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Retrieve & Analyze Exchange Online Read Receipts with Microsoft Graph & PowerShell

Muhammad FaizanMarch 27, 2024 - Last Updated: April 6, 2024

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Knowing whether recipients have read your emails can be valuable for follow-ups, time-sensitive communication, and tracking engagement. Microsoft Graph, combined with PowerShell, empowers you to retrieve email read receipts within Exchange Online.

Prerequisites

Understanding of Exchange Online mail flow and read receipt functionality
Familiarity with PowerShell scripting
Microsoft Graph Permissions:
- Mail.Read

Important Note: Limitations of Read Receipts

User Control: Recipients can choose whether or not to send read receipts. A missing receipt doesn’t guarantee the email wasn’t read.
Availability: Read receipts might not be available under certain configurations or for older messages.

Retrieving Read Receipts with PowerShell and Microsoft Graph

1: Install Modules:

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph

2: Connect to Graph API:

Connect-MgGraph -Scopes Mail.Read

3: Find the Message-ID:

The Message-ID uniquely identifies each email. Here’s how to locate it:

Outlook:
1. Open the email.
2. Go to File -> Properties.
3. Locate “Internet headers” and find the Message-ID.
Outlook on the Web:
1. Open the email.
2. Click the three dots (…) and select View message details.
3. Locate the Message-ID.

4: Query Read Receipt Information:

$messageId = "<insert Message-ID here>"
Get-MgUserMessage -UserId "user@example.com" -MessageId $messageId -IncludeReadReceipt

Replace user@example.com with the actual user’s email address.

5: Interpret Results

The response will contain read receipt details if they are available.
Examine the recipient address, read timestamp, etc.

Real-World Scenarios

Confirming Important Notice: Verify if a crucial email was seen by the recipient.
Tracking Proposal Open: Get insights into whether a proposal or contract has been read.
Sales Follow-Ups: Inform follow-up timing based on read confirmation.