Bcc Or Let Them See? The Etiquette Of The Blind Carbon Copy

There are a few reasons to use "Bcc," most of them bad. Misuse of the email tool can make personal correspondence read like a spam, make party invites seem sneaky and turn co-workers into double agents.

Bcc stands for "blind carbon copy," and is a way of sending emails to multiple people without them knowing who else is getting the email. Any email addresses in the Bcc field will be invisible to everyone else on the email. In other words, it's like cc, but for spies.

The only good time to use Bcc when sending an email is if you are sending something impersonal (change of address, selling a dresser) to a lot of people who don't necessarily know each other. No one is pretending that this email is anything but informational, so it's fine to hide the other people on it. Also, the number of people included on an email like this might number in the hundreds, and no one wants to scroll through that many names. As a rule of thumb, if the number of recipients exceeds 30, then you should Bcc.

The worst time to use Bcc is at work. It's shady to lead someone to believe they are the only recipient of an email when they are not. The cc ("carbon copy") connotes the same thing as the "Bcc" -- the cc'd person is on the email but is not expected to respond -- but it does so openly. If you need to copy your boss on an email, copy your boss, but don't pretend they aren't copied.

In personal correspondence, a bad time to use Bcc is when sending an invitation to a party. Are your friends spies? Can their identities not be revealed to your other friends? Are your friends so famous that your other friends will stalk them if they know their email addresses? Bcc'ing in this instance can make you look insecure and offend your friends. Insecure because it seems like you want to keep who you are inviting to the party a secret, because A) it'a a big party with a good number of losers invited, or B) it's a small party with few people invited, but some of them are definitely losers. And it's insulting because it makes it seem like you don't think the people you’re inviting are sane enough not to immediately start spamming everyone else on the email. Don't try to pull the wool over your friends' eyes! It's nice to see who else is invited to a party because then you know how many losers will be there!

Bcc'ing on an invite email makes intimate events among friends seem like corporate events. However, if the event in question really is more like a conference than an intimate gathering (you rented a bar, hall, ship, etc.) Bcc'ing is fine since once you've got 200 people on an email -- even listing their names isn't going to make it seem personal. Better not to annoy invitees with a huge list of email addresses.

Another time not to use Bcc in personal correspondence is when sending a group email life announcement like "Yippee! Got the job!"

There is a difference between a mass email which is generally informational and spans a wide range or contacts (friends, coworkers, family) and a group email, which usually has more personal content and is being sent to people who, while they may not necessarily know each other, exist within the same social realm.

When you Bcc a group on emails containing life announcements, it throws people off because the first reaction to an email from a friend is warm, fuzzy inclusion, a feeling that is killed as soon as they open the message to find it's to "undisclosed recipients." It's better to make this an email where all names are shown, then even though the recipient is not the sole target of the message at least they know they are part of a club and not a mailing list.

If you're really worried about preserving people's email privacy, send these messages in groups to people who you are sure know each other, then send individually to the secret people your friends don't know you're friends with.

What are your tech etiquette questions? Let us know! Email technology [at] huffingtonpost.com.

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Comments

[dtroublemaker01]

06:41 PM on 01/30/2012

I also prefer to be BCC at all time unless I'm the only one to receive the email. It's irritating to see when people reply/forward the message and your e-mail add happens to be included in a chain mail that I so hate.

[pitciarn]

04:47 PM on 01/30/2012

Bcc also shows that YOU sent a email to Person X, they can't claim the "dog ate my homework" and play stupid. I know you can put Reteurn Recpt Requested, but that is a In your face move, Bcc is more covert..

[pitciarn]

04:44 PM on 01/30/2012

Bcc serves a valuable service in work. If you are communicating with Person X who has acted non-cooperative to you or not helpfull in past; you send them a Email with lets say the District Manager Bcc'd.

The District Manager see's you are asking for help (This Email is a 2d attempt for assistance) and is now involved (in the shadows). Thus when you are refused help by Person X , you have the District Manager in on the loop. Problem Solved..

I used this when the person whom I asked for help put roadblocks and obstacles in my way. The Sr person whom was "Bcc'd" then had a "Friendly Chat" that as a supervisor the request was not out of line and was THEIR job to do.. Problem solved, supervisor helped..

[EmailDoctor]

06:29 PM on 01/24/2012

Bcc or CC. You have this completely wrong. What you have written is rubbish and wrong especially from the security angle as someone else has pointed out.

For more than five people the names should always go in the Bcc box. Aside from security it stops people doing a Reply All and wasting other people's time.

As to all the social examples, wrong, wrong and wrong again. Friends can fall out. See the example of Cluttons the up-market UK estate agents and the trouble it caused them.

My email address is part of my personal data and not for sharing with anyone by email under any circumstance.

So ie you are not alone as you can see.

HuffingtonPost you should check your email etiquette before you post another such blog which is wrong.

[ie]

04:23 PM on 01/24/2012

Obviously I'm not the only one who disagrees. For security purposes and privacy purposes, I use BCC when sending something to more than one person (if it's necessary to even do so) especially if they do not know each other. I have one small group of friends who maintain a discussion group via email and we all know and trust each other. We don't send outside the group.

I treat everyone's email address like I want mine treated--as an unlisted phone number. I would not give out my friend's phone numbers to people they don't know--why should I give out their email address.

As someone pointed out, hackers harvest email addresses and I notice a spate of new "forward this to everyone you know" emails just before some new nasty malware his the internet. I suspect hackers make up these stupid emails just so non-tech-savvy people will grease the skids for their hacking.

[gwenfayr]

12:46 PM on 01/24/2012

I like to keep my email address as personal as possible. Frankly, I appreciate it when someone uses BCC for any kind of group. My address is mine to give out, not someone else's to show to the world.

[pitciarn]

04:48 PM on 01/30/2012

A good reason that I forgot, great call..

[DeeLBee]

12:35 PM on 01/24/2012

The easy way to BCC is: Type your name in the "Send To" box, then put the "(" sign afterwards. Put everyone else's name immediately after that, separated by commas, and finally the ")" sign. Then highlight all the names except yours, including the "( and )" signs. Finally, cut and paste these into the "Copy To" section. This way, only your name shows up on each recipient's copy, thereby protecting the e-mails of others. This is not only the polite thing to do - so hundreds of e-mail addresses don't show up and you have to scroll through them, but prevents hackers, scammers and others from getting your address from other people.

[psandysdad]

12:05 PM on 01/24/2012

I'll wait for 'Electronic Etiquette' to come out in hard copy.

[pitciarn]

04:50 PM on 01/30/2012

Funny one, Nothing Digital ever gets put into hard copy unless its for Court case or proof to terminate..lol

[Tags]

11:55 AM on 01/24/2012

From the homepage of the late Owsley Stanley (www.thebear.org)

ALWAYS enter lists of addressses (greater than 2) in the Bcc: line. (Blind Carbon Copy).

Bcc: this option will retain the list of addresses on the server, placing only one address per copy as it sends to each name on the list.

The problem is'Packet-sniffer 'bots', very small programs which hackers insert by stealth into an internet router's operating code to examine each packet passing through the node. The 'bot copies any with multiple @ signs and automatically sends the copy to the hacker to be compiled into lists which are sold and traded amongst spammers.

[Joseph B Arrington]

06:32 PM on 01/24/2012

If you have this feeling about BCC, I would suggest that you stay away from working for any business. Why? BCC is the monster you know to fear, and one you should always expect. Someone else may be reading this email and know exactly what is going on. Now, for the monster you do not know about, what about when your boss sets up a bcc for you? Unfamiliar to most people, outside of IT, is when your boss is just nosey or seriously concerned (maybe even planning to fire you) and has the corporate email server BCC all of your messages (outgoing and incoming) to them. Always assume there is a BCC at work, there usually is.

[Tags]

10:11 AM on 01/25/2012

That was just a neutral FYI, no particular feelings involved.

[dasunx]

10:53 AM on 01/24/2012

I believe that bcc is great and should be used by those who send out Internet jokes, political wisdom's and other type of traveling stories........ I hate it when I receive something from someone that has been forwarded twelve times and I have to scroll my way through eleven layers of previous addresses to get to the body of the email.

[june53]

03:56 PM on 01/24/2012

Thank you. I have also used it when dealing with mortgage brokers & realtors while I
am negotiating terms and comparing offers. Keeps an even playing field for me, the
buyer.

I, too, believe my email address and that of my friends should be protected "as much
as possible" from the "masses" and spam listing services.

[six seven]

10:01 AM on 01/24/2012

BBC is ok for mass distribution of information. It can also be useful as an FYI to people, but only if you know they wont be part of the conversation. If there's a chance the person might reply, you should use the To or CC field (as appropriate).

[gizkat]

09:51 AM on 01/24/2012

The reason I use bcc is because people don't want their emails advertised to other users and I respect their privacy. Huff Post doesn't seem to grasp that concept, but then again...it IS Huff Post after all.

[RepublicSupporter]

09:50 AM on 01/24/2012

"If you're really worried about preserving people's email privacy, send these messages in groups to people who you are sure know each other, then send individually to the secret people your friends don't know you're friends with. "

While this article makes sense for business purposes, I disagree with it regarding personal e-mails. I would rather my friends (even if they know one another) are not forwarding my personal e-address and I show them the same courtsey. Unless I am sending an e-mail to only a very few people and I need each of them to know who has received it, I send the primary e-mail to myself and bcc all of the recipients.

[mumj]

09:31 AM on 01/24/2012

personally I prefer people use BCC if they are sending to multiple people. Also, I would never put everyones name and address on a USPS mail invite to a party, why on earth would I do it on an e-mail. I do not want my e-mail out there for everyone who the sender knows to have and real people with private lives that I know feel the same way. By having everyones e-mail out there it gives people who want to cause problems an easier way to do it. Sorry, but I disagree with your article

[DrTCH]

08:15 AM on 01/24/2012

Gimme a break here. With AOL, there does not appear to be a BCC. We only have: "Send to" and "Copy to," and when I use the "Copy to," some recipients will complain about the huge number of folks who are getting their email addresses...but not so, when I use the regular "Send to," even though I may include a hundred people in this box.

HELP!!

[lapspr]

08:38 AM on 01/24/2012

DrTCH, when composing an email: the BCC appears to the right of the TO box (CC and BCC links in blue), or if you choose the Address Book at the top border of that pop up window you will see the icon for BCC. Hope this helps.