The new feature is also easy to use, so if you’re not very tech-savvy, that shouldn’t be much of an issue. Hopefully, it will make you feel more secure when sending an email so you won’t have to worry about who reads it once you send it.
How to Send Private Emails in Gmail
Once you’ve logged into your Gmail account, click on the “Compose” button as usual. To the right of the “Send” button, you’ll see various icons, and the last one should be a lock icon. After clicking on the lock icon, a new Confidential mode window will appear with options for you to set an expiration date. The expiration option will make the email you sent disappear from the other person’s inbox.
You can have the email self-destruct in a day, a week, a month, three months or five years. The options would have been better if Google had added a custom option where you can type in the specific expiration date of the Email. Hopefully, that option will be added soon. Confidential Mode also lets you add an SMS Passcode to your Email. With this option, the recipient will get a code on their phone that they will need to enter to open the email.
To enable this feature, just click on the bubble next to the SMS passcode option. Don’t forget to double check that you’ve selected the options you want, and click the blue “Save” button. A new window should appear with missing information you need to fill in. This is where you’ll need to enter the other person’s phone number. If the recipient lives in another country, click on the dropdown menu next to the flag and choose the country the other person lives in. Enter the phone number and click send. When you’re done, you should see a message that will tell you when the email will expire. It will also tell you that the receiver will not be able to forward, copy, or download all of the content in the email.
How to Cancel the Confidential Email
Immediately after sending the email, you’ll get a copy of it. With the copy, you can cancel everything and prevent the receiver from opening the it at all. Click on the “Remove Access” button, and the other person will get a message in the email that the sender has set a time limit. In other words, they will no longer be able to open the email. From the instant you click on the option, the access will be removed. If you change your mind, you can give the recipient access again. Just click on the “Renew Access” option in the copy of the email you received. There doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of times you can cancel and renew access to the email.
Conclusion
With this new feature you have complete control as to how long the other person can have the email in their possession. It’s a handy feature that helps keep your data safe. What are your thoughts on the new feature? Let us know in the comments.
