Gmail Encryption – How To Use

When you send private emails, you want to make sure that the right person gets them, especially if they contain personal information about you.

It can be risky to regularly send an email with important personal information like your banking information and home address.

Today is your lucky day if you use Gmail because the email service has developed a new encryption service that will significantly increase the security of the messages you send.

What is the new encryption service offered by Gmail?

A new end-to-end encryption service is being added by Gmail experts, enabling Google Workspace users to send encrypted emails within and outside their domain. This is important because email encryption is a way to make messages even more secure because only the sender and receiver of the email will have special key codes that can open the messages. Obtaining access to those key codes is the only way for outsiders to read the messages.

Google servers cannot decrypt your data or access your encryption keys once your encryption is set up, so your information is completely private. The subject line, timestamps, and recipient list of your email are the only parts of the message that will not be encrypted.

When and how do I set up the new encryption service offered by Gmail?

On January 20, 2023, the new encryption service will officially become available to Gmail users. You need either Education Plus, Education Standard, or Google Workspace Enterprise Plus to use this encryption service. After completing their testing application form, you can apply for the Gmail CSE beta if you use any of these services. Your email address, project ID, test group domain, and a few other details are all that are requested on the fairly straightforward form.

Follow these steps to set up Gmail CSE beta after receiving notification that your account is ready:

Sign in to the Google Admin console using a super administrator account;

navigate to Security > Client-side encryption;

click Gmail;

select the group that you submitted on the Gmail CSE enrollment form;

turn user access on.

A new setting can take up to 24 hours to take effect, though it usually happens much faster.

What if I don’t use Google Workspace?

This end-to-end encryption will be available in a subsequent release for those who do not use Google Workspace and simply use a regular Gmail account. With Gmail’s Encryption in Transit service, however, all emails between users of the same Gmail account are encrypted by default.

This, which is also known as Transport Layer Security, prevents your messages from being read by someone who has access to the networks that the email is passing through on its way from the sender to the recipient. However, this only works if the alternative email service provider supports TLS encryption and does not encrypt email while it is stored on a server.

Can Gmail be used to encrypt my emails?

Password-protected messages and encrypting emails with a service like PGP are not available in Gmail. However, sending emails in Confidential Mode is supported by Gmail. By allowing you to set a message’s expiration date and revoke access at any time, this helps safeguard private and sensitive information from unauthorized access. The content of these emails cannot be forwarded, copied, downloaded, or printed by the recipients. Although it provides an additional level of privacy to put your mind at ease if you choose to use it, this is not the same as encryption. In Confidential Mode, send an email using Gmail as follows:

Go to your Gmail account and click Compose. At the bottom right of the window, toggle the lock icon to activate confidential mode. Click Edit at the bottom of the email if confidential mode has already been activated.

Password and expiration date should be set. If you select “No SMS passcode,” recipients who are using the Gmail app will be able to open the message directly. These settings affect both the text of the message and any attachments. If you select “SMS passcode,” recipients will receive a passcode via text message for those who do not use Gmail. If you select “No SMS passcode,” recipients who are using the Gmail app will be able to open it directly. Make sure that you enter the phone number of the recipient, not your own. If you select “SMS passcode,” recipients will receive a passcode via text message for those who do not use Gmail. Make sure to enter the phone number of the recipient, not your own, and then click Save.