Many marketing emails contain tiny invisible images, often called tracking pixels, that tell the sender when and where you opened the message. Gmail can block these by asking before it displays external images, so pictures only load in messages you choose. This guide shows how to turn on Ask before displaying external images on a computer, Android, and iPhone, and what changes when you do.
Quick Answer
On a computer, open Gmail, click the gear icon > See all settings, and on the General tab, next to Images, select Ask before displaying external images. Scroll down and click Save Changes.
Turn It On in Gmail on a Computer
- Go to mail.google.com and sign in.
- Click the gear icon at the top right and choose See all settings.
- On the General tab, find Images.
- Select Ask before displaying external images.
- Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.
The setting syncs to your account, but the Gmail mobile apps have their own image setting (below).
Gmail App on Android
- Open Gmail, tap the menu (three lines), and tap Settings.
- Tap your account.
- Scroll to Images and choose Ask before displaying external images.
Gmail App on iPhone or iPad
- Open Gmail, tap the menu, and tap Settings.
- Tap your account (or Data privacy, depending on your app version).
- Tap Images and choose Ask before displaying external images.
What Changes When You Turn It On
- Emails from outside senders show a Display images below link instead of loading pictures automatically. Click it to load images for that message, or choose to always display images from that sender.
- Senders can’t tell whether you opened the email through image tracking, unless you load the images.
- Dynamic email (interactive emails with live content) is turned off.
- Images attached directly to the email (not linked from the web) still appear.
How Gmail Handles Images by Default
With Always display external images, Gmail loads images through its own secure proxy servers and scans them for known threats. This hides your IP address and location from senders, but senders may still learn that the message was opened. Choosing Ask is the stronger privacy option.
Trust Specific Senders
When you open a message from someone you trust, click Always display images from [sender] so their emails load normally from then on.
Summary
- Computer: Settings > See all settings > General > Images > Ask before displaying external images, then save.
- Android and iPhone: set Images in the app’s account settings.
- Click Display images below for messages you want to see fully.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.