How to send email using Gmail’s Confidential Mode

Gmail is one among Google’s most useful services and it has garnered appreciation for the kind of features it has since the day it was launched in 2004. Since its inception, Gmail has made it way easier for its users to send emails. And over the year, it has evolved a lot and now most of us are completely dependent on it. Now when a user opens his Gmail account, he is not only greeted by emails, but he can also access other Google services such as Drive, Photos, Calendar and Tasks. There are many useful features in Google’s email service, and one among them is Gmail Confidential Mode.

For sending important and private emails the user has to take certain things into account. The email sent by the user can be forwarded against his wish or it can even be used against him. And that’s where Gmail Confidential Mode comes into play as it lets the user keep his emails private and protected.

The Gmail Confidential Mode is available on Gmail’s web version as well as its Android and iOS apps. When this mode is used, the recipient of the email won’t be able to forward, copy, print or download the message written in the email. The messages sent using the Gmail Confidential Mode can also be locked using a password if the sender of the email wants to protect it further. The best thing about the Gmail Confidential Mode is that the email sent in this mode are deleted from the recipient’s inbox after a fixed period of time which is set by the sender. The time period could range from one day to five years. Here are the steps by which you can send emails using the Gmail Confidential Mode:

1. Compose the email like you normally do in. Then, in case you are using Gmail for Android or iOS, press on the three-dots icon on the top right. If you are using the web browser of Gmail, click on the Lock icon at the bottom of the compose menu.
2. Once tapped on the three-dots on the app or the Lock icon, you will see an option of ‘Confidential Mode’. Tap on it.
3. After selecting the Confidential Mode, you can set the expiration time and date after which the email will be deleted on its own. Once the date and time is set, tap on ‘Done’.
4. Now, you will be given two options to choose from – ‘SMS Passcode Delivery’ or ‘Standard Confidential Mode’. Select the former if you wish to protect the email using a password, or else, choose the later.
5. Once you choose once among the two options, you can send your email by tapping on the Send button.
6. If you had selected the SMS Passcode, you will be asked for the recipient’s phone number if Gmail doesn’t have in its database. Enter the phone number and tap on ‘Add Missing Information’.
7. But it should be noted that, the recipient will have to tap on the ‘Send Passcode’ to get the SMS message with the code to unlock the email.

That’s all. By doing this, you can make sure that the email that you are sending will not be misused by anyone and will automatically be deleted after the time period decided by you.