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CC vs. BCC: When to Use Each in an Email

CC and BCC both add extra recipients to an email, but they behave very differently -- here's how to tell them apart and use each one correctly.

  1. Open a new message

    When you open the compose window, you'll see "Cc" and "Bcc" options near the "To" field, sometimes hidden behind a small link you need to click to reveal them.

  2. Add someone to CC

    Add anyone who should stay informed but doesn't need to reply to the "Cc" field. Everyone on the email can see who else was CC'd.

  3. Add someone to BCC

    Add anyone you don't want other recipients to know is receiving the email to "Bcc." Addresses in Bcc are invisible to every other recipient, including people in the To and Cc fields.

  4. When to use CC

    Use CC when you want a manager or teammate to stay in the loop on a conversation without expecting a reply from them.

  5. When to use BCC

    Use BCC for a mass email where recipients don't need to see each other's addresses, such as a newsletter or an announcement sent to a large list.

The most common CC/BCC mistake

Putting a large recipient list in the "To" or "Cc" field for a mass email exposes everyone's address to everyone else on the list -- a privacy slip that's easily avoided by using Bcc instead whenever recipients don't need to know who else received the message.

Reply All behaves differently depending on where someone was added

A person in the To or Cc field is included if someone hits Reply All, but a Bcc recipient never receives replies through Reply All -- since Bcc is meant to be invisible, and other recipients literally don't know that address exists to reply to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Cc'd recipient see who was Bcc'd?

No -- Bcc addresses are hidden from every other recipient on the email, including those in the To and Cc fields, not just from each other.

Is it rude to Bcc someone into an ongoing conversation?

It can come across that way if discovered, since the other participants have no idea a new person is silently reading the thread -- for that reason, it's often better to loop someone in openly with Cc, or forward the thread to them directly instead.