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How to Send Confidential Mode Emails in Gmail

Tap each step to see how to send an email using Gmail's confidential mode.

  1. Open a new compose window

    Start composing the email you want to send in confidential mode.

  2. Click the confidential mode icon at the bottom of the compose window

    Click the icon showing a lock and a clock together, among the icons at the bottom of the compose window.

  3. Set an expiration date and, optionally, an SMS passcode

    Choose how long until the email automatically expires, and optionally add an extra text-message passcode requirement.

  4. Sending restricts forwarding, copying, and printing

    The recipient can only view the message -- they can't forward, copy, print, or download it.

  5. Why it helps

    When sending an email containing personal or sensitive information, you can make sure access is automatically cut off after a set period and prevent it from being freely spread further.

It reduces exposure, but it isn't airtight

Confidential mode technically blocks forwarding, copying, printing, and downloading, but it cannot prevent someone from simply taking a screenshot of the message on their own screen. For genuinely sensitive information, it's worth treating this as a way to reduce casual sharing rather than an absolute guarantee, and choosing a separate, more secure channel for anything highly confidential.

You can cut off access early, even before it expires

Beyond the expiration date you set when sending, the sender can revoke access at any time afterward from the "Sent" folder by opening the message and selecting "Remove access," which immediately blocks the recipient from viewing it even if the original expiration hasn't been reached yet. That gives you a way to react if you realize after sending that the message shouldn't be accessible anymore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can confidential mode also prevent someone from taking a screenshot?

Forwarding, copying, downloading, and printing can be blocked technically, but a screenshot of the screen itself can't be fully prevented. Keep that limitation in mind for truly sensitive information.

What happens once the expiration date passes?

Once the expiration date passes, the recipient can no longer view the content even if they open the email, and the sender can also revoke access early at any time using "Remove access" before that date.