France and Italy now require separate consent before a tracking pixel can record whether a subscriber opened an email. This article explains what changed, how it affects your Klaviyo email open tracking, and how Alia's popups can support your compliance efforts.
Note: This article is for general informational purposes and isn't legal advice. As the sender, you remain responsible for your own compliance. Work with your legal or privacy team to confirm how these requirements apply to your program.
What's changing
If you send emails through Klaviyo, they use a tracking pixel — a tiny invisible image — to record whether and when a subscriber opens an email. In 2026, two regulators published guidance confirming that this specific type of tracking needs its own consent, separate from a subscriber's consent to receive marketing emails in the first place.
France — the CNIL (France's data protection authority) published recommendations on tracking pixels in email in April 2026.
Italy — the Garante (Italy's data regulator) followed the same month with its own guidelines.
Both regulators agree on the core principle: a subscriber can consent to receive your emails while declining to have their opens tracked, and that distinction has to be honored. Consent to be tracked also has to be as easy to withdraw as it was to give.
What you need to do
There are three steps to get a popup compliant for France and/or Italy:
Separate your popups regionally for France and/or Italy using Alia's targeting settings.
Add a separate checkbox so subscribers can opt in to tracking consent when they sign up.
Use Alia's popup-level toggle to enable or disable open tracking consent, if you send email through Klaviyo.
Each step is explained in more detail below.
Step 1: Separate your popups by region
Rather than changing your main popup for every subscriber, create a popup that only shows to visitors in a specific region. This lets you apply the checkbox and copy that region needs, without touching the experience for subscribers elsewhere.
Create a new popup and set its region targeting to France (or Italy, or any other country that introduces similar requirements).
Update the popup's copy for that region — for example, swapping in French- or Italian-language consent language.
Keep your default (rest-of-world) popup targeting everyone outside the countries you've created dedicated popups for, so subscribers elsewhere aren't affected.
Do this before setting up the checkbox in Step 2 — the checkbox and its copy should live on the regional popup, not on your default popup.
Step 2: Add a separate tracking consent checkbox
On each France or Italy popup, add a checkbox for tracking consent that's separate from the marketing opt-in checkbox. This is the piece both regulators care about most: a subscriber needs to be able to opt in to receiving your emails while declining to have their opens tracked, so the two consents can't be bundled into one checkbox.
Add a second checkbox, distinct from "I agree to receive marketing emails," labeled for tracking consent (for example, "Allow tracking for these purposes").
Pair it with a short explanation of why you track opens — for example, to measure engagement and improve subject lines and content.
France requires these two checkboxes to always be separate. Italy allows them to be combined only when the purpose is identical — when in doubt, keep them separate there too.
Offer a way to withdraw tracking consent that's as easy as it was to give. For example, a Manage Preferences link in the email footer, separate from Unsubscribe.
Step 3: Use the Klaviyo open tracking toggle
If you send email through Klaviyo, Alia's popup-level toggle controls whether a subscriber's tracking consent is passed to Klaviyo.
Open the popup in the Alia editor and go to the Email Tracking section.
Turn on the toggle for that popup so the checkbox from Step 2 determines each subscriber's tracking consent status.
Subscribers who check the box are passed to Klaviyo as opted in to open tracking. Subscribers who don't are passed as opted out, and according to Klaviyo's documentation, their opens are not recorded.
This toggle only affects new sign-ups collected through that popup going forward. It doesn't change tracking status for subscribers you already have — for existing France or Italy subscribers, plan a separate re-consent or notice email with your legal or privacy team.
As new countries introduce similar requirements, you can repeat this pattern: a dedicated, region-targeted popup with the settings and copy that region needs, sitting alongside your default popup.
FAQ
Does this affect subscribers outside France and Italy?
The published guidance comes from the French and Italian regulators, but it interprets EU-wide ePrivacy and GDPR consent rules, so other European regulators may take a similar approach. Some senders choose to apply the same practice across their whole audience. Review the regulators' recommendations with your legal or privacy team to decide the right scope for your program. Alia supports region-targeted popups for whichever countries need a dedicated approach.
Does a subscriber who declines tracking still get my emails?
Yes. Consent to receive emails and consent to be tracked are two separate things. A subscriber can decline open tracking and still receive your marketing emails as normal.
Does this replace my existing marketing consent checkbox?
See Step 2 above, and review the regulators' guidance with your legal or privacy team if you're unsure.
What happens if I don't toggle tracking on for a France or Italy popup?
Subscribers who sign up through that popup will be passed to Klaviyo as opted out of open tracking, and, according to Klaviyo's documentation, their opens are not recorded. They'll still receive and be able to engage with your emails as usual.
Can subscribers change their mind later?
Yes, and both regulators require it. Make sure your emails to French and Italian subscribers include a clear way to update tracking preferences — for example, a Manage Preferences link in the footer, separate from Unsubscribe.
Where can I read the regulations directly?
The CNIL has published an official English translation of its recommendation, and the Garante's guidelines are available on its official site. Your legal or privacy team is the right resource for how these apply to your specific program.
Further reading
CNIL – Recommendation on tracking pixels in emails (official English translation, PDF)
This article is for general informational purposes and isn't legal advice. Work with your legal or privacy team to confirm how these requirements apply to your program.