See who read
the PDF you sent.
You can't track a PDF sent as an attachment: once it's downloaded, it's a copy on someone else's device and reports nothing back. To see who read it, share it as a link instead. Upload the PDF to FlipWild and every plan shows readers and link taps. Pro adds pages read, time on each page, who finished, every reader, tracking links and an email form, from $74 a month billed yearly.
Updated November 4, 2026
Why a PDF attachment can't tell you anything
When you attach a PDF to an email, the other person gets their own copy of the file. They can open it, forward it, print it or never look at it, and none of that comes back to you. There's no reliable read receipt for a file sitting on someone else's laptop.
So the honest answer to "how do I track who read my PDF" is: stop sending the file, and send a link to it. When the PDF lives at a link, every visit happens on a page that can count it. That's what document tracking tools do, whether they're built for sales decks or, like FlipWild, turn the PDF into a page-turning flipbook.
How to share a PDF as a link that tracks
- Upload the PDF to FlipWild. Up to 200 MB and 500 pages. Making and previewing is free.
- Choose who can open it. Make it unlisted on any plan: only people with the link can open it, it stays off your public page, search engines skip it and the link can't be guessed. On Business you can add a password too.
- Turn on what you want to learn. On Pro, add an email form before the first page so you know who each reader is, or make a separate tracking link for each place you send it.
- Publish and send the link in your email, text or message, instead of the attachment.
- Open the reading report for that flipbook to see what happened.
Links in your PDF keep working, so the "Book a call" link on the last page still goes to your calendar, and each tap is counted. More on the basics in PDF to link.
What you can see, plan by plan
| What the report shows | Starter | Plus | Pro | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readers for each flipbook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Link taps for each flipbook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Download readers as a CSV | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reads by page and time on each page | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Who read to the end, and every reader | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Tracking links for each place you share it | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Email form to learn who's reading | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Send data to Google Analytics (GA4) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Countries | No | No | No | Yes |
| Price per month, billed yearly | $15 | $32 | $74 | $149 |
FlipWild plans, November 2026. Month to month: $19, $42, $99 and $199. Every plan includes everything in the plan below it.
"Who" read it: what that means in practice
It's worth being clear about this, because "see who read it" can mean two things.
- How many people opened it, and whether they tapped your links. Every plan shows that. Good for knowing whether a mailer, a menu or a price list is being read at all.
- Which person read which pages. For that you need Pro. Advanced Analytics lists every reader with the pages they saw, how far they got and how long they stayed. To put a name on a reader, either ask for an email with the email form (before they start, after a page or at the end), or send different people different tracking links, like "acme" and "brightline", and see which one comes back.
Readers who don't give an email and come through a shared link show up as a visit, with their pages and time, not as a name.
Good uses for a tracked PDF
- Proposals and quotes. See whether the client opened it, which pages they read and whether they reached the price. On Pro they can also accept and sign it right in the flipbook. See the live proposal example.
- Price lists and catalogs. Count readers and taps on your Shop links. See shoppable catalogs.
- Lead magnets. Ask for an email after a few pages (Pro), and download the emails from the report.
- Newsletters and reports. See which pages people actually spend time on, then write more of that.
When a different tool fits better
FlipWild is a flipbook maker with a reading report: your PDF turns pages like a book, works on phones, and tells you what readers did. If your work is mostly sending sales decks to prospects all day, document-sharing tools built for sales decks may fit that job better. If you just need to know whether people read what you sent, and you'd like it to look good on a phone, a flipbook link does that.
One more limit to know: FlipWild has no free publishing plan. You can make and preview for free, but a working link needs a plan. The full list of what's in each one is on the pricing page.
Questions
Can you tell if someone opened a PDF you emailed?
Not from the attachment itself. Once they download it, it's their copy and reports nothing back. Send a link to the PDF instead, and the link can count every visit.
How do I track who views my PDF?
Upload it to a tool that shares it as a link, such as FlipWild, and send the link instead of the file. Every plan shows readers and link taps; Pro adds pages, time, who finished and every reader.
Can I see which pages someone read?
Yes, with Advanced Analytics on FlipWild Pro: reads by page, time on each page, who read to the end and every reader.
Can I find out the reader's name or email?
Only if they give it. On Pro, turn on the email form before the first page, after a page or at the end, and emails show up in your report.
Can I keep a tracked PDF private?
Yes. Unlisted flipbooks on any plan open only for people with the link and are skipped by search engines. Business adds password protection.
