What Does Blind Carbon Copy Mean?

There's more ways to send an email to someone than just the "To" column; anyone who uses email regularly notices there's also a Carbon Copy column and a Blind Copy column. Carbon copy sends a copy to someone other than the primary person the email was intended for. What does Blind Carbon Copy mean?

The Other Categories Explained

"To" is obvious: it's the primary person (or persons) the email's intended for. "Carbon Copy," or CC, is persons to whom the email is not addressed, but would perhaps be interested in the contents.

Blind Carbon Copy

"Blind Carbon Copy," or BCC, is similar to Carbon Copy, only the Blind Carbon Copy recipients are hidden from everyone else who gets the email.

Example 1: Applying for a Job

Let's say you're sending a cover letter and a resume to a manager at a company you want to work for, but you also want to send a copy of this email to your contact in the company to let them know you applied. Having your contact's name appear in the "To" or "CC" is not only tacky, but could get the contact in some trouble; hence, "BCC" is the more tactful choice.

Example 2: Helping Friends Hide From Spammers

Do you like forwarding jokes? Lots of people do, which means emails with jokes spread quickly around the net. Unfortunately, this often means email addresses spread with them, and could eventually end up in the hands of people who spread spam emails. If you forward your joke emails with Blind Carbon Copy, you'll help protect their addresses from reaching these spammers.

Summary

Basically, Blind Carbon Copy is a tool you can use to send a copy of an email to someone without the other recipients being aware you sent it to them.

References

• US-CERT: Benefits of BCC