BCC in an email: what does blind carbon copy mean?

The BCC field of an email corresponds to the invisible carbon copy. In an email, this is the field used when you want to forward it to a new person while hiding their email address from all other recipients. This function is particularly useful for sending a BCC email to multiple recipients without disclosing their contact details, for example as part of a bulk mailing that also meets other applicable GDPR requirements or to protect a mailing list.

What does BCC mean in an email?

The abbreviation BCC stands for invisible carbon copy. The term comes from carbon paper, once used to produce copies of a written document. Unlike the Cc function, which sends a visible copy of the message to recipients specified in Cc, the address of a recipient added in BCC remains invisible to other recipients.

What are the three most important address fields?

When is BCC relevant?

Recipients added using BCC receive a copy of an email without other recipients seeing their address. This function is particularly useful when you need to protect email addresses or avoid making a mailing list visible. Three main reasons can make the use of the invisible carbon copy relevant:

• Data protection: Email addresses that identify a person are considered personal data within the meaning of the GDPR. When you use blind carbon copy in an email, the addresses remain hidden from other recipients. This reduces the risk of unintentional data transmission and can contribute to compliance with the principle of data minimization.
• Spam prevention: Bulk emails in which all mailing list addresses are visible in the To or Cc fields can be easily forwarded or misused.
• Malware protection: When address lists are sent in a visible manner, they may be automatically collected by third parties and used for attacks or advertising emails.

Most email programs hide the Bcc field by default. However, you can display it in a few clicks:

• Outlook: new message > Options > Show fields > Show BCC
• Gmail: new message > click on BCC to the right of the To field
• Webmail interfaces: when writing the message, enable the BCC option

Mobile messaging apps:

• Outlook app: tap the arrow icon next to the To field, then select Bcc and add the recipients
• Gmail app: tap the arrow next to the To field, then enter the contacts you want in the Bcc field

Then, simply enter the recipient addresses in this field to send a BCC email. The message is sent normally, without other people being able to see these addresses.

What are typical use cases for the BCC field?

The BCC field is particularly suitable for one-off informational messages or messages sent to large groups of recipients who do not necessarily know each other. Here are some typical examples:

• Invitations or announcements of appointments to external recipients
• Information emails addressed to customers or partner companies
• Distribution lists of associations or educational establishments
• One-time communications sent to multiple recipients

Imagine that you want to send a Christmas greeting message to your customers, your professional contacts and your suppliers. To make things easier, you choose not to personalize each message and send the same email to everyone. Would it be wise to place all these contacts, visible to everyone, in the To or Cc field? Probably not. To protect your customer data and remain discreet about your business relationships, it is preferable to use the BCC field.

However, data protection does not only concern professional settings. A teacher who sends information documents or a report to participants in a parent-teacher meeting should also avoid contact lists visible in Cc and use the Bcc field. This approach protects recipient data and prevents the uncontrolled distribution of email addresses.

When is it better not to use the BCC field?

The invisible carbon copy is rather not recommended in internal exchanges that require transparency. Email copies help inform team members and managers about current processes and ensure good flow of information. BCC, on the other hand, can interfere with clear communication. So avoid using the Bcc field when recipients need to actively collaborate or respond to each other, such as in project agreements, team discussions, or joint decisions.

Another important point: BCC recipients are not automatically included when someone uses the “ Reply all « . Exchanges may then become difficult to follow, or certain important people may no longer receive subsequent information.

BCC and newsletters: where is the limit?

For occasional low volume bulk mailings, blind copying may be sufficient. On the other hand, if you regularly write to many recipients, BCC quickly reaches its limits, particularly in terms of personalization, tracking, consent management and sending limits:

For regular mailings, it is therefore recommended to use email marketing software, which helps to manage recipient lists in accordance with data protection regulations and to organize mailings in a structured way.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the BCC?