HubSpot emails not logging or tracking? Find the setting that's blocking them

When emails sent from Gmail or Outlook don't log in HubSpot, check two simple things first: whether the Log box was ticked when the email went out, and whether the recipient is a contact in HubSpot yet. With a connected inbox and the default rule, Log all emails (from known contacts), emails to existing contacts log by themselves, while emails sent outside HubSpot to people who aren't contacts don't log (contact email logging rules).

Take one email that should have logged and work from it. Search HubSpot for a contact with exactly that address. Then check both never log lists: your personal one on the Email tab of your General settings, and the account-wide one under Data Management, Objects, Activities, on the Email Log & Track tab. A domain on the account list stops emails to that domain from logging for every user, and a domain on your personal list does the same for your own emails. Other recipients on the same email still get it logged.

Why emails don't log in HubSpot

The email was tracked but never logged

Tracking and logging are separate. Tracking adds a hidden image so you see opens. Logging saves a copy of the email on the record. In the Outlook desktop add-in, ticking Track Email doesn't log a copy, and Gmail has separate Track and Log boxes too. An admin can make the Gmail extension and the Office 365 add-in log every email by default, but the desktop add-in ignores that default (track and log settings).

The recipient isn't a contact

In the Gmail extension and the Office 365 add-in you can tick a new address under Create as new contacts before sending. If that stays unticked, there's no record for the email to log to. Contacts created this way are set as non-marketing, and the sender becomes their owner if they have none.

The address or domain is on a never log list

Never log lists exclude addresses and domains from email logging and from contact creation. Each user has a personal list, Super Admins manage one for the whole account, and a list holds up to 500 entries. Adding an entry isn't retroactive, so it won't remove emails already logged (never log lists). Your own company domain belongs on the account list. A client's domain doesn't.

HubSpot doesn't recognise the sending address

HubSpot only logs emails sent from an address it can tie to a user. That means the user's HubSpot login email, a connected email, or an alias added to their Profile & Preferences or set up in a connected Gmail inbox. A rep sending from a second mailbox or a new alias HubSpot doesn't know about gets nothing logged.

The inbox isn't connected, or is connected the wrong way

Automatic logging and reply logging depend on a connected individual work email. If the inbox was connected under the wrong provider type, emails won't log. If the user moved to a new provider, replies to old threads stop logging until they reconnect. Outlook and Exchange folders with more than 100,000 items can slow syncing, so emails show up late. See inbox disconnected or not syncing to reconnect.

Replies only log inside a thread

If an admin chose Log replies only, a reply logs when the original email went out through HubSpot or with Log ticked, the reply keeps the same subject line, and the inbox is still connected when it arrives. A new email from a contact that isn't part of a logged thread won't log (reply logging).

The user's seat changed

As of October 2026, users on a View-Only seat can't log or track emails, and moving someone to View-Only turns their email logging off. It stays off until they have a Core, Sales or Service seat again and Personal email access is on (seat types).

The extension or add-in didn't load

In Gmail, look for the HubSpot sprocket with a green dot. Other extensions such as Streak, Boomerang or MailTrack, incognito windows and the wrong Chrome profile can all stop it appearing (Chrome extension troubleshooting). Emails sent with a customised Gmail layout can't be tracked or logged either. With the Office 365 add-in, the HubSpot Sales pane must stay open while you click Send. The Outlook desktop add-in is in maintenance mode, so move to the Office 365 add-in if you're still on it.

Opens and clicks aren't being tracked

Tracking needs the Track box ticked, an HTML email and images loading for the recipient. Plain text emails, image blocking and corporate filters stop the pixel, and some VPNs block tracking requests. If an admin cleared Allow all users to track emails, nobody's emails are tracked. With data privacy settings on, contacts without a legal basis aren't tracked. Click tracking also needs a paid Sales Hub subscription and a Sales seat (open and click tracking).

How to fix emails that aren't logging

1. Search for a contact with the recipient's exact address and create one if it's missing.
2. Check both never log lists and remove any client address or domain.
3. On the Email tab of the user's General settings, confirm the inbox is connected with the right provider. Check they have Personal email access and a Core, Sales or Service seat.
4. Look at the contact email logging rule on the Email Log & Track tab and decide whether Log replies only is really what your team wants.
5. Send a test to a contact with Log ticked, keeping the add-in pane open in Outlook, and check the contact's timeline.
6. Log the emails you missed. In Gmail, open the email and click Log email to HubSpot. In Outlook, use the same option in the Office 365 add-in pane. The desktop add-in can't log past emails (logging sent and received emails).

How to stop it happening again

Turn on the account-wide default so the Gmail extension and Office 365 add-in log every email unless a rep unticks it. Keep your own domain on the account never log list and nothing else without a reason. Ask each rep to connect every mailbox and alias they send from, and check the never log lists after onboarding a new client.

If you'd like someone to check logging and tracking settings across the whole team, book a free 30-minute call.

Questions

Will turning on logging pick up my old emails?

No. Logging only applies to emails sent after it's on. Use Log email to HubSpot in Gmail or the Office 365 add-in to log older ones one at a time.

Why didn't the BCC address log my email?

The sending address has to be one HubSpot knows, the recipient can't be on a never log list, and the email has to stay under 40 MB. People you BCC aren't logged at all, while people you CC become new contacts (BCC and forwarding addresses).

Why do I see opens for an email nobody read?

Forwarded emails, preview panes in Outlook or Apple Mail, and copying an old tracked email into a new one can all trigger extra opens. HubSpot can't tell you whether a tracked email was forwarded.