How to add a stealth link? | Force24 Support Hub

How to set up a stealth link

If you are experiencing inflated open/click rates in your campaigns, this may be a sign of spambot activity. One way to combat this is by including a stealth link in your emails.

What is a stealth link?

A "stealth link" refers to a hyperlink that is intentionally designed to be inconspicuous or hidden within content. This is particularly helpful for identifying spambots, as the stealth link is hidden within the email, so anyone that clicks it will be a bot. This helps to identify which of your clicks are legitimate and which are from bots.

Here are a few scenarios where such links might be beneficial:

Honey Pot Technique: A stealth link can be set up as a "honeypot" to attract and identify spambots. A honeypot is a link or form field that is hidden from human users but is accessible to bots. When a bot interacts with the hidden link, it can be flagged as potentially malicious, and appropriate measures can be taken.

Behaviour Analysis: By embedding links that are not immediately visible to users but can be accessed programmatically, you can analyse the behaviour of requests to those links. Legitimate users may not interact with these hidden links, while many bots might attempt to access them. Analyzing this behavior can help in identifying automated or suspicious activity.

Pattern Recognition: If you create a pattern of stealth links that are consistent across your communications, any deviation from this pattern could signal potential bot activity. Bots often follow patterns, and detecting anomalies in link interactions might be an indicator of automated behaviour.

Dynamic Token Generation: Implementing a system where links include dynamic tokens that are generated server-side and validated upon access can add a layer of security. Bots may struggle to generate and use valid tokens, helping to filter out automated requests.

To insert a stealth link into your email, you will need to open up the HTML of the email:

And you will need to paste this code after the unsubscribe tag:

<a href="https://stealthlinkURLhere">Subject line or a relevant text here</a>

</div>

This is what it would like like in the email HTML:

Please ensure you use a real URL (do not include the world 'stealth' in your URL as this can impact deliverability of the email). Use a fake realistic looking URL

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us through the live chat function available bottom right in your Force24 Platform. Our team is ready to assist you and provide support whenever you need it!

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