VentureBeat Homepage
  • The Machine
  • GamesBeat
  • Jobs
  • Special Issue
  • Account Settings
  • Log Out
  • Become a Member
  • Sign In

VentureBeat Homepage

VentureBeat

  • AR/VR
  • Big Data
  • Cloud
  • Commerce
  • Dev
  • Enterprise
  • Entrepreneur
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Mobile
  • Security
  • Social
  • Transportation

Follow

follow us on Twitter follow us on Facebook follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on RSS

The Machine

  • AI
  • Machine Learning
  • Computer Vision
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Robotic Process Automation

Follow

Follow us on RSS

GamesBeat

  • Games
  • Esports
  • PC Gaming

Follow

follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS

Events

  • Upcoming
  • Transform
  • Media Partner
  • Webinars

General

  • Newsletters
  • Got a news tip?
  • Advertise
  • Press Releases
  • Guest Posts
  • Deals
  • Jobs
  • VB Lab
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
×

Join the VentureBeat Community

Free: Join the VentureBeat Community for access to 3 premium posts or videos a month.

Learn More
Please wait...

Share

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn

Profile

  • VentureBeat Homepage
  • Newsletters
  • Events

Gmail’s confidential mode launches for G Suite users on June 25

Kyle Wiggers@Kyle_L_Wiggers May 29, 2019 11:01 AM
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn

Data: Meet ad creative

From TikTok to Instagram, Facebook to YouTube, and more, learn how data is key to ensuring ad creative will actually perform on every platform.

Register Now

Join Transform 2021 for the most important themes in enterprise AI & Data. Learn more.


Gmail’s confidential mode — the privacy-preserving email feature Google unveiled last April — launched in beta roughly three months ago (in March), and the Mountain View company today announced that starting June 25, it’ll become generally available for G Suite customers. This writer is already seeing it in his inbox.

Confidential mode, you might recall, allows email senders to create expiration dates, revoke previously sent messages, and remove options for recipients to forward, copy, print, and download via built-in Information Rights Management (IRM) controls — all toward the goal of protecting highly sensitive or personal content. Optionally, users can require two-factor authentication via text message to view an email, which Google contends makes it easier to preserve a message’s integrity even if a recipient’s account is compromised.

Confidential mode is switched on by default for all domains with Gmail enabled. Disabling it requires heading to G Suite’s Admin console, navigating to Apps > G Suite > Settings for Gmail > User settings, and looking for the “Enable confidential mode” checkbox. When it’s active, users see a button (to the right of the “insert image” shortcut on the toolbar beneath the message body) to turn on confidential mode for an individual email. It opens a pop-up where they can set an expiration date or require a passcode.

Gmail confidential mode

Here’s how it all works from the recipient’s end: Google sends a link to the content, and if it’s opened in Gmail (either on the web or in an app), it displays the content of the message in-line. If the recipient isn’t a Gmail user, they have to click to view the email in a separate Google Cloud-hosted portal.

Google notes that confidential mode has its limitations. It won’t prevent recipients from snapping screenshots or photos of messages or attachments. And Google Vault retains all confidential messages sent by users within an organization (but doesn’t allow the content or attachments from external confidential messages to be searched). Still, it believes confidential mode has the potential to “dramatically” cut down on malicious actors’ ability to access sensitive information.

VentureBeat

VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative technology and transact. Our site delivers essential information on data technologies and strategies to guide you as you lead your organizations. We invite you to become a member of our community, to access:
  • up-to-date information on the subjects of interest to you
  • our newsletters
  • gated thought-leader content and discounted access to our prized events, such as Transform
  • networking features, and more
Become a member

Transform 2021

Join us for the world’s leading event about accelerating enterprise transformation with AI and Data, for enterprise technology decision-makers, presented by the #1 publisher in AI and Data

Learn More

Join forces with OHUB & VB to include & hire 1,000 BIPOC students at SXSW

Sponsor & hire
  • VentureBeat Homepage
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on RSS
  • VB Lab
  • Newsletters
  • Events
  • Special Issue
  • Product Comparisons
  • Jobs
  • About
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

© 2021 VentureBeat. All rights reserved.