A feature in email communication that allows the sender to include additional recipients in an email without revealing their identities to the other recipients of the email. The use of bcc is an evolution of the cc feature and serves a similar purpose, but with the added benefit of increased privacy and confidentiality. The bcc feature was first introduced in the early days of email communication, but its use became more widespread with the advent of modern email clients and services in the 1990s and 2000s.
How BCC Works
The bcc feature is typically accessed via a checkbox or field labeled bcc in the email composition interface. When composing an email, the sender can enter the email addresses of the primary recipients in the To: field and the addresses of the secondary recipients in the Cc: field. The addresses of the tertiary recipients are entered in the bcc field. The primary and secondary recipients will not see the addresses of the tertiary recipients, ensuring their privacy.
Uses of BCC
The use of bcc is particularly useful in situations where the sender wants to share information with additional parties without disclosing their identities to the primary recipient or other recipients on the email thread. This may include situations where the additional recipients are not known to each other or where the sender wants to avoid the appearance of favoritism or bias.
Risks of BCC
The bcc feature has also been used in some cases for malicious purposes, such as secretly copying a supervisor or authority figure on an email exchange without the knowledge of the other parties involved. However, most email providers and organizations have policies in place to discourage or prohibit such behavior.
History of BCC
The concept of bcc originated from paper correspondence, where typists would use carbon paper to create copies of a document. To ensure that multiple recipients did not see the names of other recipients, typists would add the names in a second step to each copy, without carbon paper, or set the ribbon not to strike the paper, which leaves names off the top copy (but may leave letter impressions on the paper). With the advent of email, this concept was adapted to the digital realm, evolving into the bcc feature we know today.
