Document tracking
Document tracking: see who opened it, when, and for how long.
Document tracking is simply knowing whether what you sent was opened — by whom, when, and for how long — instead of reading silence as a no. It turns a guess into a follow-up.
Free to start · no credit card.
The signals
What document tracking actually tells you
Each signal is only useful if you know what to do with it. Here’s the read on the ones Pagelive ships today.
28
Opens
11
Unique viewers
4m 12s
Avg. dwell
DE · US
Top countries
Methods
How to track a document
There are three honest approaches, and the right one depends on what you’re actually sending.
Email read-receipts
Built into some mail clients, but unreliable — recipients can decline them, many clients strip them, and they tell you nothing once the file leaves the inbox.
Dedicated PDF-tracking tools
Wrap a PDF in a tracked link and report opens. Good if what you send is genuinely a PDF — but they flatten interactive work into a static document.
Tracked links for interactive pages
You send a link instead of a file. The page itself is tracked, so you see opens, viewers, and dwell — and the layout and interactivity stay intact. This is what Pagelive does.
The page vs. the PDF
If what you send is a page, not a PDF
Most document-tracking tools assume a PDF. But if your proposal, deck, or report is an interactive HTML page — the kind you build with AI — flattening it into a PDF throws away the part that makes it good.
Pagelive tracks the page itself. The interactivity survives, you see opens and dwell on the live page, and you can update it without changing the link.
How publishing works →PDF export
- Interactivity flattened to a static image
- New version = new file to resend
- Tracks a file, not a live page
Interactive page
- Layout and interactivity stay live
- Update anytime — the link never changes
- The page itself is tracked
Privacy
Tracking and privacy belong together
Tracking who opened a document is pointless if anyone can find it on Google instead. Pagelive pages are noindex by default and can be password-protected, served from an isolated content plane walled off from your dashboard and billing.
Most free hosts index your page by default — Pagelive does the opposite.
How it works
Three steps to a tracked page
Publish your page
Say “publish this” in Claude, drop the HTML, or POST it from your own code. No export, no PDF flattening — your layout and interactivity survive intact.
Lock it down
You get a clean link — noindex by default — that won’t show up on Google. Add a password if it’s confidential, or put it on your own custom domain with Founding.
Track & update
Watch opens, unique viewers, dwell time, by-day, country, and referrer. Update the page anytime and the link never changes; version history keeps your previous edits.
Frequently asked
What is document tracking? +
Document tracking means knowing whether what you sent was opened, by whom, when, and for how long — instead of guessing from silence. With a tracked link you also see unique viewers, dwell time, the day it happened, rough geo, and the referrer.
Can I track a PDF? +
Pagelive tracks interactive HTML pages, not PDF files. If your proposal or deck is a page, you publish it to a tracked link and the layout stays live. For a true PDF, a dedicated PDF-tracking tool is the better fit.
Does the recipient need an account? +
No. A Pagelive link opens in any browser — your recipient never needs an account, an app, or a login (unless you add a password).
Is the tracked page private? +
Yes. Pages are noindex by default — they won’t show up on Google — and you can add an optional password. Content is served from an isolated plane, walled off from your dashboard and billing.
Is it free? +
Yes, to start. You can publish and track your first pages free, with no credit card. Custom domains and custom slugs come with Founding ($7/mo, was $15).
Track a page now.
See who opened it, when, and for how long — private by default. Publish your first page free.