If you send marketing emails to anyone in Italy, you now have until October 28, 2026, to comply with new email tracking pixel rules. The guidelines were adopted by the Italian Data Protection Authority, which is the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (GPDP), in April 2026, and markers were given six months to comply (that is, up to October 2026).
Under the new guidelines, you must obtain clear consent before using tracking pixels for most marketing activities. You must also tell recipients that your emails contain tracking pixels and provide an easy way for them to withdraw their consent later.
GPDP says tracking pixels often operate without recipients knowing they exist. Because they can collect information whenever an email is opened, including details about the device, IP address, and time of access, they are considered a hidden tracking technology that requires stronger privacy safeguards.
Like France’s CNIL guidance on email tracking pixels, which we covered earlier, Italy’s rules require you to:
- Tell recipients that your emails contain tracking pixels.
- Obtain consent before using tracking pixels for marketing or profiling where required.
- Provide a way to disable tracking without requiring recipients to unsubscribe from your emails.
- Keep records showing when and how consent was obtained.
Some of the exceptions where you may not need consent are if tracking pixels are used to:
- Reminders regarding deadlines and contractual or social security obligations
- Communication about contractual changes, for example, terms of service, scheduled events, data processing, etc;
- When an institution is required to legally forward some message
- Support account security or authentication
The Italian Data Protection Authority has published the full guidelines, which you can find here.
