5 tips on using Bcc in Outlook email | Microsoft 365 Blog (2024)

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Updated 12/16/22: Visit Microsoft Support for updated guidance.

It’s kind of funny that a software application would use abbreviations that refer to pre-software days. Remember carbon copies? Cc means carbon copy and Bcc means blind carbon copy. For email, you use Cc when you want to copy others publicly and Bcc when you want to do it privately. Any recipients on the Bcc line of an email are not visible to others on the email.These five tips get beginners started and provide info for those who already know how to use Bcc in Microsoft Outlook.

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1. How to add and remove Bcc

Probably one of the biggest hurdles that customers face is figuring out how to add or remove Bcc to or from an email.

  1. To do that, open your email message, and on the Options tab in the Show Fields group, click Bcc.
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Bcc appears in the Send area of your email, below Cc. (Cc appears in the Send area by default.)

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  1. To remove Bcc from your email, again go to the Options tab in the Show Fields group, and click Bcc. Once you add (or remove) Bcc, it stays that way for all email messages.

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2. How to see recipients of a Bcc email that you sent

While others can’t see who’s on the Bcc line of the email you send, you might want to remind yourself who you included.

  1. To do that, go to your Sent Items folder and open the message with Bcc recipients. (By default, all sent messages are stored in the Outlook Sent Items folder.)
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All recipients appear in the header section of your message.

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3. When to use Bcc

Most people know when to use the Cc line—you put people there who you need to keep in the loop even though they’re not the primary people you’re sending to. When you want to keep recipients hidden from people on the To: line, then you add them to the Bcc line. Tips 4 and5 give you two reasons you might want to do that.

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4.Bcc prevents overflowing inboxes

If your name is on the Bcc list, you won’t receive any emails if someone on the To or Cc line replies to the original email. This is especially handy when there are lots of people on the To or Cc line who Reply All during a long email conversation. Your inbox would be inundated with emails when all you needed to care about was the first one.

5. Don’t reveal your identity

Take note! If you’re on the Bcc line of an email and you reply to the email, your secret’s out—everyone on the To and Cc lines knows you were Bcc’d. Why does this matter?Let’s say you send an email to a colleague gently reminding him or her about a deliverable that’s long overdue. You want to let your manager in on this, so you include her on the Bcc line. But if she replies to the email-uh-oh! Your colleague knows you’ve “informed” your manager. Might make for some awkwardness in the workplace for a while!

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5 tips on using Bcc in Outlook email | Microsoft 365 Blog (2024)

FAQs

How does Bcc work in Outlook 365? ›

On the Options tab, select Show Bcc. Add the names of people you want on the Bcc line. Note: When you add someone's email address to the Bcc (blind carbon copy) box, a copy of the message is sent to that person. Other people who receive the message don't see whose address is on the Bcc line.

How do I always Bcc in Outlook 365? ›

Click on the Gear icon in the top right corner. At the bottom of the Settings pane that opens, click the View all Outlook settings link. In the Settings screen, navigate to Mail > Compose and Reply. Scroll down to the Message format section and select the Always show Bcc option.

How do I create a Bcc rule in Office 365? ›

In the rules tab, select the + (New) and select create a new rule. Type in a rule name, for example, Forwarding/BCC . Select [Apply to all messages] from the drop down list. Select Bcc the message to... and select the journaling mailbox from the list of users that pops up.

How do I always show Bcc in Outlook 365? ›

Always show the Bcc field
  1. In Mail view, click on Settings (visible as a cog wheel icon) within the top-right corner. Select View all Outlook settings.
  2. A Settings window will appear. Select Email. Select Compose and reply.
  3. Tick the tick-box labelled always show Bcc. Select Save to apply.

What happens if a BCC replies all? ›

Furthermore, a bcc recipient does not see the names or addresses of any other bcc recipients. Even if a bcc recipient uses the “Reply all” function, the other bcc recipients will not receive their reply – only the original To and Cc recipients.

When not to use BCC? ›

Be cautious of using BCC to expose private conversations. If you're having issues with a colleague at work, you might be tempted to copy your boss to an email thread using BCC. However, using BCC in this way can erode trust between you and your coworkers.

Can BCC recipients see each other? ›

When you place email addresses in the BCC field of a message, those addresses are invisible to the recipients of the email. Conversely, any email addresses that you place in the To field or the CC field are visible to everyone who receives the message.

Do BCC recipients know they are BCC? ›

Along with cc, email providers added bcc. The term “blind” within bcc refers to the fact that no one can see who's bcc'd on an email, including other bcc'd recipients. Only the person who sent the email will know who was bcc'd. You cannot send an email with only bcc'd recipients.

What is the maximum BCC in Outlook 365? ›

The Outlook recipient limit for a single email is 500 people. This restricts the To, Cc, and Outlook Bcc limit. The maximum number of email addresses you can put in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields is 500.

Why is Outlook copying me on every email? ›

If your email address is an alias or added to a distribution list, when you click Reply All, it is an expected behavior that your own email is added to the To field, so you will receive this email after sending.

What is the Bcc rule in mail flow? ›

If you select To, Cc, or Bcc, the sender's manager is added as a recipient in the specified field. If you select Redirect, the message is only delivered to the sender's manager without notifying the sender or the recipient.

How do I bulk Bcc in Outlook? ›

Click on the “Message” tab in the Menu bar and enter the email address of the primary recipient in the To field. In the BCC field, type the email address of your BCC recipient. For multiple addresses or a long list of recipients, you can separate each with a comma, space, or by pressing the enter key.

How do I send a mass email with Bcc? ›

You can use BCC to send mass emails by putting multiple recipients in the To: field and using BCC to hide them from each other's inboxes so they don't know they're all receiving the same message. This is especially useful if you want to send an email blast but don't want everyone to know what else is in the mailbag.

How do I print Bcc in Outlook? ›

There is no way to print an email message directly within Outlook that shows recipients included in the Bcc (blind carbon copy) field. However, you can use a screen capture program to capture an image of the email and then print that image.

Do BCC recipients see each other? ›

When you place email addresses in the BCC field of a message, those addresses are invisible to the recipients of the email. Conversely, any email addresses that you place in the To field or the CC field are visible to everyone who receives the message.

When you move someone to BCC do they get replies? ›

Here's the quirk of email that makes “moving you to BCC” such a mercy: When someone replies-all to a conversation that contains both CCed and BCCed parties, the CCed folks will receive the reply … while the BCCed parties won't.

Can others see BCC in Outlook? ›

The difference between Cc and Bcc is that carbon copy (CC) recipients are visible to all other recipients whereas those who are BCCed are not visible to anyone. To specify the recipients, an e-mail message can contain addresses in any of the 3 following fields: To: field recipients are the audience of the message.

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