Unik Adv believes the use of UTM codes and Google Analytics for tracking mass email deployment is a practice that needs to end.

We adopt this position due to new privacy laws being put into effect (see a great article on the California Privacy Act of 2018 here) and Google Analytics and the use of UTM codes runs counter to privacy; every day we are drawn closer and closer to our own version of the EU’s GDPR. As a company, we protect the privacy of our subscribers and our clients’ subscribers, who put their data in our hands and their trust in our ability to maintain high standards by being at the forefront of privacy policy. That is why we have made it a practice not to pass referrer information via our URLs - to protect our subscribers from being tracked and ultimately remarketed without consent (such as by Google and their vast amount of advertisers, who directly benefit from Google Analytics and UTM codes).

There are ways to provide retargeting and remarketing services that remain in compliance with the spirit of privacy. We offer some! However, we feel UTM codes do not fall within this view.

Legitimate email and data marketers, as a group, need to respect privacy, and to be responsible in how we market to our prospects and future clients or subscribers so as not to offend or their violate privacy expectations.

For more information on the interaction between mass email deployments and Google Analytics, please see our FAQ section clicking button below.