[MlMt] Blocking only trackers

[Benny Kjær Nielsen]

On 16 Sep 2020, at 19:42, mlmt at rhp.tw wrote:

> Is it possible to configure the new message view to download external resources but block images in the "Strictly Blocked" category?

That's how it is supposed to work if you have image blocking disabled for the currently viewed message. It's a bug if it doesn't work for you. (Write me via “Help ▸ Send Feedback”.)

> Also, it seems the new message view ignores the Image Blocking preference.

That should still work, but strictly blocked resources are not affected by these preferences (which is why I've named them strict). I'm already getting a lot of (negative) feedback on that, because the test releases are currently very strict (no unencrypted transmissions to fetch resources). This will all be configurable (it'll be possible to configure it to something similar to how it worked before).

Also note that if you have previously allowed MailMate to fetch specific image resources then MailMate might find these in a cache even if they are later blocked from being fetched. This is fine because it does not involve talking to a server.

Most of my work on image blocking has been focused on how it works internally, that is, making sure I can keep better track of what the message view is doing. This should then also make it easier for me to allow the user to be more explicit about what should be allowed. This part is still work-in-progress.

The subject line of your email is “blocking only trackers”. Right now, MailMate has some very in-your-face warnings when 1x1 pixels have been fetched (I have seen emails with up to 5 such tracking pixels). These warnings will likely be disabled by default, because they kind of implicitly tells the user that other non-1x1 pixel resources are safe from tracking which is of course not true. Any kind of external resource can be used for tracking. The 1x1 pixels are just most likely used for tracking purposes and therefore some users might want to know about them. Again, work-in-progress :)

Image blocking is a complex subject and users should also be careful about just reducing it to be about “tracking”. I now think about it with 3 aspects in mind:

* Privacy: The sender (or the service used by the sender) might know if, when, or where you read your emails (or click on a link).
* Security: The image you see might not be the same one as the sender intended you to see. Not even if what you received was signed and/or encrypted. (This requires encrypted server communications.)
* Transparency: Displaying an email might require a lot of server communications. This should be registered explicitly and be available to the user for review.

And all of this should be handled in a way that stays out of your way most of the time (which is not currently the case).

-- 
Benny
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