Gmail offers dozens of features to compose your emails. Moreover, it allows you to schedule it to be sent at the desired time. However, there are several features that are lesser-known. One such feature is self-destructing email.
Why would you send a self-destructing email?
There may be several reasons for sending an email that automatically expires after some time. The most common reason is sending a piece of confidential information. People use Gmail not only to share general thoughts or file but also to deal with official and financial documents. You might want such sensitive data to get deleted as soon as the purpose is met.
How can you send self-destructing emails on the Gmail Desktop?
To send self-destructing emails using Gmail on Desktop, follow these steps.
- Launch a web browser on your desktop and log into your Gmail account.
- Click the Compose button located at the left corner of the screen.
- In the compose window, hover over the icons located at the bottom.

- Click the icon that says, “Turn confidential mode on / off”. The icon looks like a lock with a timer.
- You can choose the time of expiry, i.e. 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, or 5 years.
- You can choose the SMS passcode feature to make your email even more secure. The passcode shall be generated by Google.

- Type the recipient’s name, Subject, and Body like you do in a normal email.
- Click the Send button to send your email.
How can you send self-destructing emails on the Gmail app?
Launch the Gmail application on your smartphone and log into your Gmail account.
- Tap the plus button (+) located at the bottom-right corner to start composing your email.
- Tap the three vertical dots and choose the Confidential mode option.

- Select the duration for which you want the email to last before it gets self-destructed.
- You can choose the SMS passcode feature to make your email even more secure. The passcode shall be generated by Google.

- Type the recipient’s name, Subject, and Body like you do in a normal email.
- Tap the Send button to send your email.
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