Make an email confidential in Outlook Online

Outlook Online gives you the option to designate a message as ‘Confidential’ to ensure the privacy of your email correspondence. You can designate that an email should be considered sensitive and confidential by taking a few easy actions. Here is a tutorial article on how to make an email confidential Outlook Online.

To mark a mail confidential in Outlook Online, create a new email, click the three dots (…), choose “Set sensitivity,” select “Confidential,” write your message, and then click “Send.” The recipient’s adherence to confidentiality is contingent upon their email client supporting this functionality.

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Make an email confidential Outlook Online

Here are the steps you can follow if you need to mark a mail confidential in Outlook online.

Use a web browser to log into your Outlook Online account.

make an email confidential outlook online

To create a new email, by clicking on the “New message” button.
Click on the three dots (…) in the toolbar at the bottom of the new email composition window.

Choose “Set sensitivity” from the list of options that appears.
Select “Confidential” under the sensitivity drop-down menu.
After choosing “Confidential,” you can continue writing your email as normal.
Include the recipient(s), topic, and email body to complete the message.
Press the “Send” button when you are prepared to send the private email.

How to make an email confidential in Outlook 365?

Here are the steps you can follow if you want to mark emails confidential on Office 365.

Log into your account in Outlook 365. Use your login credentials to access your mailbox.

How to make an email confidential in Outlook 365?

To create a new email, click the “New Email” button on the top left of the screen.
Find the “Options” tab in the ribbon at the top of the new email writing window.
Select the “Encrypt” button under the “Options” tab.
To define the required level of confidentiality, choose “Encrypt-Only” or “Do Not Forward” from the dropdown menu.
Add the recipients, subject, and content to complete the email.
Click on the “Send” button when you are prepared to send the private email.

Use IRM to restrict permission to a message

You must utilize Information Rights Management (IRM) to limit what receivers can do with a message you transmit. Before you may impose limits on an email message, your system administrator needs to install IRM. IRM is probably not configured if you can’t see the Permission button on the Options menu.

Click on Options in the top panel
From the options below click on permissions

You will now have a dropdown menu. From here click on Do not Forward.

Imp: IRM cannot stop content from being deleted, taken, tampered with, or recorded and transferred by nefarious software or computer viruses. Additionally, it can’t stop someone from manually inputting the message, retyping it, or snapping a digital snapshot or screenshot of it.

Sending/Viewing Confidential Emails with Outlook Web App

You can use web browsers to access your Microsoft 365 mailbox with Outlook Web App. On all desktop operating systems (Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux), Outlook Web Application enables secure email in well-liked browsers.

Click on New to compose a new email

Start by typing in the email ids of the recipients you would like to send the mail to.
If you want to send the mail to people from your company you can start by typing out the company email link.

There are two ways of marking an email confidential

Click on the subject line and use #classified

Note: This is a case-sensitive command and you will need to have it all in lower-case without space

The second method of doing it is by clicking on the … (the three dots on the right)
Select Set Permissions from the dropdown menu
Now Click on the company extension – followed by Read-only.
After typing out the email check the content and click on Send.

How to reply to a confidential email in Outlook?

Here are the steps you can follow to reply to a mail that has been marked as confidential.

Go to your Outlook mailbox and open the private email you just got.
To create your response, select “Reply” or “Reply All” from the menu.
As you normally would, type your response in the email composition box.
Use the appropriate buttons or options in the email composing box to add attachments or additional information.
Click “Send” when you are prepared to email your response.

Note: It’s crucial to preserve the email’s secrecy and to only access it with permission. You might need to get in touch with the sender for more help if you have any problems or are unable to see the private email.

How to view a confidential email in Outlook?

Here is how to view a confidential email in Outlook.

Use a web browser or the Outlook desktop application to access your Outlook email account.
Look in your inbox or the folder where it is saved for the email with the confidential label.
To open the email, click it twice.
You might have to verify yourself to read the private material, depending on the email client and the sender’s preferences. Verify your identity by adhering to any on-screen directions or prompts.
The email content ought to be accessible after authentication. You can read the message, look at any attached files, and do any appropriate steps, like responding or forwarding the email.

Set a default sensitivity level for all new messages

Here is how you can set a default sensitivity level in Outlook

Log into your account in Outlook after opening it.
In the upper-left portion of the Outlook window, select the “File” tab.
Go to the left sidebar and click “Options.”
Click “Trust Centre” in the sidebar of the Outlook Options box.
On the right, select the “Trust Centre Settings” button.
Select “Email Security” on the Trust Centre window’s left sidebar.
Select the sensitivity level you want to use as the default for all new messages under the “Default Sensitivity Level” column.
To save the changes and close the windows, click “OK”.

In conclusion

You can increase the security and privacy of your email correspondence and let recipients know that the material should be handled with discretion by using the confidential setting in Outlook Online.

Hope you found this tutorial article explaining how to make an email confidential Outlook Online interesting and helpful. Check out similar articles here.

Kirithika

I am Kirithika and a senior technical content writer expertise in using various Microsoft and Google tools like OneDrive, Outlook Online, Word Online, Microsoft Forms, Microsoft teams, Google Drive, etc. I love to share how-to tutorials, tips, and tricks on these tools. From last 5 years, I am trying to serve various clients across the United States of America. Check out more on About me page.