CC sends a copy of an email visible to all recipients, while BCC sends a copy that hides that recipient from others.
CC
Carbon copy. Everyone on the To and CC lines sees all recipients.
BCC
Blind carbon copy. BCC recipients are hidden from others.
When to use
- CC: keep people informed.
- BCC: protect privacy in mass emails, or newsletters.
Warning
Don’t use Reply All to a BCC email, as it may expose others.
Etiquette
Use BCC to protect addresses of external contacts.
Visibility
CC (carbon copy) recipients appear in the message header and everyone can see their addresses. BCC (blind carbon copy) recipients are hidden from other recipients. Each BCC recipient sees only the people in To and CC, and their own address.
When to use CC
Keep someone informed who does not need to act, such as a manager, team member or client. The message is for transparency.
When to use BCC
- Send to a large list where people don’t know each other, to protect privacy.
- Send newsletters or announcements.
- Move someone out of a thread politely, by moving them to BCC.
- Notify someone discreetly.
Reply all risks
BCC recipients who hit “reply all” will reveal themselves to the group, and they are not included when others reply all.
Privacy law
Exposing email addresses can violate privacy expectations and, in the EU, data protection rules (GDPR). Use BCC or a mailing tool for group emails.
Business etiquette
- Use CC sparingly to avoid overloading inboxes.
- Avoid using BCC to secretly include someone in a sensitive conversation, as it can harm trust if discovered.
- For marketing emails, use an email service provider instead of BCC.
Limits
Providers limit recipients per message, for example Gmail allows 500 recipients per message for standard accounts, and 2,000 per day for the sending limit.
Origin
The terms come from carbon paper copies used before computers.
Tip
Check the recipient fields before pressing send.
Email privacy and etiquette
CC stands for carbon copy and BCC for blind carbon copy, terms from the days of typewriters and carbon paper. Everyone in To and CC can see each other’s addresses, while BCC recipients are hidden from the others. Use CC for people who should be informed but are not required to act. Use BCC to protect privacy when emailing a large group, such as a newsletter or a group of parents, where listing addresses publicly would expose personal data. A BCC recipient who replies all does not reveal other BCC addresses, but the reply will go to everyone else in To and CC.
Risks and tips
Exposing email addresses in CC can violate privacy rules such as the EU’s GDPR, and healthcare and legal contexts must be especially careful. Do not BCC your boss on a conflict email without thinking about whether it is honest, since secret copies can harm trust. Avoid reply all unless everyone needs to see the answer. For mass mailing, use an email service that sends individual messages. Always check recipients before sending.
Based on data from the Oxford English Dictionary and the European Data Protection Board
