Answers.Body: <p>Easiest would be to not track via CiviCRM. But track via Piwik (www.piwik.org).</p>
  
  <p>You would get info about how much people visit your site from the Mailing (via <a href="https://piwik.org/docs/tracking-campaigns/#tracking-campaigns-using-url-parameters" rel="nofollow">https://piwik.org/docs/tracking-campaigns/#tracking-campaigns-using-url-parameters</a>), but you would not see how much people opened the mail or who clicks which link.</p>
  
  <p>Piwik has all the opt-out options you need.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-05-04T20:35:54.210Z
Answers.Text: mhmm, we do use piwik, I'll have a glance on it...
Answers.UserDisplayName: nielo
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-05-03T11:14:54.533Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-05-03T11:14:54.533Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Catorghans
Answers.Body: <p>I don't think there is a way to achieve "pseudonymization" without having to touch code (except for turning off tracking altogether). However, implementing what you suggested, i.e. assigning the tracking events to a predefined contact ("Anonymous") one way or another, should be reasonably easy for a developer.</p>
  
  <p>Adding on do-not-track flag is a different story though, that entails a lot of little changes throughout the system. It also raises questions like "if I set this flag for a contact, do we want to keep the previously gathered data?" or "should that flag also affect bounce processing?".</p>
  
  <p>You might also consider doing this as an extension at first, because it will take a while to be released in an official CiviCRM version. Plus, you could make sure it's working and well thought-out.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-05-07T20:37:16.627Z
Answers.Text: AFAIK you're somehow engaged in german civi scene. Do you know about solutions regarding this legal issue?
Answers.UserDisplayName: nielo
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-05-09T06:20:48.300Z
Answers.Text: No, most people having concerns just turn it off. Catorghans suggestion seems good as well, but of course it would be better to have CiviCRM deal with the problem by itself. Recently there has been some activity in this area, maybe @DetlevSieber knows more about this.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Björn Endres
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-05-03T09:38:29.370Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-05-03T09:38:29.370Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Björn Endres
Body: <p>German privacy acts demand fulfilling three requirements when sending mass mailings using tracking technology and I wonder how to achieve this. Because I think CiviMail's and CiviCRM's core and therefor all german users would benefit from a generic solution, I'd prefer handling this in civi itself. But walking the customization way is an option too.</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p><strong>Pseudonymization</strong></p>
  
  <p>The tracking information has to be detached from all data which may identify the corresponding contact. </p>
  
  <p>AFAIK civi does not provide such a possibility or does it? </p>
  
  <p>How could we hook into database and reports to cut the link between tracking information and the civi contact? If the link is just a civicrm_contact_id in a tracking table, could we create a pseudonymic fake contact and generally override the db field with it's id? </p></li>
  <li><p><strong>Ability to contradict</strong></p>
  
  <p>The possibility to opt-out from tracking is mandatory.</p>
  
  <p>How to implement a new communcation setting named somethin like "Do-not-track" besides "User opt-out" which tells the system to not insert tracking links or beacons in a contact's mails?</p>
  
  <p>Or – as a customization approach – should we add a custom field, edit it in the mails via a link to a custom extension's function and read it using some thing like hook_civicrm_alterMailContent? </p></li>
  <li><p><strong>Transparency</strong></p>
  
  <p>Users have to be informed about all tracking that is done. Easy as it is a just a matter of text. But maybe we could add a default snippet.</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Any help appreciated.</p>
  
Tags: <civimail><developer>
Title: Mass mailings and German law conformity – provide do-not-track for civimail (opt-out from track open)
ThreadText: # Mass mailings and German law conformity – provide do-not-track for civimail (opt-out from track open)
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-05-03)
  
  German privacy acts demand fulfilling three requirements when sending mass mailings using tracking technology and I wonder how to achieve this. Because I think CiviMail's and CiviCRM's core and therefor all german users would benefit from a generic solution, I'd prefer handling this in civi itself. But walking the customization way is an option too.
  
  1. **Pseudonymization**
  
     The tracking information has to be detached from all data which may identify the corresponding contact.
  
     AFAIK civi does not provide such a possibility or does it?
  
     How could we hook into database and reports to cut the link between tracking information and the civi contact? If the link is just a civicrm\_contact\_id in a tracking table, could we create a pseudonymic fake contact and generally override the db field with it's id?
  2. **Ability to contradict**
  
     The possibility to opt-out from tracking is mandatory.
  
     How to implement a new communcation setting named somethin like "Do-not-track" besides "User opt-out" which tells the system to not insert tracking links or beacons in a contact's mails?
  
     Or – as a customization approach – should we add a custom field, edit it in the mails via a link to a custom extension's function and read it using some thing like hook\_civicrm\_alterMailContent?
  3. **Transparency**
  
     Users have to be informed about all tracking that is done. Easy as it is a just a matter of text. But maybe we could add a default snippet.
  
  Any help appreciated.
  
  **Tags:** civimail, developer
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-05-03. Score: 2
  
  Easiest would be to not track via CiviCRM. But track via Piwik (www.piwik.org).
  
  You would get info about how much people visit your site from the Mailing (via <https://piwik.org/docs/tracking-campaigns/#tracking-campaigns-using-url-parameters>), but you would not see how much people opened the mail or who clicks which link.
  
  Piwik has all the opt-out options you need.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: mhmm, we do use piwik, I'll have a glance on it...  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2016-05-03. Score: 2
  
  I don't think there is a way to achieve "pseudonymization" without having to touch code (except for turning off tracking altogether). However, implementing what you suggested, i.e. assigning the tracking events to a predefined contact ("Anonymous") one way or another, should be reasonably easy for a developer.
  
  Adding on do-not-track flag is a different story though, that entails a lot of little changes throughout the system. It also raises questions like "if I set this flag for a contact, do we want to keep the previously gathered data?" or "should that flag also affect bounce processing?".
  
  You might also consider doing this as an extension at first, because it will take a while to be released in an official CiviCRM version. Plus, you could make sure it's working and well thought-out.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: AFAIK you're somehow engaged in german civi scene. Do you know about solutions regarding this legal issue?  
  > **username_2**: No, most people having concerns just turn it off. username_1 suggestion seems good as well, but of course it would be better to have CiviCRM deal with the problem by itself. Recently there has been some activity in this area, maybe @DetlevSieber knows more about this.  
  
  ---
  
  