On 16 Sep 2020, at 19:42, [email protected] 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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