Blind carbon copy (abbreviated Bcc:) allows the sender of a message to conceal the person entered in the Bcc: field from the other recipients. This concept originally applied to paper correspondence and now also applies to email.[1]
In some circumstances, the typist creating a paper correspondence must ensure that multiple recipients of such a document do not see the names of other recipients. To achieve this, the typist can:
- Add the names in a second step to each copy, without carbon paper; Copy Circulation
- Set the ribbon not to strike the paper, which leaves names off the top copy (but may leave letter impressions on the paper).
CC and BCC are used to include additional recipients on an email. Use CC when you want the CC list to be visible to all recipients and you’d like to start an email thread with them. And use BCC if you want to add recipients to the email, but keep the contacts on the BCC list hidden from everyone included on the email.
With email, recipients of a message are specified using addresses in any of these three fields:
- To: Primary recipients
- Cc: Carbon copy to secondary recipients—other interested parties
- Bcc: Blind carbon copy to tertiary recipients who receive the message. The primary and secondary recipients cannot see the tertiary recipients. Depending on email software, the tertiary recipients may only see their own email address in Bcc, or they may see the email addresses of all primary and secondary recipients.
It is common practice to use the Bcc: field when addressing a very long list of recipients, or a list of recipients who should not (necessarily) know each other, e.g. in mailing lists.[2]
Benefits[edit]
There are a number of reasons for using this feature:
- Bcc is often used to prevent an accidental 'Reply All' from sending a reply intended for only the originator of the message to the entire recipient list.[3]
- To send a copy of one's correspondence to a third party (for example, a colleague) when one does not want to let the recipient know that this is being done (or when one does not want the recipient to know the third party's e-mail address, assuming the other recipient is in the To: or Cc: fields).
- To send a message to multiple parties with none of them knowing the other recipients. This can be accomplished by addressing a message to oneself and filling in the actual intended recipients in the Bcc: field. However, this does not ensure that the Bcc: addresses will be hidden from other Bcc: addresses in all implementations.
- To prevent the spread of computer viruses, spam, and malware by avoiding the accumulation of block-list e-mail addresses available to all Bcc: recipients, which often occurs in the form of chain letters.
Disadvantages[edit]
In some cases, use of blind carbon copy may be viewed as mildly unethical. The original addressee of the mail (To: address) is left under the impression that communication is proceeding between the known parties, and is knowingly kept unaware of others participating in the primary communication.
A related risk is that by (unintentional) use of 'reply to all' functionality by someone on Bcc, the original addressee is (inadvertently) made aware of this participation. For this reason, it is in some cases better to separately forward the original e-mail.
Depending on the particular email software used, the recipient may or may not know that the message has been sent via Bcc. In some cases, 'undisclosed recipients' placed in the To: line (by the software) shows that Bcc has been used. In other cases, the message appears identical to one sent to a single addressee. The recipient does not necessarily see the email address (and real name, if any) originally placed in the To: line.
When it is useful for the recipients to know who else has received a Bcc message,
- their real names, but not their email addresses, can be listed in the body of the message, or
- a meaningful substitute for the names can be placed in the body of the message, e.g. '[To General Manager and members of Remunerations Committee]', or '[To the whole Bloggs family]'.
Carbon vs. courtesy[edit]
The interpretation of 'Bcc:' as 'blind courtesy copy' is a backronym and not the original meaning; the historic RFC 733 has an explicit 'blind carbon' annotation in its definition of the Bcc: header field syntax. 'Cc:' and 'Bcc:' mean 'carbon copy' and 'blind carbon copy' respectively.
Sending courtesy copies of mailing list replies also directly to the author(s) of answered message(s) is a common practice on some lists,[citation needed] and matches a new interpretation of 'Cc:' as abbreviation for 'courtesy copy'.[dubious]
References[edit]
- ^Stout, Chris. 'DEAR NERD: Blind carbons hide addresses.' Charleston Gazette (West Virginia, USA). 1998-01-18. page P5B. NewsBank record number 100F35638A890441.
- ^Husted, Bill. 'Bad e-mail habits can be bothersome, embarrassing'. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia, USA). 2009-08-30. page E15. NewsBank record number 103419444.
- ^Boodhoo, Niala; Carey, Bridget (2009-08-25). 'Be careful when you 'reply all' to e-mail'. Miami Herald. pp. C8. NewsBank record number 200908250100KNRIDDERFLMIAMIH_poked-08-25-09.
External links[edit]
- US-CERTCyber Security Tip ST04-008, 'Benefits of BCC'
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blind_carbon_copy&oldid=888745761'
When composing an email to multiple recipients, the To field is not the only place to enter addresses. Two more fields, Cc and Bcc, also accept recipients. But, what are these fields for, exactly, and when should you use them?
What Does 'Cc' Mean?
Cc is short for carbon copy. Before mail went digital, carbon copy paper made it possible to send the same letter to two people without having to write or type it twice.
When an email address is entered in the Cc field, that person receives a copy of the message sent to the person in the To field. It's useful for keeping people in the loop even if they're not the focus of the message.
More than one email address can be entered in the Cc field, and all addresses will receive a copy of the email.
The Shortcomings of Cc
There are some downsides to sending email carbon copies. When you use the Cc field, both the original recipient and all carbon copy recipients see the email addresses the message was sent to, and some people might object to their email address going public.
Plus, crowded Cc fields don't look good. They can become quite long and take up screen space. Even worse, when somebody replies to all in your message, every addressee in the Cc field receives the response.
What Does Bcc Mean?
Bcc stands for blind carbon copy. This field hides the email addresses entered in it. Only the original sender of the email can view the Bcc recipients. So, to keep maximum anonymity, put your email address in the To field and use Bcc for recipients.
People in the Bcc field also don't receive reply emails from To or Cc recipients, which is handy during a lengthy mail conversation if you don't want to spam everyone's inboxes.
Bcc is also useful when you send a newsletter or send a message to undisclosed recipients.
Add Blind Carbon Copy Recipients
Follow the links below for your operating system and email program to find out how to add Bcc recipients to your email:
Windows
OS X
Mobile
Web