'Secret mail' or confidential mode on Gmail: All you need to know

New Delhi : Google had introduced a confidential mode earlier this year on Gmail, allowing its users to send private mails. While this feature was available on the web version for quite some time, the feature has now been rolled out for Android and iOS. 

What is Secret mail or confidential mode?

Under the confidential mode, emails come with a restriction that they cannot be downloaded, copied, printed, or forwarded, for instance, in addition to the need for a passcode to be opened. The emails are also self destructive, which means they get deleted after a certain time limit.

However, despite all these measures, screenshotting the email is one thing Google describes as a workaround for the Confidential Mode.

Confidential Mode on Android

To get started with Confidential Mode on Gmail for Android, make sure you are running the latest version of Gmail on your device. Now, open Gmail and tap on Compose. Now, tap on the three dots on the top right corner, followed by a tap on Confidential Mode. You will now see a new page with the options such as a toggle for turning Confidential Mode on or off, setting the expiry time frame for the email, and enabling a passcode for it.

Mail expiry

The email can be set to expire from a day to a maximum of five years. This means that the email will self-destruct inside the recipient's inbox even if it has not opened.

Passcode

The emails can be attached with a passcode to make it more secure. The Gmail users will get passcode generated by Google while the users who use other email clients will get an email containing the passcode to authenticate the email. Since the passcode will be sent via SMS, the mobile number of the recipient needs to be entered.