As our reliance on technology grows, protecting ourselves and our privacy online has become paramount. Disreputable characters and organizations employ a range of methods to extract personal information from you and anyone else caught in their sights.

Thankfully, Apple and others are constantly fighting back, strengthening their software and providing useful tools to help protect your private data. Let’s discuss Mail Privacy Protection in detail and learn how to enable the feature in macOS and iOS.

What Does Mail Privacy Protection Do?

When fully enabled, Mail Privacy Protection hides your IP address and downloads remote content privately when you receive a message. These measures help conceal your actions and your identity. Without these safeguards in place, senders can gain valuable information about your activities and location. But how can they do that?

Related: Hide My Email vs. Email Protection vs. Masked Email: The Ultimate Email Privacy Showdown

If inclined to do so, senders may embed specialized remote content into an email, allowing them to gather certain pieces of data. Details they can collect include your IP address, when and how many times you view a message, and other information you probably want kept private. While some of the data gathered may seem innocuous enough, giving up your IP address to a potentially malicious operator isn’t ideal.

For added protection, you should also use a trustworthy VPN to conceal your identify online.

Without protections in place, anyone who wants to track your actions or location could send you a message containing a spy pixel, an imperceptible remote image that monitors your movements within an email. Utilizing security features, such as Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, is the best way to thwart these tracking tools and avoid giving up too much personal information when checking your email.

How to Enable Mail Privacy Protection in macOS

When you update to macOS Monterey or later, Mail will prompt you to enable Mail Privacy Protection when you launch the app for the first time. You can, however, change the setting at any time in your Mail preferences.

macOS mail privacy protection prompt.

Here’s how to enable Mail Privacy Protection in the macOS Mail Settings:

  1. Navigate to Mail > Preferences > Privacy.
  2. Tick the Protect Mail Activity box.
macOS mail privacy preferences window.

As you can see, you also have the option to enable separate parts of the feature individually. If you only want Hide IP Address or Block All Remote Content active, you can untick Protect My Mail and select the appropriate settings underneath. Ideally, you should have full protection enabled at all times. However, splitting the two main features and giving us some choice is a welcome move from Apple.

How to Enable Mail Privacy Protection in iOS

When you update to iOS 15 or later, Mail will prompt you to enable Mail Privacy Protection the first time you launch the app. If you’ve already chosen a preference, you can alter your decision at any time in the Settings app.

Here’s how to enable Mail Privacy Protection in the iOS Settings:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Mail > Privacy Protection.
  2. Switch Protect Mail Activity on.

Related: Does Your iPhone Need Third-Party Security Apps?

That’s it. You can disable the feature at any time in the same place. However, unless you have a good reason to turn Privacy Protection off—and there aren’t many—the setting will serve you best in the on position. In most instances, giving yourself the best defense possible is the right move.

Mail Privacy Protection Is a Welcome Feature

Anything that protects your privacy online is a worthy tool, and Apple’s war against trackers, hackers, and disreputable operators makes macOS and iOS safe and solid operating systems. Security tools are always evolving to meet demand.

If you missed the chance to enable Mail Privacy Protection when you first launched the app, you can easily alter your preference within the settings on your Mac or mobile device. Combine built-in protections with additional tools, such as a good VPN, and you can surf the wild seas of the internet in relatively safety.