the relevant MAP and email platform processes.
Check how your email platform handles tracking by default. Some platforms automatically add tracking pixels to emails, so you may need to configure an appropriate consent-based setting, segment, preference or sending process.
Formulayt passes the value of TrackingConsent to your MAP. How this value is then used to control email tracking depends on your MAP and email platform configuration.
Check your MAP and email platform documentation or speak to your provider to confirm what options are available for using a consent value to control tracking.
Important: This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Your organization is responsible for determining how consent should be recorded and used. Always confirm the appropriate implementation with your privacy or legal team.
If you need help setting up email tracking consent in Formulayt, reach out to your Account Manager.