CC vs BCC: What’s the Difference?

Email is a popular way to communicate both personally and professionally. When writing an email, you've likely come across two fields: CC and BCC. But what do these mean, and when should you use them? In this article, learn what CC and BCC are in email, the difference in CC vs. BCC, and when to use one over the other.

What do CC and BCC mean in emails?

In email terminology, CC stands for "carbon copy" and BCC stands for "blind carbon copy." Though they're different, both are ways to send emails to multiple recipients.

What is CC in email?

When you add someone to the CC field, all other recipients in the field can see others' email addresses. They also see who else is included in the email chain.

CC is useful when you want to keep multiple people in the loop on a single email or email chain. It also plays an important role in allowing recipients to communicate or coordinate with each other. Essentially, when you need to create a wider net of communication within an email chain, you can use the CC field.

What is BCC in email?

Adding someone to the BCC field serves a very similar purpose to adding someone to the CC field. However, when you BCC someone, their email address remains hidden from all other recipients, including those in the "To" and "CC" fields. Only you and the person you blind carbon copied can see that they received the email.

Essentially, it's a discreet method of sharing information without revealing the presence of all recipients in the email header. You can use BCC when you want to send an email to someone secretly without the primary recipients knowing.

The difference in BCC vs CC

Because CC and BCC are similar, understanding the difference between the two can be confusing. Consult the table below for the key differences between BCC and CC.

Feature	CC (Carbon Copy)	BCC (Blind Carbon Copy)
Stands for?	Stands for "carbon copy"	Stands for "blind carbon copy"
Recipient visibility	Visible to all recipients in the CC field	Hidden from other recipients, including those in the To and CC fields
Purpose	To send a copy of an email to someone and let other recipients know	To send a copy of an email to someone without other recipients' knowledge
Privacy	Does not hide information; recipients' email addresses are visible	Hides recipients' email addresses from others on the email chain or message
Etiquette	Used when you want to keep all recipients in the loop	Used when you want to keep certain recipients' email addresses private
Included in all replies?	Yes	No

In short, CC openly displays all email addresses to other recipients, whereas BCC keeps recipients' identities hidden from each other. Understanding when to use BCC and CC effectively can enhance communication, maintain privacy, and promote efficient collaboration.

When to use BCC vs CC

It's crucial to know when to use CC vs BCC, as using them properly can save you from sharing information with the wrong people.

Use CC when:

• Transparency is key. CC lets all recipients know who else is included, which can be good for keeping people in the loop or making teams aware of communication.
• Building awareness. If you want recipients to know who else received an email, use CC, since this helps keep teams and individuals on the same page.
• Sharing non-sensitive communication. For most general emails, especially with smaller recipient lists, CC helps facilitate open communication.
• Introducing contacts. You can use CC as a tool to digitally introduce two contacts to one another. Since they can see each others' email addresses, they can communicate and "meet" the other person.

Common uses of CC include sharing meeting minutes, project updates, or general announcements; when anonymity among recipients doesn't matter, use CC to send a message to a group.

Use BCC when:

• You don't want the primary recipient to know. Use BCC to preserve privacy. If you don't want other recipients to know someone is included on an email chain, use BCC.
• Sending an email to a large group. Using BCC prevents recipients from seeing and replying to all others on the recipients list, which could then make for communication issues and an influx of emails in recipients' inboxes.
• Sending a newsletter. Similarly, use BCC to send newsletters, as it avoids exposing sensitive information - like recipients' email addresses or names - to other subscribers.

BCC is primarily used in professional introductions or when sending newsletters to a mass amount of recipients. In the end, consider the nature of your email and your goal to determine what's right. Using BCC and CC properly helps avoid issues in communication later down the line.

Adding CC recipients in common email services

When composing an email, you have the option to add recipients in the "To," "CC," or "BCC" fields. Whether it's adding recipients to CC vs BCC, the process is simple. Here's how adding a recipient to the CC field works in Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo! Mail.

How to add CC in Outlook

In Outlook, open up your account and click New Message to start a new email. Enter primary recipients in the To field and then click CC to the right. This will open the CC field. Add in recipients' email addresses there, finish the email, and send it.

How to add CC in Gmail

In Gmail, first log in to your account and compose a new email. Then, add primary recipients in the To field.
If you want to add additional recipients, add them in the CC field. Do this by clicking the CC icon to the right of the To address field. Add recipients' email addresses in the field that appears below.

Once you've added the CC'd recipients, finish writing your email and send it.

How to add CC in Yahoo! Mail

To add a CC'd recipient in Yahoo! Mail, log in to your email client and open up a new message. Click Show BCC, CC, Reply All below the recipient fields. This will open the CC field.

Enter the email addresses you want to CC in that field, finish your email, and send the message.

Adding BCC recipients in common email services

If you need to know how to add recipients to an email as BCC rather than vs CC, you can find the instructions below for Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo! Mail.

How to add BCC in Outlook

To add BCC to an email in Outlook, first open your account and click New Message. Once you've entered the primary recipients in the To field - and any necessary CC'd recipients in the CC field - you can add BCC'd recipients.
Click BCC to the right of the primary recipients field. This will open up the BCC field below; enter the addresses of blind copied recipients there. Then, finish your email, double-check the recipients, and send it.

How to add BCC in Gmail

Adding BCC to a Gmail email is simple, and the process is much like adding CC. First, open Gmail and compose a new email after logging into your account. Then, add primary recipients in the To field and any recipients you want CC'd in the CC field.

To add BCC, click the BCC symbol to the right of the To field. Add recipients' email addresses in the BCC field that appears. Once you've added all recipients, finish writing your email, double-check that all recipients are correctly copied, and send the message.

How to add BCC in Yahoo! Mail

To add a BCC'd recipient in Yahoo! Mail, log in to your email client and start a new message. Once that's done, click Show BCC, CC, Reply All below the recipient fields. This opens all fields, including the BCC field.
Then, enter the email addresses you want to BCC in that field, finish your email, and double-check that all recipients are properly copied. Then, send the message.

Frequently asked questions

Is it rude to CC someone in an email?

No, it's not considered rude to CC someone in an email. CC'ing someone on an email is a useful way to provide relevant parties with necessary information.

Can people tell if they've been BCC'd?

Not directly, no. If you CC someone on an email, they will see it. However, when it comes to BCC vs CC, BCC recipients only see their own email address in the message header, so there is no way for them to know who else received the email. But if the email is clearly intended for someone else - for example, if a boss receives an email from their worker that is talking to a client - then the recipient can assume that they were BCC'd.

Do BCC'd recipients know who else received the email?

No, there is no way for BCC'd recipients to know who else received the email. Just as their name and email address isn't disclosed to other recipients, other recipients' information isn't disclosed to them.

What if I want to reply to an email I was BCC'd on?

You can reply as normal to an email you were blind carbon copied on. However, your reply will only go to the sender and others originally included in the To or CC fields.

Can BCC recipients see replies?

No, BCC recipients can't see replies. Any replies to the email are only received by the original sender and CC'd recipients. Unless you are also blind copied on the reply, you won't receive replies.