Gmail Confidential Mode lets you send top-secret emails on your phone

[vtqhtr413]

Content source

https://www.cnet.com/news/gmail-confidential-mode-lets-you-send-top-secret-emails-on-your-phone/

Worried about sending emails with sensitive information on your phone? Gmail has rolled out its Confidential Mode to the Gmail iOS and Android apps. Confidential Mode gives you tight control over the emails you send. You can set emails to expire after a set amount of time, similar to a Snapchat message, or take away someone's access to a confidential email at any time. The recipient won't be able to forward, copy, print or download a confidential message, but Google points out they can still take screenshots.

When sending a confidential email you also have the option of requiring a SMS passcode to open the message. If you choose this, the recipient will get a text with a passcode and have to enter it to open the message. Confidential Mode is part of the new Gmail that Google released this year. You can check out Google's support page for instructions on how to send and open confidential emails.

 

[Libera Milanesi]

Apparently the 'Confidential Mode' isn't as confidential as it may appear to most and Google can store the confidential messages indefinitely if they'd like to (to the extent of privacy laws). I've heard that it is actually between yourselves, your recipient/s, and Google, instead of just between you and your recipient/s. There's no official confirmation of this though? Until then, these are just rumors as opposed to factual.

As long as you bear that in mind at all times, it could be a pretty useful feature. It's better than nothing at the least. On the bright side, if your Gmail is breached by an attacker, you have some form of protection against them... I call that a nice bright-side.

If you are really after privacy chat, go for Telegram. iMessage should be end-to-end encrypted as well, and government agencies have never minded expressing their disappointment with Apple for this behavior.

 

[upnorth]

Apparently the 'Confidential Mode' isn't as confidential as it may appear to most and Google can store the confidential messages indefinitely if they'd like to (to the extent of privacy laws). I've heard that it is actually between yourselves, your recipient/s, and Google, instead of just between you and your recipient/s. There's no official confirmation of this though? Until then, these are just rumors as opposed to factual.

Sounds like this information you heard about perhaps comes from the EFF article. Scroll down to " Similar Threads ".

 

[Libera Milanesi]

Sounds like this information you heard about perhaps comes from the EFF article. Scroll down to " Similar Threads ".

I heard it from here recently:
Watch out for Gmail’s new Confidential Mode
Between You, Me, and Google: Problems With Gmail's “Confidential Mode”

The second one from EFF is more recent than the first one.

It isn't really a surprise to me though because we all know what Google is like and what they have been caught doing recently (they have been sued by the EU for some of their behavior) but I haven't used their Confidential Mode yet anyway and don't think I ever will.