Gmail's Confidential Mode for G Suite Goes Live on June 25

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Gmail's Confidential Mode for G Suite Goes Live on June 25

Google announced today that Gmail's confidential mode will be launched for all G Suite users on June 25 after previously launching it in beta during August 2018.

After becoming generally available for all G Suite users, the Gmail confidential mode "will be set to default ON for all domains with Gmail enabled, unless you choose to disable this feature" according to Google.

The newly added Gmail confidential mode adds inbuilt information rights management controls which make it possible to revoke sent messages and to add expiration dates to emails.

Confidential mode works with all email providers given that the protected emails do not contain the confidential content but, instead, the recipients will only receive a link to the actual email hosted on Google's servers.

                                                                Email Sent using Confidential mode

Self-destructing emails with print blocks

More to the point, users will be able to send self-destructing emails to recipients that will also block printing and forwarding to other users. 

As Google further explains, "Because a sender can require additional authentication via text message to view an email, it’s also possible to protect data even if a recipient’s email account has been hijacked while the message is active."

With the help of Gmail's new confidential mode, senders can configure their emails to also block recipients from copying or downloading the contents or attachments.

How to use confidential mode

G Suite admins can choose to toggle confidential mode for users before it becomes generally available on June 25 by going to Apps > G Suite > Settings for Gmail > User settings and selecting between the "Disable",  "Enable now (beta)", and "Enable when the feature is in general availability" options.

                                                        Confidential mode settings

Google provides detailed instructions to G Suite users on how to protect emails using the Gmail confidential mode, how to send and read confidential messages, and how to work with confidential mode messages in Vault.

Gmail confidential mode will be rolled out starting June 25 to all G Suite editions, with one to three days for feature visibility on both rapid and scheduled release domains.