I use HEY as my email client. It blocks privacy trackers, so the sender can’t see when I open an email, where I’m located, or what device I use.

Those privacy featurse are great, and I know other email clients have them, too. But I wonder how many companies have figured out how losing that email data affects their operations.

I have an example.

I pay my bills online, and I opt for paperless billing whenever it’s available. But today I got a credit card statement in the mail. The envelope included a note that said my account got switched to paper statements because I haven’t opened an email from the credit card company in a year.

Um…not true. I open those emails, but HEY blocks the tracking for privacy reasons.

The credit card company doesn’t see data from my email opens, but they have other data about my activity. I make my payments on time. I confirm personal info whenever I’m prompted by the website or the app. Why doesn’t that activity count as me being active online for the credit card company?

Why is email activity the indicator they’re using, especially as more email clients shift to stronger privacy features?

Today’s note in the mail told me to sign in online and I can change my settings to paperless statements. So, back to what the setting was, before the credit card company automatically changed it…due to what they see as me not opening their emails.

What do we call this stage of the internet, where better privacy causes inefficient communication?