An Instantly custom tracking domain (CTD) is a subdomain of yours that Instantly uses for open pixels and rewritten links instead of a tracking host shared by all its customers. Add a CNAME record with the host inst and the value prox.itrackly.com at whichever service hosts your DNS, set it to DNS-only if that service is Cloudflare, then enter inst.yourdomain.com in each email account's Custom Tracking Domain setting and click Check Status. If you never enable open or link tracking, the CTD has little to do in your campaign emails, which changes how urgent it is.
This guide follows Instantly's Custom Tracking Domain (CTD) article, its Cloudflare, GoDaddy and Namecheap walkthroughs, its tracking articles and its API reference, checked October 16, 2026. We did not configure a CTD in a private Instantly account and make no inbox-placement claims of our own. OutboundXYZ has an affiliate relationship with Instantly; it did not decide these steps or recommendations.
The record Instantly documents
Field Value Type CNAME Host / Name instValue / Target prox.itrackly.comTTL Automatic or 3600 Cloudflare proxy status DNS only (grey cloud) The account's Settings screen in Instantly shows the same record next to the toggle. Copy it from there.
What the tracking domain changes, and when it does nothing
Instantly says that when you enable open or link tracking, it inserts tracking code into your emails, typically a URL in the format xyz.inreg1.com/[code] on a domain shared among Instantly customers. With a CTD, that code uses your own subdomain instead. Its link-tracking article says a click is tracked with your custom tracking domain or, if you don't have one, with the default domain.
Instantly's reason for the feature is reputation isolation: other senders' behavior on a shared tracking host can't drag yours along with it. That is vendor guidance, not something we measured. Instantly is also candid about the other side: its low open-rate article says opinions differ on keeping open tracking on, and that the pixel "could technically hurt deliverability, but it is difficult to gauge." Its opens troubleshooting article adds that a CTD is not required for open tracking to work.
Open data is also weaker than it looks. Apple says Mail Privacy Protection prevents senders from seeing whether a message was opened, and it doesn't extend to links. Our guide to why read receipts and open pixels are unreliable covers the measurement problem in more detail.
| Your setup | Do you need a CTD? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Link tracking on in any campaign | Yes, before launch | Every tracked link is rewritten through a tracking host. Without a CTD, that host is shared. |
| Open tracking on | Strongly advised by Instantly | Not required for opens to register, but the pixel otherwise loads from the shared domain. |
| Open and link tracking off, workspace-wide | Optional | Instantly describes the tracking code as something it inserts when tracking is on. Setting up the CTD anyway costs one DNS record and covers you if a teammate turns tracking on later. |
| Done-For-You or pre-warmed accounts bought from Instantly | Already handled | Instantly says it creates the CNAME and enables the CTD for these automatically. Still confirm with the account filter below. |
Where the switches live: inside a campaign, the Open Tracking article puts Open tracking under Settings → Advanced settings → Basic deliverability, with Link Tracking in the same advanced settings. Workspace-wide, Settings → Advanced Deliverability has Disable Open Tracking and Always send first email as text-only, and Instantly says these global settings override campaign settings.
Jan's earlier view was firm. In a March 2023 warm-up walkthrough, made with a disclosed Instantly affiliate link, he told viewers to always set up a custom tracking domain, and at 6:11 he enabled the warm-up option for it so warm-up looked as close as possible to real campaigns. That is dated practice, not a current test. Instantly's current warm-up settings article still offers Warm custom tracking domain but says it can be skipped because warm-up emails are plain text.
Before you start
- Access to the DNS records for each sending domain, at the service that actually answers DNS for it.
- The Instantly email accounts already connected and healthy. If a Google Workspace mailbox won't connect, fix that first with our Google Workspace OAuth setup guide.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC already in place. A CTD doesn't replace authentication; our SPF, DKIM and DMARC guide covers those records.
- A decision on one CTD per sending domain or one shared CTD (see the section further down).
- A terminal with
digornslookup, or a browser for MXToolbox's CNAME lookup.
Step 1: Find where your DNS is hosted
The registrar where you bought the domain isn't always where its DNS lives. If the nameservers point to Cloudflare, a record added in GoDaddy's or Namecheap's panel does nothing. Check first:
dig +short NS yourdomain.com
*.ns.cloudflare.com means you edit DNS in Cloudflare; domaincontrol.com usually means GoDaddy and registrar-servers.com usually means Namecheap BasicDNS.
Step 2: Add the inst CNAME
Create a CNAME with the host inst and the value prox.itrackly.com. Instantly's main article says to use inst exactly; it gives ins.yourdomain.com as an example of a host that will fail verification. Enter only inst in the host field, not inst.yourdomain.com, unless your provider explicitly asks for the full name.
Provider notes we verified on official pages:
- Cloudflare: Instantly's Cloudflare article sets Proxy status to DNS-only and says the cloud icon should be grey, not orange. Cloudflare's proxy status documentation explains why: proxied CNAME records are flattened and answer with Cloudflare IP addresses, so a lookup no longer returns the
prox.itrackly.comtarget Instantly checks for. Cloudflare also warns in its CNAME flattening documentation that flattening all CNAME records in a zone can break third-party verification for the same reason. - GoDaddy: Instantly's steps go through Manage DNS → Add. GoDaddy's CNAME instructions say the Name is the prefix without the domain and can't already be in use by another record. GoDaddy says most DNS changes take effect within an hour but can take up to 48 hours.
- Namecheap: Use Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS → Add New Record. Namecheap's CNAME article says its system adds your domain automatically, so typing the full name duplicates it. It also says a CNAME blocks any other record on the same host, so remove conflicting A, ALIAS, URL redirect or CNAME records for
inst, and save with Save All Changes.
Don't put the tracking CNAME on the bare root domain. Namecheap warns that a CNAME at the @ host can interfere with the domain's MX records and therefore its email.
Step 3: Check the record yourself
Instantly says to allow 24 to 72 hours for propagation, often less. You don't have to wait blind. Ask a public resolver directly:
dig @1.1.1.1 +short inst.yourdomain.com CNAME
# expected: prox.itrackly.com.
nslookup -type=CNAME inst.yourdomain.com 8.8.8.8
# expected: canonical name = prox.itrackly.com.
The trailing dot is normal DNS notation. Instantly's own fallback is MXToolbox's CNAME Lookup: the Canonical Name column should show prox.itrackly.com, and DNS Record not found means the record is missing or mistyped.
A plain dig inst.yourdomain.com shows the whole chain. On October 16, 2026, our public lookup showed prox.itrackly.com aliasing onward to a Vercel hostname. That's Instantly's infrastructure and can change, so always point your record at prox.itrackly.com, never at what it currently resolves to.
Step 4: Enable it on each Instantly email account
The CTD is an account setting, so it has to be on for every mailbox that sends tracked campaigns. Following Instantly's steps:
- Open the Email Accounts dashboard and click the account.
- In the pop-up, open Settings and scroll to Custom Tracking Domain.
- Switch the toggle on. The panel shows the expected record (CNAME,
inst,prox.itrackly.com). - In Your tracking domain or subdomain, enter
inst.yourdomain.comwith your real domain. - Click Check Status. Success shows CNAME Verified; an unpropagated or wrong record shows Retrying.
- Click Save. An unsaved toggle does nothing.
Some domains get a second prompt saying the domain needs additional verification and listing TXT records. Add the TXT record exactly as displayed. In Instantly's help screenshot, the example is named _vercel with a value starting vc-domain-, consistent with the lookup above. Trust a request like that only when it appears inside Instantly's own panel.
There's no certificate to upload in the documented setup, but SSL is still checked. Instantly's API status call, GET /api/v2/accounts/ctd/status?host=inst.yourdomain.com, returns separate cname and ssl booleans, and older Instantly material showed both "CNAME Verified" and "SSL Verified." If CNAME passes but tracking misbehaves, check the SSL value.
Step 5: Confirm real emails use it
A verified badge proves the DNS record, not that a campaign is using it. Run one controlled check:
- Make sure link tracking is on for a test campaign that sends HTML (both campaign-level and global text-only settings off for the step you test).
- Add a mailbox you control as a lead, include one ordinary link, and let the step send.
- Hover over the link in the delivered message. The URL should start with
inst.yourdomain.com. - In Gmail, use More → Show original (Google's instructions) and search the source for your CTD and for
inreg1. Your subdomain should appear; the shared format shouldn't.
A link that arrives as plain text isn't tracked at all; Instantly says text-only sending and bare link variables both cause this. To exclude one link from tracking, Instantly documents adding ?clicktracking=off to it in the code view. Its system-generated unsubscribe links aren't click-tracked; our Instantly unsubscribe link guide covers that setup.
One tracking domain or one per sending domain?
Instantly documents two ways to organize CTDs:
| Option | Instantly's suggested fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| One CTD for all domains | An old, warmed primary domain; Instantly says it recommends this for a lead agency | Fewer records to manage, but every campaign's tracking shares one host and its reputation. |
One CTD per sending domain (inst.first.com for first.com accounts) |
All-new domains, or an experimental campaign that could hurt reputation | More setup, but a bad campaign's damage is contained to its own group. |
Our editorial view for agencies sending on behalf of clients: keep a client's tracking on that client's own domains. A prospect who hovers a link in Brand A's email shouldn't see Brand B's domain, and one client's campaign shouldn't share a tracking reputation with another's. That's judgment, not an Instantly rule.
Troubleshooting a CTD that won't verify
| What you see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Retrying for hours, dig returns nothing |
Record not yet visible, or added at the wrong DNS host | Check the nameservers (Step 1), then wait within Instantly's 24 to 72 hours. |
dig ... CNAME is empty but dig returns IP addresses |
Cloudflare proxy (orange cloud) or zone-wide CNAME flattening | Set the record to DNS only; review flattening settings. |
Lookup works for inst.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com |
Full name typed into a host field that appends the domain | Re-create the record with host inst only. |
| Provider refuses to save the CNAME | Another record already uses inst |
Remove or rename the conflicting A, ALIAS, redirect or CNAME record. |
| Lookup shows a near-miss name or target | Typo such as ins, or prox.itrackly.co |
Copy the host and value from Instantly's panel. |
| Instantly asks for a TXT record | Additional domain verification | Add the TXT exactly as displayed, then click Check Status again. |
| Verified, but links still use the shared host | Account not saved, or another account in the campaign lacks a CTD | Save each account; filter the dashboard (below). |
| Verified, but no tracked links or opens | Text-only settings or global Disable Open Tracking | Review campaign Basic deliverability and workspace Advanced Deliverability. |
Old guides may mention a track host. Instantly's former article on moving from track to inst returned a not-found page on October 16, 2026; current documentation only describes inst.
Rolling it out across many accounts
Instantly's bulk settings article documents an Email Accounts status filter called No custom tracking domain. Run it before every launch and after adding mailboxes. Be careful with bulk Edit Accounts: Instantly warns that empty fields in that window, except Sender Name, are reset to defaults on save, and it doesn't say how the CTD field behaves there. Test on two accounts, then re-check the filter.
For large workspaces, the API's account update schema includes tracking_domain_name and tracking_domain_status, and the status endpoint above confirms each host. The field descriptions are minimal, so try one account before scripting the rest.
A CTD only changes the tracking host. If a campaign has stopped sending entirely, work through our Instantly campaign-not-sending checklist, and for the copy itself, our free email spam checker flags link and wording issues. Running Smartlead as well? It uses a different CNAME target and per-mailbox settings, covered in our Smartlead custom tracking domain guide. For the wider tool decision, read our Instantly review.
Frequently asked questions
What CNAME record does Instantly use for a custom tracking domain?
A CNAME with the host inst pointing to prox.itrackly.com, TTL automatic or 3600. You then enter inst.yourdomain.com in the account's Custom Tracking Domain setting.
How long does an Instantly custom tracking domain take to verify?
Instantly says to allow 24 to 72 hours for propagation, often less. A dig or MXToolbox lookup shows whether the record is visible before you click Check Status again.
Do I need a custom tracking domain if open tracking is off?
If link tracking is also off everywhere, the CTD has little to do in campaign emails: Instantly describes its tracking code as something it inserts when open or link tracking is enabled. It's cheap insurance if anyone might turn tracking on later. Don't run link tracking without one.
Should the Cloudflare record be proxied?
No. Instantly specifies DNS-only (grey cloud). A proxied CNAME answers with Cloudflare IP addresses instead of the prox.itrackly.com target.
Can several sending domains share one tracking domain?
Yes. Instantly documents both a single shared CTD and one CTD per sending domain. Separate CTDs contain the damage from a bad campaign; a shared one is simpler to maintain.
