Ensuring email compliance in 2025 can be a tricky process, as can achieving email security during transit, unless you use a system like Zoho Mail. Fifteen years ago, when email was essentially the only form of electronic communication available, tools like CC and BCC fields made sense to use it to disseminate basic information. Today, the best email systems—like Zoho Mail—will give you much more effective ways of keeping your team up to date.
In this article, we'll give you a quick overview of the differences between these fields, along with a set of guidelines on how to use them effectively: when, where, and how to use the CC and BCC fields.
What is CC?
CC, or carbon copy, is a way to send an email to additional recipients besides the primary recipient in the "To" field. It originates from traditional office practices, where a carbon paper copy would be given to secondary parties. If you enter an email address into the CC (Carbon Copy) field, that account will receive a copy of your email. They will also see all of the other recipients in both the address field and the CC field and will be able to see that they are in the CC field.
Why use CC?
Often confused with the BCC and To fields, CC is a misunderstood aspect of email correspondence. It’s mostly used for:
Keeping people in the loop: Use CC when you want to share information with people who don't need to respond but should be aware of the email's contents. For instance, if you’re emailing a client and want to keep your manager informed, you can add them to the CC.
Transparency: Adding recipients in the CC ensures everyone knows who else is receiving the email. This is useful in group projects or team environments where visibility is essential.
Establishing accountability: CC can also serve as a record for communication, adding relevant parties to ensure there’s a clear trail of information shared. This can be useful in professional settings where accountability and documentation are important.
When to use CC?
The best use cases for CC in email communication are:
For informing team members: Add your team to the CC when updating a client so they remain aware of the discussion.
For documentation purposes: CC yourself for record-keeping or use CC to bring in stakeholders who need to stay informed.
For keeping people in the loop: CC-ing someone implies they’re a part of the conversation and should be notified, but not to a point where they need to actively participate.
When to avoid CC?
Despite its benefits and undeniable positive effects on communication, using CC can also be a double-edged sword because of:
Sensitive information: Avoid using CC when sharing confidential or sensitive information, as adding more recipients increases the risk of unintended information leaks.
Privacy issues: When emailing a large group that may not know each other or when privacy is essential (e.g., client contacts), use BCC instead of CC to protect recipients' email addresses.
Reducing inbox clutter: CC'ing too many people, especially those who don’t directly need the information, can lead to inbox overload and cause important messages to be overlooked.
Preventing miscommunication: Including too many people in a CC can lead to misunderstandings about responsibilities or expectations. Keep CC lists concise to ensure only relevant parties are informed.
CC vs. To
On the surface, using CC and To both leads to the same result—the intended person will receive the email. Yet still, they’re used for different purposes:
To: This is for the main recipients of the email who are directly involved in the conversation or are expected to respond or take action. People in the To field are usually the primary audience, and the email is specifically directed to them.
CC: This is for secondary recipients who need to be informed but aren’t expected to respond or take direct action. The CC field is typically used to keep people "in the loop" without them being actively involved in the conversation.
What is BCC?
BCC, or blind carbon copy, serves a similar purpose to CC but with one critical difference: BCC recipients are hidden from all other recipients. Nobody can see who has been added to a BCC, but the person added to a BCC will be able to see the message normally. The BCC recipients will also not receive replies to that email thread unless their address is re-entered in the BCC field or moved to the CC field.
Why use BCC?
The main uses for BCC directly relate to:
Avoiding reply-all chaos: For large group emails, using the BCC prevents recipients from accidentally (or intentionally) replying to everyone, reducing unnecessary clutter and potential misunderstandings.
Sharing information discreetly: BCC can be used to discreetly inform a third party (like a manager) of an email conversation without the main recipients knowing, which may be helpful in certain oversight or monitoring situations.
Sending updates without expecting a response: When sending informational updates to multiple people who don’t need to respond or see each other’s replies, BCC allows you to manage the flow of responses and keep the focus on the main content.
Professional courtesy in introductions: When introducing two people via email, you may BCC yourself in the response, allowing the two contacts to continue their conversation without you being included in all of the follow-up messages.
When to use BCC
BCC is ideal when:
You have large mailing lists: Add all recipients to the BCC when emailing a large group to keep addresses private and prevent spam.
You have to introduce contacts: If you introduce two parties by email but don’t want them to directly interact afterwards, you can BCC one to complete the introduction without further involvement.
You don’t require a response: Sometimes, you just want to notify someone about some information within the thread. A BCC is ideal for this because it inherently makes a response unwanted.
When to avoid BCC
Generally, using BCC can sometimes be inappropriate because of:
Perceived lack of transparency: If recipients discover that others were BCC'ed, it can appear deceptive, leading to trust issues and misinterpretations about the intent of the email.
Reply all issues: Some email clients handle BCCs differently, and if a BCC recipient accidentally "replies all," it may reveal the hidden recipients, creating confusion or embarrassment.
Lack of accountability: A BCC can obscure who has been informed, which may complicate accountability, especially in professional settings where it’s essential to know all parties involved.
Poor choice for regular communication: Using BCC regularly for recurring updates or team communications can come across as secretive. For consistent transparency, CC or open communication channels are typically better.
BCC vs. CC
In order to use the CC and BCC fields effectively, it's worth remembering the basics of how these fields work. Though the terminology used by email systems is now confusingly outdated (with CC standing for "Carbon Copy" and BCC for "Blind Carbon Copy"), both of these fields work in a fairly straightforward way.
Still not sure when to use BCC and when to use CC? Don’t worry, the differences are subtle, but nevertheless they do exist:
CC: Use CC when you want to include additional recipients who should see the email but aren’t the primary recipients. The CC recipients are visible to everyone in the email thread, including those in the To and BCC fields. This is ideal when transparency is necessary, and the information is relevant to all involved parties.
BCC: Use BCC when you want to send the email to additional recipients discreetly, as BCC recipients are invisible to others on the email, including those in the To and CC fields. BCC is often used for mass emails to protect recipients' privacy or when involving people who don't need to participate in follow-up responses.
CC and BCC best practices
The way in which CC and BCC fields work is simple, but unfortunately, many people have fallen into bad habits when it comes to using them. So let's take a look at the basic rules of using them effectively.
1. Don't Use CC for FYI emails
2. Expanding the Conversation with email CC
3. Be Wary of BCC in your emails
4. Use email respectfully
Don't Use CC for FYI emails
Perhaps one of the mistakes that people make when using the CC field is to use this to share important information with other colleagues. There are a few ways of avoiding this. Of course, you can always reach out to colleagues directly using the TO field and include a short explanation of why you are sending them this information. Alternatively, put the information you would like to share into a message designed for general consumption—either through a Streams post or by sharing the email conversation with your colleagues—where you can give the necessary context to help people understand it.
Expanding the Conversation with email CC
The best way to use the CC field is to expand an email conversation to colleagues who can make a genuine contribution to it. However, if you are not the originator of an email thread, you should ask permission before adding new recipients, because the number of people in the email exchange can quickly become unmanageable if you don't. Adding new recipients without first asking can also lead to accidentally leaking private or proprietary information.
While it might seem like an email with the whole team in the CC field would be the best way to do this, it's not. A better approach is to designate one team member who can collect important information into a single email update.
Be Wary of BCC in your emails
When it comes to using the BCC field, there is a simple rule to follow: use it carefully. You should always ensure that you use your email system in a way that protects the privacy of your recipients, and BCC is a helpful tool in that regard.
Another issue to be aware of when using the BCC field is accidentally breaking the privacy laws that apply in your region. Most data privacy laws now in place—from Europe’s GDPR to the PIPEDA in Canada or the HIPAA —contain explicit provisions on how you can store and share personal contact information such as email addresses. Using the BCC field can be interpreted as sharing this information without the consent of the main recipient, and could lead to you being fined in countries with strict censorship laws.
Using Email Respectfully
Finally, a rule that applies to the use of email more generally, and not just the CC and BCC fields: be respectful. Primarily, this means not sending emails unless necessary, and sending your email at times that doesn't cause unnecessary stress. If you can have a quick chat with a colleague instead of writing an email, do so. If your clever idea can wait until the morning, don't put it in an email "as a reminder," just schedule the email to be sent later.
Write Better Emails
Ultimately, all of the tips above can be reduced to a simple principle: spend the time necessary to write quality emails and your team communication will be improved.
There are many more features that Zoho Mail has to help you get the best out of your email system. Stay tuned to our blogs for the latest feature updates, tips, tricks, and more.
Author Bio: Gary Stevens
CTO of Hosting Canada, a website that provides expert reviews on hosting services and helps readers build online businesses and blogs.
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