IT Service Desk

With Gmail, you can securely send messages and attachments containing sensitive information thanks to Confidential Mode, which protects your mail from unauthorized access. You can require verification with SMS passcodes and set an expiration date for your message, allowing access only to the direct recipients and until a chosen date. While a confidential message is active, recipients won’t be able to forward, copy, print, or download it, and the sender can revoke access at any point. 

It is worth noting that Confidential Mode works across different email clients so you don’t have to worry if the recipient isn’t a Gmail user. 

How to:

To send a message confidentially:

1. In Gmail, click “Compose”.

2. In the bottom right of the window, click the padlock/timer icon to turn on confidential mode.

3. Set an expiration date―1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 5 years.

4. Choose a passcode option―These settings impact both the message text and any attachments. 

   1. If you choose "No SMS passcode," recipients using the Gmail app will be able to open it directly. Recipients who don't use Gmail will get emailed a passcode.

   2. If you choose "SMS passcode," recipients will get a passcode by text message. Make sure you enter the recipient's phone number, not your own.

5. Click “Save”.

To remove access early:

1. In Gmail, navigate to your “Sent” mail.

2. Open the confidential email and select “Remove access”.

When you receive a Confidential Mode email, you may notice that the message does not contain any of the email information. To read the contents, you must click “View the email” and, if required, enter an SMS passcode. The link to view the message in Confidential Mode only works for the original recipient; providing the link to another user will not share the email or its contents.

If you share a Google file over email and apply confidential mode, revoking the email does not revoke the recipient’s access to the file―this will need to be done through the sharing settings in Drive.