What Do The CC and BCC Mean in Email

If you have ever sent an email, you must have seen the CC and BCC section in your main workspace. CC and BCC are common terms that you hear when people are talking about email communication and etiquette, but what do the CC and BCC mean in email, and when is the best time to use them?

You will get the answers to those questions shortly, but first;

What is an Email?

Email is a means of communication. The word “Email” is a combination of “Electronic” and “Mail”. Hence the origin of email is “Electronic Mail”.

Email is an effective way of communicating with people and corporate entities. It is safe, cheap, and straightforward.

Elon-Musk-quote-on-Email-CC-BCC-Blog-Post
Elon musk quote on email.

What Do The CC and BCC Mean in Email?

CC is a communication term that stands for “Carbon Copy”. CCing a mail simply means that you are sending the same message to more than one person.

When you CC a mail, you create duplicates of the message you are writing to different recipients.

Your recipients will have full access to your message and they will also be able to see the other people that you sent the mail to.

When Should You Use a CC?

  • Use a CC when it’s important for your recipients to know the other people that received your mail.
  • When you are sending your mail to a few people that have a form of business or personal relationship among themselves.

Instances When You Can Use Email CC

  1. When you’re sending the same information to your boss at work and members of your team.
  2. When you’re sending a job application email and the job advert provided 2 or more email addresses.
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What is BCC in Email?

BCC means “Blind Carbon Copy”. BCC is a way of carbon copying your written mail to different people at the same time while securing their identity.

When Should You Use BCC?

BCC is best when you are creating a copy of your mail to more people, and it’s not necessary for them to know that the mail was also sent to other people.

What’s the Difference Between Cc and Bcc in an Email?

  1. Trust and Transparency: Apply CC when you want to keep communication positive and build trust and transparency amongst peers.
  2. Privacy and Safety: Use BCC if you want to keep the identity of your recipients private. In CC, the emails of the recipients are visible by others, but in a BCC, the mail addresses are not exposed. This also helps you maintain the safety of your receivers as you don’t want anyone to just have access to your other recipients’ details without their permission.
  3. Uniqueness/Neatness: BCC emails are unique because they appear as a personal message sent to just one person. They are also void of the list of emails that appear with a CC email which sometimes is not attractive to the eye.
  4. Large Group/Avoid Spam: Using a BCC is best for sending emails to large groups because it keeps your mail neat and prevents mail servers from flagging your mail as spam. This is why it is best to always limit the numbers you use for a CC email.

Was this article helpful? Do you have more questions about Emails, CC, or BCC? Let us know in the comment section! 

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