CC and BCC are standard email features that control who receives a message and what information they can see.
Understanding the difference between To, CC, and BCC helps you communicate clearly, avoid unnecessary replies, and protect recipients’ email addresses.
What does CC mean?
CC stands for Carbon Copy, which is a throwback to a time when physical, handwritten memos or letters would be replicated using a sheet of carbon paper(nova janela).
In email terms, CC allows you to send a copy of an email to someone who is not the recipient (in the To field). The recipient will see the email address(es) you have entered into the CC field, and any responses from them. Likewise, the person you have CCd will see any responses from the recipient unless they are removed from the CC field or the recipient clicks Reply instead of Reply all).
You can CC as many recipients into your email as you like, and everyone will receive a copy of the same email and see each other’s addresses and responses. This is especially useful when sending business emails, because it keeps everyone in the loop and creates a transparent record of the conversation.
(nova janela)When to use CC
CC is a useful function when you need someone (or multiple people) other than the recipient to know about and follow an email thread.
For example, if you’re emailing an invoice to a new client, you might want to CC your accountant so they can update their records. Your accountant will also get any confirmation email that the client sends in response. In this example, your accountant is not expected to respond to the email exchange; they are simply copied in so they can track the invoicing process.
When not to use CC
Avoid using CC when you expect someone to take action. People included in CC often assume they don’t need to respond, which can lead to missed tasks or delays.
You should also avoid CC’ing large numbers of people unnecessarily. This can clutter inboxes, create noise, and make it harder to identify who is responsible for replying.
What does BCC mean?
BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy. The BCC function allows you to send copies of the same email to multiple people without revealing that they are part of a mass email, or revealing the other recipients’ email addresses or responses to your original email.
If you enter multiple contacts into the BCC field, when they respond it is only you who will receive their response email — it will not be received by any other BCC recipients.
When to use BCC
BCC should be used whenever you need to send multiple people the same email, but you do not want them to know they are a part of a mass email or to be able to see the email addresses of the other recipients.
When someone is a BCC recipient of an email, it will appear to them that they are the only recipient of that message, and if they respond, the other recipients will not receive their reply.
For example, if you want to send an update about your company to a list of people who have signed up for a mailing list, you can use the BCC function to ensure the individual recipients cannot see the addresses of everyone else who has signed up for that mailing list. If any of your contacts respond to the update, it is only you who will receive that response.
This is important for protecting the privacy of people who have given you their email address, as it is expected that you will not share it without their permission.
When not to use BCC
Avoid using BCC in situations where transparency matters. Adding someone to an email without others knowing can cause confusion or damage trust if it’s discovered.
BCC should not be used for ongoing conversations. Since BCC recipients are excluded from replies, it breaks the flow of communication and makes collaboration harder.
What’s the difference between To, CC, and BCC?
| Feature | To | CC | BCC |
| Role | The intended main contact of the email. | For people who need to stay in the loop. | To include people without others knowing. |
| Visibility | Visible to everyone. | Visible to everyone. | Hidden from all other recipients. |
| Recipient Awareness | Everyone knows they are the main contact. | Everyone knows who else is being kept informed. | Only you and the BCC’d person know they are there. |
| Reply All Behavior | Receives all replies. | Receives all replies. | Excluded from future “Reply All” threads. |
| Expectation | Response expected. | For your information (FYI) only. | Should not participate in the thread. |
| Best For | Direct requests, tasks, and 1:1s. | Transparency and team collaboration. | Mass emails, privacy, and discreet oversight. |
What happens when you hit reply or reply all?
Reply behavior can be confusing, especially when multiple recipients are involved. What happens depends on which field you are in and whether you choose Reply or Reply all.
If you are in the To or CC field:
- Clicking Reply sends your response only to the sender.
- Clicking Reply all sends your response to everyone in the To and CC fields.
If you are in the BCC field:
- Clicking Reply sends your response only to the sender.
- Clicking Reply all sends your response to everyone in the To and CC fields.
A better way to send group emails
Although using the CC and BCC functions is the main way to send an email to multiple people, Proton Mail also lets you do this by putting them in a contact group.
If you have created a contact group in your Proton Mail account, you can email everyone in that account at once by typing the name of the contact group into the To field and selecting the contact group you want to mass-email from the autofill menu. This will enter all of the email addresses of the contacts in that group to the To field.
When you email people who are in a contact group with each other, they can all see each other’s email addresses, although they will not know that you have put them in a contact group, and the name of that group won’t appear in their inboxes. If you don’t want the contacts in your contact group to know the other members’ addresses, you can enter the contact group into the BCC field instead.
When to use contact groups
Contact groups are useful for emailing multiple people that all know each other, especially if you regularly email them as a group.
For example, a team sending weekly updates to stakeholders can save time by using a contact group instead of adding recipients manually every time.
Key takeaways on using CC and BCC in a professional setting
- To: is for the people expected to take action.
- CC (Carbon Copy): is for keeping people informed (FYI).
- BCC (Blind Carbon Copy): is for privacy (recipients are hidden from everyone else).
FAQ
BCC is safer than CC in that it protects your contacts’ email addresses from being exposed to your other contacts. You should use BCC when you do not have permission to share a contact’s email address with anyone else. BCC is safe because there is no way for a recipient to know they are not the only recipient of an email (as long as all other recipients are also marked BCC), let alone find out the email addresses of the other recipients.
If you BCC a contact into an email and also CC another contact, the original BCC contact can reveal themselves to the CC contact by responding with an email and selecting “reply all”.
If you want to maintain a conversation with all the original recipients of your email, it is better to use the CC function, so that all contacts who were initially included in the email receive all the responses. However, if it is important that your contacts’ email addresses are not exposed to each other, and they are not expected to continue an inclusive email chain, then you should use BCC to conceal your recipients’ contact information.
No. CC recipients cannot see the names or addresses of anyone who was included as a BCC on any original message. The only time the BCC recipients’ contact information will be exposed is if they respond to the email using “reply all”.
The To field should be used for the main recipient(s) of your email, who you expect to respond or take some kind of action after receiving your email. The main recipients will usually be the ones the email is addressed to in the salutation of your email.
Their reply is sent to the sender and everyone in the To and CC fields. Their address is still not shown as a BCC recipient, but the reply can reveal that they were included in the original email.
Usually no. BCC recipients are hidden from other recipients. If you receive an email but your address does not appear in the To or CC fields, you were likely BCC’d.
Not directly. However, sending emails to large numbers of recipients using CC or BCC can trigger spam filters. For large groups, it’s better to use a mailing list or newsletter service.
