Did you read my e-mail?

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: News, Trends & Analysis - DidTheyReadIt.com

Sign up for a service from DidTheyReadIt.com, and you'll never again have to wonder whether the e-mail messages you send are read. The service allows anyone who pays the $50 annual fee to secretly track e-mails they send and find out whether the recipient opens their email, how long he or she keeps it open, and even geographically where the recipient is reading it.

To get the service, from Rampell Software of Cambridge, Massachusetts, e-mail users can register on the Web site, pay the service charge, and then every time they send an e-mail, add ".didtheyreadit.com" to the end of the recipient's e-mail address. (For example, users would type amysmith@company.com.didtheyreadit.com.) Users can also download software that adds a tracking code to all out going e-mail.

Next, users go to DidTheyReadIt.com, log in, and see a list of all the e-mails they have sent through the service. A box shows what time each e-mail was read, how long it was kept open, whether it was read multiple times, and the Internet service provider that the recipient used when opening it. In most cases, the site can reveal the city where the e-mail was read, though not the specific address. It can also tell users whether the recipient forwarded the e-mail (but not to whom it was sent) and...