Check your email security

To protect your emails, Gmail encrypts them during transfer with transport-layer security (TLS), and you can often check their security. Learn about TLS.

If you use a work or school account, additional encryption types may be available. Learn about email encryption in Gmail.

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. At the top left, click Compose.
3. In the "To," "Cc," or "Bcc" field, enter your recipient's email address.
4. To the right of your recipient, hover over Message security :
   • Standard encryption: Encrypted with TLS.
   • Enhanced encryption: Encrypted with S/MIME.
   • No encryption: The message isn’t encrypted, or Gmail doesn’t recognize the encryption type.

5. Optional: To change encryption settings, click Message security View details.

Tip: If there are multiple recipients with different encryption levels, Message security shows the lowest encryption type.

1. In Gmail, open a message.
2. At the top, next to the recipient, click Show details .
3. In the window, next to “security,” check the encryption type:
   • Standard encryption (TLS)
   • Enhanced encryption (S/MIME)
   • No encryption supported

• If the recipient’s email service doesn’t support the same encryption types as Gmail, you may get a warning message or a red lock icon . Remove unencrypted addresses or private details before you send.
• If you receive an unencrypted email with sensitive data, inform the sender.
• If you use S/MIME, emails are encrypted whenever possible. You need a valid S/MIME certificate from a trusted source to sign or get S/MIME emails.