A translucent 1x1 pixel picture is the typical size of a web beacon, which is a tiny image file used for monitoring. It can be used in HTML emails or webpages to note when the information was received.

How do web beacons work?

A computer is consulted for every picture referred to on a website. The computer logs a "hit" when the picture is received, which is usually stored there. To find out when a particular picture was viewed and the IP address that obtained the file, look in the server's log file.

A online beacon's image may begin with a question mark (?) and then contain an identification text, like xxx.png?user1234. Everything following the ".jpg" suffix will be ignored by the web browser, but the full text will be counted as a hit by the web server. You can use this data to find out when a particular web sensor is viewed.

Any picture can be used as a web beacon, but tiny translucent GIFs or PNGs are frequently used because of how discretely they can be positioned on a website. They might also be used by external monitoring programs that are viewed through a different web site. Examples include advertising connections offered by other businesses and tracking code like Google Analytics. For instance, a web tracker might appear before or after an advertising link. With a simple text link, it is impossible for the publication to track how many views (or times the link is presented) have occurred.

Email marketing using web beacons

To monitor the amount of people who read and examine emails, web beacons are frequently used in email marketing. For instance, a web beacon concealed in an advertising email may log the fact that you have accessed it when you view it. This aids email marketers in determining which ads are successful. Sadly, because email beacons can store legitimate email addresses, they might also be used to spread malware. In emails that are likely to be junk, many email apps and internet platforms do not immediately display pictures.