We are going to explain the meaning of the CC and BCC fields in emails. These are two fields that are sometimes deactivated by default, like in Gmail or Outlook, but have icons to click on if you want to add them.
We are also going to tell you how to send emails without showing all the addresses, since in the end these two fields can be used to send mass copies of an email, hiding or showing the addresses of the rest of the people who are going to receive it. In the screenshots, we will focus on Gmail and Outlook, but this can be used in any mail client.
Meaning of concepts: For, CC and BCC
We are going to start by explaining the three concepts that you will find when sending an email. When you start the process of sending an email in Gmail, Outlook, or any other, you will always see the To field in which to write the address of the sender or senders. But you will also always see the options to activate the CC and Bcc. Here you have what each of the concepts means when sending the email
- To: Recipient of the email. That person or people to whom you send them. This information is always public, which means that if you forward it in copy, everyone who receives it will be able to see the original recipient.
- CC or Carbon Copy: Allows you to send copies of an email to other recipients in addition to the main ones to whom it is addressed. It is a public copy, so both the main recipient(s) and the users placed in a copy will be able to see who else the mail is sent to.
- BCC or Blind Carbon Copy: Allows you to send copies of an email to other recipients in addition to the main ones to which it is addressed. It is a private copy, so neither the main recipient(s) nor the users placed in a copy will be able to see who else the mail is sent to.
How to send emails without showing all the addresses
When you go to write an email, whether you do it in Gmail, Outlook, or other email clients, you will always see to the right of the To field the two fields of Cc and Bcc. At first, they will not be activated, but if you click on the one you want, you will activate it and add it to the body of the email.
Once the Cc field, the Bcc field, or both are activated, you can start to decide which recipients you can add and which ones you can’t. There always has to be a recipient, but it doesn’t have to be the one in the To field. This means that, for example, you can use only the BCC field if you want to send a mass email without anyone knowing the addresses of the other people who have received it.
You can also make only some recipients visible and the rest hidden, using the public To or Cc fields for the visible ones, and the Bcc for the ones you want to hide. Here the choice is completely yours.
The difference between the To and CC fields is purely conceptual. When someone receives the mail as the main recipient, that person is expected to respond or take the hint. Meanwhile, the recipients included in the CC are notified for informational purposes only, but the mail is not addressed to them.
Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.
