CC and BCC are two email fields that are frequently confused, but they serve entirely different purposes. For a full breakdown of CC, see our guide on using CC in email. This article covers BCC specifically—what it means, how it differs from CC, when to use it, and when to avoid it.

What Is the Difference Between BCC and CC in Email?

CC (carbon copy) sends a copy of the email to someone other than the primary recipients in the To field. CC recipients’ addresses are visible to everyone on the thread, and they receive all future Reply All messages. CC is typically used when you want to bring someone into the loop without expecting a response, or when you want to introduce new people.

BCC (blind carbon copy) also sends a copy of the email, but the recipient’s address is hidden from all other people on the thread. BCC recipients do not receive subsequent Reply or Reply All messages. BCC recipients also cannot see each other. Think of it as a stealth mode CC.

How Do You Access the BCC Field in Gmail and Outlook?

In Gmail: When composing a new email, look to the right of the “To” line. You will see options for both CC and BCC. Click either one (or both) to bring up new lines where you can enter email addresses.

In Outlook: CC is available by default. Click BCC (to the right of the To field) to add a BCC line. If you use both Outlook and Gmail, the BCC behavior is identical across both platforms—BCC recipients are hidden from all other recipients and excluded from future replies.

When Should You Use BCC Instead of To or CC?

The To field is for primary recipients who you expect to respond. The CC field is for people who should see the message, whose addresses can be visible to the group, and who should receive future Reply All messages.

BCC is appropriate in three situations:

Mass messaging. When sending an email to a large group—such as an event invitation—these recipients may not know each other. You do not want them mindlessly hitting Reply All and sending notifications to dozens of people. BCC protects everyone’s privacy and prevents Reply All mishaps.

Maintaining privacy. BCC is useful when you want to copy someone while keeping their email address hidden. For example, if you are networking and want your boss to see your initial message to a new contact, BCCing your boss keeps them in the loop without revealing their contact information to the other person.

Sparing someone from a lengthy thread. Because BCC excludes a person from future Reply All messages, it is effective for keeping someone copied while sparing them from a long reply chain. If you want someone to know a conversation has begun but do not want them wrapped up in the thread that follows, BCC is the right choice.

When Is It Inappropriate to Use BCC in Email?

The BCC field is inherently opaque—you are letting someone see a message without other people knowing about it. This creates potential for misuse.

Copying up. Including someone’s boss or supervisor in the BCC field to make the primary recipient look bad is unprofessional. If an issue is serious enough to involve someone higher up, contact them directly and be straightforward about it. BCCing does not make it less petty—the supervisor will still recognize the intent.

Including an inappropriate eavesdropper. Using BCC to give someone access to information they have no business seeing—such as copying someone outside the company on internal communications—is both unprofessional and risky. Remember that even though BCC recipients do not receive replies, they can still hit Reply All on the original message. If they do, their address is revealed to everyone, exposing the fact that they were secretly copied.

Operating without transparency. If your reason for using BCC is to hide your actions or circumvent workplace norms around transparency, it is the wrong tool. Ask yourself honestly: are you protecting someone’s privacy, or are you trying to get away with something deceptive?

What Is a Safer Alternative to Using BCC?

If you need to share a message with someone but do not want to use BCC, forward the email to them after sending it. This achieves the same result—they see the message without being visible to the other recipients—and eliminates the risk of them accidentally hitting Reply All and revealing that they were secretly copied.

Forwarding still resides in ethically ambiguous territory depending on the context, but it is structurally safer than BCC because the forwarded recipient has no connection to the original thread.

Overall, there are more ways to misuse BCC than to use it appropriately. If you must use BCC, use it with caution and make sure you are implementing it with respect to all parties involved.

Frequently Asked Questions About BCC in Email