Don’t Brush Off Email Privacy
Do you show a blatant disregard for your contact’s privacy? How would you know if you were?
Try this perspective… How would you feel if your contacts — whether business or personal — decided to take your phone number and give it out to strangers? Strangers who you don’t know.
Strangers who may use your phone number to contact you about something you’re not interested in. Or worse yet, who may sell your phone number to telemarketing companies to do the same?
Email is No Different
The same thing happens with email addresses every single day. We’ve all had this happen to us, and it’s not okay.
Has this happened to you? You receive a message or forwarded email listing all those it is sent to visibly displayed in the To: field. By doing so, the sender exposes their contacts’ email addresses, including yours, to strangers.
If the only thing all those addresses have in common is the sender, the sender has breached their contact’s privacy. They’ve publicized email addresses to strangers.
That reflects a complete disregard for privacy. Not to mention a lack of tech-savvy.
One Simple Tip
I get inquiries from folks who have been on the receiving end of such emails, and there are two issues they consistently ask me about:
- How do I let this person know I don’t appreciate them publicizing my email address to people I don’t know? What were they thinking!?
- Can I email all the other people whose addresses are in the To: field along with mine?
Your contacts do not appreciate their email addresses being made public without their permission. At the same time, some assume they can spam those addresses because they are visible.
Whenever you are sending to a group of onliners, here’s a really simple tip: Put your email address in the To: field and everyone else’s in the BCc: field to protect their email addresses from unnecessary exposure.
Do not assume those you email don’t care about this topic.
They do.
By not protecting your contacts’ privacy, you are opening them up to additional unwanted, unasked emails, which is not a way to build trust.
Part of this problem is that BCc: is not visible by default. With some programs, it isn’t easy to find, and you have to search for the BCc: option. Search the Help tab or support website for your email software for more information and to find out how to BCc:.
Knowing how to use your email software’s BCc: option is essential to protecting your contacts’ addresses. Show you “get it” and respect your contacts’ privacy. Wherever BCc: may hide, find it, and use it!
