Date First Published: 10th January 2023
Topic: Web Design & Development
Subtopic: Web Technologies
Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions
Difficulty: MediumDifficulty Level: 6/10
Learn more about what a web beacon is in this article.
A web beacon, also known as a web bug, is a 1x1 pixel image used for tracking purposes. It can track a user visiting a webpage or reading an email and after it loads, it can track things like the IP address that accessed the file, how long it was viewed, the time it was read, and the web browser. Even though any image can be used as a web beacon, small transparent GIFs or PNG files are common because they can be invisibly placed without being obtrusive. The only way to detect a web beacon is to look at the source code of a page and find tags that are loading tiny images.
Web beacons may be used by third-party tools that are not accessed from the main web server. For example, Google Analytics loads a file called _utm.gif to keep track of page views. Advertising networks also use them to track the behaviour of users and get an idea of how often an ad is appearing or being viewed. Web beacons may be used in combination with cookies to remember preferences and certain information, and track the behaviours of users to personalise results for them.
Web beacons embedded in emails have greater privacy risks than beacons embedded in webpages. They are commonly used to track the number of users who open and view emails. They can record exactly the same information as an advertiser on a website, such as the time the email was read, the IP address of the computer that was used to read the email, and the type of software used to read the email.
When viewing a marketing email, a web beacon may be hidden in the email to confirm that it has been opened, helping email marketers to know which campaigns are effective. They can also be used for spam purposes as they can verify which email addresses are valid so that spammers can target them for more spam emails. This is the reason why by default, most email applications do not automatically load images in emails.
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