If you prefer, you can manually type the basic HTML code for displaying images: Send the email. Check your server stats after a few days to find out how many times the pixel image has been accessed.

As of January 2024, Google is discontinuing the option to display Gmail on your browser in the Basic HTML view ... including inbox categories, images, and quick actions, please use the latest ...

Most will have been defaulted to the “new” Gmail view long ago, so unless you have been specifically requesting the “basic HTML” view, nothing should change for you. Another day ...