On 17 April 2026, the Italian Data Protection Authority ( Garante per la protezione dei dati personali ) (“ Italian DPA ”) adopted the “ Guidelines on the Use of Tracking Pixel in email Communications ” ( doc. web n. 10241943 ), which set out the applicable legal framework, transparency obligations and conditions for obtaining consent for all entities using tracking pixels.
These include information society service providers , entities offering publicly accessible online services , email providers , and mass email distribution platform providers . However, because the use of tracking pixel s in email communications is widespread in business practice, entities that do not fall within these categories but nevertheless use tracking pixels are also included within the scope of the Guidelines.
The deadline for compliance is six months from publication in the Official Gazette; accordingly, companies will have until 29 October 2026 to comply.
I. Tracking Pixels and the legal framework
How tracking pixels work
Tracking pixels are very small images (1x1 pixel), often transparent, hosted on remote servers and loaded in emails through HTML code. When the recipient opens the message, the code contained in it triggers a request to the sender’s server: the pixel is downloaded and th e server may receive data such as the IP address, device type , time of opening and number of subsequent openings.
In the Guidelines, the Italian DPA adopts a similar approach to the now consolidated one for the use of cookies : the insertion of the tracking pixel and the subsequent monitoring of the user’s behavior constitute operations involving access to terminal equipment within the meaning of Article 122 of Legislative Decree No. 196/2003 (“Italian Privacy Code ”). The provision covers both the storage of information on terminal equipment and access to information already stored: in the case of tracking pixels , both scenarios arise through the loading of the remote image and the consequent transmission of data to the server.
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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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