Don't Forward Other's Personal Emails

It happens all the time, whether you know it or not.

Emails sent explicitly to one person end up being forwarded to others. Trust is broken.

Even though it happens all the time, just like many other misconceptions about the online arena and email, that doesn’t mean it is good practice. Think about what the motive would be to share personal emails with others. Rarely is it a good reason to do so.

Friends Don’t Forward Friend’s Emails

A kind reader brought her situation to my attention. She had discovered that a “friend” had forwarded an email in which she shared personal information about a problem she was going through with her boyfriend—friend in quotes for obvious reasons.

One of the forward recipients then forwarded her the copy and commentary she had received from her “friend.” That person stated, “I thought you should know you are trusting the wrong person.”

She was heartbroken—this was a person she had trusted erroneously—and not sure what to do. How would you know if the relationship was worth salvaging?

Trust is challenging to regain once lost.

Trust and Respect

When someone sends you an email, they tacitly consider it for your eyes only. And so should you.

Now, there are exceptions, such as threatening or otherwise illegal communications. You know the difference.

If warranted, you should forward dangerous or shady emails to authorities. In this case, where a friend exposes what they believe are questionable activities of another, be very careful about how you get involved—if at all. There are two sides to every story; you don’t need to expose something you are not engaged in or unsure of further.

If your intentions are honorable, if you feel forwarding an email to another party can help the person who sent it to you, ask permission first. Then, explain what you hope to accomplish.

Forwarding private emails to third parties will rarely reflect positively on you. You take the risk that the other side may not understand why you did what you did, but you will know that you broke a trust, and so will all those involved.

Do not doubt that those you snarkily forward to won’t wonder if you would do the same to them. (You probably would.) Trust is a valuable commodity earned over time, and behaving this way will compromise that trust.

By forwarding private emails without permission, you reflect a fundamental lack of character by betraying the person’s trust whose email you expose. If you are just a tattletale or gossip, your actions have demonstrated what kind of person you are—or aren’t.

The Law

If trust and character are not enough to abstain from forwarding private emails sent to you, the fact is that emails are copyright-protected by the author when they are created. You write an email; it is protected by copyright law. That’s how copyright works.

So, to forward, publish, or post without the original author’s permission is copyright infringement. Take note, though; this doesn’t apply when on company time using company resources — in the workplace, there should be no expectation of your holding any copyright.

Are you trustworthy?

Can those who email you know that you can be trusted? Or should they be concerned that you may forward their writings to others without their knowledge?

Trust takes time to build and even longer to repair, if even possible, once breached. So be the person who can be trusted—not the one forwarding others’ emails with your self-serving, snarky, or condescending commentary.