Blind carbon copy (BCC) hides recipient names from other people on the email

When you put someone's address in the BCC field instead of the To or CC field, everyone else who receives the email cannot see that person's address. The BCC recipient gets the full email, but the To and CC recipients have no way of knowing they were included. This is different from CC (carbon copy), where everyone can see everyone else's address.

BCC is useful when you are sending the same message to a group of people who do not know each other and should not see each other's contact information. It is also the right choice when you want to send yourself a copy without making it obvious to the main recipient that you are doing so.

Key Takeaways

  • BCC recipients receive the email but their address stays hidden from all other recipients.
  • In Outlook on the web, click "Bcc" in the compose window to reveal the BCC field.
  • In Outlook desktop, you may need to enable the BCC field through Options or it appears automatically depending on your version.
  • Never use BCC to deceive someone into thinking they are the only recipient when others are also getting the email.

How to add BCC in Outlook on the web

Open a new email message. In the compose window, you will see fields for To and CC. Look for the word "Bcc" as a clickable link just above or below the To field — it is usually in small text. Click it once.

A new field labeled BCC will appear. Type or paste the email address of the person you want to hide from other recipients. You can add multiple addresses separated by semicolons, just as you would in the To field. The rest of the email works normally — fill in the subject line and message, then send.

How to add BCC in Outlook desktop

Open a new email message. In newer versions of Outlook (2016 and later on Windows, or recent versions on Mac), the BCC field is usually visible by default in the compose window. If you do not see it, click the "Options" tab at the top of the compose window, then look for a "Show BCC" or "Bcc" button.

Once the BCC field is visible, click in it and type the email address. If you are using an older version of Outlook, the location of this option may differ — check your version number in File > Account or Help > About to find the exact steps for your setup.

Why BCC is not the same as CC

When you use CC, every recipient can see every other recipient's address in the message header. This is fine when people expect to be part of a group conversation or when transparency matters. BCC is for situations where you do not want that visibility.

A common mistake is using CC when you meant BCC. If you send an email to 50 people using CC, all 50 people will see all 50 addresses. If you use BCC instead, each person sees only their own address and the To field. The difference matters for privacy and for avoiding "reply all" confusion.

When to use BCC and when not to

Use BCC when you are sending a message to multiple people who do not know each other — for example, inviting several job candidates to an interview, or sending a newsletter to subscribers. Use it when you want to send yourself a copy without the recipient knowing. Use it when you are forwarding someone's message to a third party and want to keep the original sender's address private.

Do not use BCC to hide the fact that other people are receiving an email when they should know. Do not use it to secretly copy a manager or HR person on a conversation without telling the other participants — that can damage trust and may violate workplace policy. Do not use it to send the same email to multiple people and make each one think they are the only recipient, as this is deceptive.

What happens after you send a BCC email

Once you send the email, the BCC field disappears from the sent message. If you open the email later from your Sent folder, you will not see the BCC addresses listed. This is by design — the BCC information is not stored in the message itself, only in the mail server's delivery records.

The BCC recipient receives the email normally and can reply to it. If they click Reply All, their reply goes only to the To and CC recipients, not back to other BCC recipients. This prevents BCC recipients from accidentally revealing themselves to each other.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can BCC recipients see each other?

No. BCC recipients cannot see other BCC addresses, and they cannot see CC addresses either. They see only the To field and the message itself. If multiple people are in BCC, none of them know the others are there.

If I BCC someone, can they tell they were BCC'd?

Not from the email itself. The BCC recipient sees the message the same way anyone else does. They cannot tell whether they were in To, CC, or BCC just by looking at the email. However, if they reply and notice their reply does not go to everyone, they may figure it out.

What if I accidentally BCC the wrong person?

If you have not sent the email yet, delete the address from the BCC field and send again. If you have already sent it, there is no way to unsend it or remove the BCC recipient. In Outlook on the web, you may have a brief window (usually a few seconds) to recall the message, but this does not always work and the recipient may still see it.

Is BCC the same in Gmail and Outlook?

The concept is the same, but the steps are slightly different. In Gmail, you click "Bcc" in the compose window just like Outlook on the web. In Outlook, the location depends on whether you are using the web version or the desktop app. The end result is identical — hidden recipients.