Gmail is one of the best email services out there. It is being used by millions of people from across the globe. Whether you need an email account for business or personal usage, you can create one within moments. A few days back, Google rolled out a new user interface for Gmail, which has many new functionalities. One notable feature – is a new way to send emails called Confidential Mode.
What does Confidential Mode do in Gmail
First, as the name suggests, it lets you send secure emails via Gmail. Regarding security, It is possible to lock down an email with a password.
Second, you can set an expiry date for your email, whether it is a document, text, image, or anything else. Once the date is reached, the content will expire automatically.
Third, you can use a mobile number to lock down the email content. This is related to the first point. One mobile number can be selected, and the recipient will get a passcode, which will unlock the email. Although this is not mandatory, if you choose, you cannot forget the mobile number. Without that number, it is not possible to open the message in any way.
Fourth, you cannot forward the message to anybody else. That option would be disabled by default. It is also not possible to download the attachment. You cannot even copy the content from your email body.
Enable & use Confidential Mode in Gmail
To enable Confidential Mode in Gmail, you need to opt for the new Gmail layout or interface. As the old interface doesn’t have this option, follow the following steps to activate the new Gmail UI.
Step 1: Sign into your Gmail account.
Step 2: Click the Settings gear icon visible under your profile avatar.
Step 3: Select Try the new Gmail option.
It will reload your page with the new user interface.
To send an email in Confidential Mode, you need to follow these steps.
- Open the “Compose” window, where you can find a new icon as shown in the following image.
- Click that icon. You will see a window like this:
- Here you can set the expiry date, and SMS passcode option. If you want, you can opt for SMS passcode option, where you need to enter a mobile number of your recipient. This is where the password will be sent.
- After that, choose the recipient, enter email body, attach media file or do anything else. After sending, the recipient will get a message like this:
- If you have selected SMS passcode option, you need to click the Send passcode button to receive the code.
- After opening the message, it will look like this:
Limitations of Confidential Mode in Gmail
There are two major things you should know about this mode.
- You cannot choose a custom expiry date. You need to select any of these only – 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 5 years.
- You can always take a screenshot of your email. Therefore, it is not that much secure that you can send a password without thinking twice.
I hope this helps.
