Gmail’s security features are well known, and they are part of the reason why it is so used by its customers, since it offers many tools and information protection possibilities.
Gmail has the ability to send confidential emails, emails that will self-destruct after a certain time, and this function is designed with the purpose of protecting the information that may be written in said email.
Yes you have sensitive information to share by mail, and you require that your message cannot be read again once it reaches the recipient, stay in this guide and we will teach you everything you need to know about confidential messages.
What are Gmail confidential messages and what are the benefits of using them?
Confidential mode is a function introduced by Gmail to increase the security of your outgoing emails, which imposes a time limit on these after which they will be destroyed automatically.
It is ideal for sending emails with sensitive or confidential information, ensuring that only the recipient can open and read it. In this way, the security of the information is guaranteed by blocking any action to distribute the message. It is used mainly among business users who need to share sensitive informatione, as confidential mode settings keep mail content secure.
Characteristics of Gmail secret messages What can and cannot be done with them?
The confidential mode ensures the privacy of the content of an email through a series of security layers that restrict functions that could filter the content of the email. For starters, you can customize the length of the message. This setting determines the time that will pass before the mail self-destructs.. We can configure its duration to one day, one week, one month, three months and five years.
Also, when activating confidential mode, Mail cannot be forwarded, its content cannot be copied, and attachments can only be viewed via preview if they are supported.
Among its many security features, also includes the ability to disable screenshots, making it practically impossible to filter the content of the mail. Your safety features They also offer the possibility of encrypting the text message by means of a code, which the user will receive in a text message to their Gmail affiliate number. This code will be necessary to be able to unlock and read the message.
We show you step by step how to send and configure confidential Gmail messages from any device
Gmail’s confidential mode feature is available on all of its platforms, and is easily accessible both in the Gmail web portal and in its official mobile application.
Let’s see:
On Android
The native Gmail app for devices Android It has the function of confidential messages.
So it is possible to send protected messages from your Android, guiding you through the following steps:
- Open the Gmail app from your Android.
- At the bottom of the screen, press the button “Write”.
- On the compose screen, click on the three dots in the upper right corner to open the options.
- From the open options, select “Confidential mode”.
- In option “Set expiration” select the duration of the email to send.
- In option “Require password”, you can enable the option for the email to request a password that will be sent to the recipient by text message.
- Push the button “Keep”, located at the top of the screen to finalize the settings.
- Write the desired email and send it. The message will be sent with the security features programmed.
On iOS
In general, iOS has stricter security features than Android, thanks to the fact that its operating system is much more hermetic and compatible with its own applications.
However, when it comes to the confidentiality function, its operation is the same as in Android:
- Open the Gmail app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Push the button “Write” located at the bottom of the interface.
- Select the three buttons in the upper right corner.
- Go into “Confidential mode”.
- Set the email protection parameters “Set expiration” determine the duration of the message, and “Require password” will send a text message to a phone number with a code needed to access the message.
- Start composing the email. By pressing “Send”, the message will be encrypted with all layers of protection in confidential mode.
In the desktop browser
Since the confidential mode is a characteristic of the Gmail service, it is also included in its web portal and is accessible in an easy and fast way when creating a new email:
- Open your web browser and enter Gmail.
- Login with your Google email and password.
- Click on the button “Write”.
- Click on the option “Confidential mode” located at the bottom of the compose window.
- Defines the expiration and security parameters of the message in the pop-up window that will appear. “Set expiration” will define how long it will take before the message is deleted, while “Require password” will lock the message with a code, which will be sent to a phone number of the recipient, and which will be necessary to release the content of the message.
Learn step by step how to open a secret Gmail message before it self-destructs on any device
Open confidential emails It does not present a great challenge, because unless it has been sent with a password, opens in the same way as a regular email, with the difference that it is not possible to forward, copy or take screenshots of the email content.
On the other hand, if the sender of the email assigned a password for it, then you need to know how to use that code to release the email content:
On Android
The Gmail app on Android allows you to open encrypted messages in a very simple way, since they are displayed in the inbox like any other email.
However, the difference is seen when you open the email, since its content is restricted, and to unblock it you just have to follow these steps:
- Opens the application of Gmail.
- Enters to confidential email.
- Press about button “Send password”. This will send the access code to the content of the email to your mobile phone number. For this step, you must have your mobile phone handy.
- As soon as the code reaches your phone, enter it in the corresponding text box.
- Review the content of the message. Keep in mind that it cannot be forwarded, or copied, so you will have to write down the most relevant content before the expiration period expires.
On iOS
From similar way as Android devices, the iPhone and iPads They have the official Gmail application, whose operation is the same.
From which we can easily access encrypted messages through the following process:
- Open the Gmail app on your device iOS.
- Select email confidential inbox.
- To access the email, click on the button “Send password”. After this, you will receive the code to access the mail on your phone number. It should be noted that you must have your phone number available.
- Enter the code received in the text field and press “Send”.
- Review the encrypted message. Make sure you have all the content before the email expires.
In the desktop browser
By having an interface designed for larger screens, the web portal of Gmail allows you to partially view the content of the messages, which makes it easier for us to identify the message that was sent confidentially.
To do this, just follow this procedure:
- Enters in your browser Web.
- Access Gmail using your user credentials.
- Find the confidential message in the inbox and click on it.
- Click the button “Send password”, this will send the unlock code from the message to your phone number.
- As soon as the code reaches your number, Enter it in the corresponding text box and click “Send”.
- You can review the content of the email until the sender revokes access or the expiration period of the message is reached.
What if I can’t read an email before it self-destructs? Can I access it again?
The heart of Gmail confidential mode is the security and privacy of the content, since, added to the forwarding and copying restriction, it has the characteristic that it defines an expiration date for the message, after which it is deleted.
It is for this reason that the use of confidential messages must be correctly coordinated between sender and recipient, so that the latter arrives in time to open the mail, since, if the message is not opened before the export date, it will be impossible to retrieve the content.