The return receipt option confirms email delivery and provides additional information, but not all email providers offer it. Recipients can opt-out and emails may be filtered. Common providers like AOL, Netscape, and Outlook have the option, but it may be disabled by default. Users must enable it in settings or select the option when composing an email.
The return receipt option is a feature offered by some email service providers. Just like with physical “snail mail,” using this feature can be very helpful. First, it serves as a delivery confirmation. It can also provide valuable additional information, such as the time and date the email was read and the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the local or network computer that received it. With the large number of email service providers out there, the best way to find out which ones have a return receipt option is to contact the service and ask.
Requesting a return receipt does not necessarily mean that one will actually be received. First, the recipient’s email application may not support this feature, and some privacy policies allow individual users to opt out of email tracking. This means that the recipient can disable the feature and continue reading the email. Also, if the sender’s email address is not pre-approved or is otherwise filtered, the email may automatically be directed to a “spam” folder and never appear.
While there are dozens of web-based email providers – and some that don’t require an internet connection at all – surprisingly few offer the return receipt feature. Some of the most common email clients, such as America Online (AOL), Netscape® and Microsoft Outlook®. However, users should be aware that while these applications may have this option, it is usually disabled by default. In fact, sometimes it can take a few more clicks for the sender to figure out how to send email with this feature enabled.
For example, the Outlook® application has a number of return receipt options that can be accessed by selecting “Options” from the drop-down menu under “Tools” from the main menu bar. From here, the user can choose to request a return receipt for all emails sent, to be requested before sending individual emails, or to disable the feature altogether. The user can also choose to send a receipt to the inbox.
America Online is much easier with its options. With this application, there is a tab that says “Request Return Receipt” at the bottom of the window that contains email that can be checked. Also, since AOL is a subscription service, members can track the status of all emails sent to other AOL members. This feature is available without even requesting a receipt.
With Netscape®, these options are available in the “Mail & Newsgroups” area under “Preferences” from the “Edit” drop-down menu. As with Outlook®, Netscape® users can choose to request a return receipt for all outgoing email or just some. As with AOL, users can simply select “Compose” to launch a new email window and check the box to request a receipt from there.
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