How To Send Confidential Email On Gmail | Maintain Secrecy!

Do you want to use a more secure mode of sending information through emails? Then you should know that Gmail provides a feature of “Confidential mode”. You sure would want to know how to send confidential email on Gmail.

Sending emails is the most basic and preferred way of communicating with others worldwide. Most importantly, all the official conversations take place through emails only. This method of communication is quite popular because it is comparatively easier and more accessible to most people. 

Emailing on Gmail is okay for casual as well as official communication, but sometimes we have to provide someone with information that is sensitive and we need to keep it confidential. This is where we feel the need for a confidential mode on Gmail. Learn how to send confidential Email on Gmail and keep your mails secret and safe.

The good thing is that Gmail has designed such a feature to send emails confidentially and more securely on the platform. Want to know how it works? In this post, we will explain how you can send a confidential email on Gmail. 

What Is Confidential Mode On Gmail?

Gmail has a “Confidential Mode” inbuilt in their app which is specifically for those who do not want their secretive and sensitive information to leak under any circumstances. When an email is sent under the Confidential mode activated, the receiver will first receive a verification mail where they will have to enter the code sent via SMS to your number or email of the same account. Then only they will be able to read the confidential message sent to them in the email. 

When you receive such confidential emails, you don’t get any content of that message in the email itself. The email will only serve the purpose of your identity verification and the original message that has been sent via that email will only be available on the servers of Google. 

Another important thing to take note of is that these confidential messages come with an expiry date. The sender chooses the expiry date of these messages which can either be of days, weeks, months, or years. Once the email expires, the receiver will never be able to read the information sent in that email. 

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How To Send Confidential Email On Gmail?

Now, let us know how to send confidential email on Gmail. The method is very easy. You will be able to understand through just a few steps that have been provided here:

1. Sign in to your Gmail account on your device. 
2. Tap on the “Compose” button in the bottom right corner of your screen.
3. Now, add the recipient to whom you want to send the confidential email.
4. Enter the subject line and type the main message in the Body. 
5. Now, tap on the three dots on the top right corner of the page. 
6. In the menu that will appear, you will find an option of “Confidential Mode”. Tap on it. 
7. The toggle of confidential mode will be turned blue. You can check to make sure.
8. There will be an option to set an expiry. You can choose the duration as you want to. 
9. In the “Request passcode” option, it is set to “Standard” by default. You can change it to an SMS passcode if you want to. In the case of standard passcode, the receiver will get a passcode on their email, whereas in the case of an SMS passcode they will receive a code on the mentioned phone number. When you choose the SMS passcode option, you will be asked to enter the phone number where you want the verification code to be sent. 
10. Once you are done with all this, tap on the “Save” button on the top right corner of the screen.
11. Now you can just tap on the Send button. The email now sent to the recipient is in confidential mode. 

It is preferable to select the “SMS passcode” option while sending confidential emails on Gmail. In that case, the email can be kept more secure because the receiver will be able to read the message only after they enter the passcode that was sent to their phone number, and you can choose the phone number. Another person might have access to the recipient’s email account but their chances of having access to their phone’s SMS are minimal.

Basically, the SMS passcode verification works as two-factor authentication and increases the surety of your email to be secure and only accessible to the receiver whose phone number you have entered for the verification passcode. So you are suggested to choose the SMS passcode option when you have to send a confidential email to someone on Gmail. 

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How To Read Confidential Email On Gmail?

Now you know how to send confidential email on Gmail. However, what if someone sent you a confidential email? You must know how you will be able to open and read it. Here are the steps provided on how you can read confidential emails on Gmail. 

1. Sign up for your email account on Gmail. 
2. Open the confidential email that you have received. 
3. If you have a Gmail account and the sender has used the Standard method of verification, then you will directly be able to read the contents of the email. 
4. However, if you do not have a Gmail account, then you will receive another email containing the passcode which you will need to enter, and then you will be able to read the message sent o the email. 
5. On the other hand, if the sender has selected the “SMS passcode” option while sending the confidential email then you will see a button of “Send Code” in the email. Tap on it.
6. Now, check your mobile phone for the verification code that has been sent to your number through the SMS service. 
7. Enter that passcode in the column provided in the email. 
8. As soon as the correct passcode is entered, the content of the email will appear right there and will be available till the expiry date. 

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How To Unsend Confidential Email On Gmail?

Since you know as how to send confidential email on Gmail, let’s see how to unsend it too. Can you remove access to the email that you sent someone on Gmail? Yes! You can, but only if you have sent it in confidential mode. So, if you feel like you may have to delete the message for the reader under some conditions later, then do send the email in confidential mode only. Here’s how you can remove access to a message to someone that you sent on Gmail. 

1. Open the Gmail account from which you have sent that confidential message which you now want to delete for the recipient.
2. You will find the message in your inbox as well as under “Sent” emails. Open that message.
3. There will be a button for “Remove access” inside the email when you open it. Tap on it. If the recipient is yet to read the contents of the email, then they are no longer going to be able to access it.

In case you later wish to give access to the message on that email again, then you can simply tap on the “Renew access” button that will be available at the same location where you found the “Remove access” option. 

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Wrapping Up:

This was all you needed to know about the “Confidential Mode” in Gmail. Now you know how to send confidential email on Gmail. You can use this feature wherever you wish to. 

We hope that the article was helpful to you. If you want to read more of such informative articles, you can visit our website Virescencerecord whenever you wish to. 

FAQs

Q. Why Can’t I Enter The Phone Number In Confidential Mode On Gmail?

If you are unable to enter the phone number of the recipient of the email on your Gmail, make sure that you have entered the country code before typing the phone number. Only then Gmail will accept the phone number, otherwise, it will be mentioned as invalid.

Q. How To Encrypt My Email?

In order to encrypt your email, go to the “Advanced Settings” at the bottom of which will be a heading “S/MIME”. Firstly, turn these settings on. Then turn on the encryption and make sure that your S/MIME settings are correct. 

Q. Is Confidential Mode On Gmail Safe?

The confidential mode on Gmail is secure only if you choose the SMS passcode option while sending the confidential mail, else it works just like your normal emails on Gmail.