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.
Check email encryption
Important: For work or school accounts, you can check the message security of the recipient before you send. This feature isn't available to personal Gmail accounts.
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app
.
- At the bottom right, tap Compose.
- In the "To," "Cc," or "Bcc" field, enter your recipient's email address.
- To the right of the “Subject” field, tap Message security
View details.
- To check the message security of your recipient, tap:
- Standard encryption supported: Encrypted with TLS.
- Enhanced encryption supported: Encrypted with S/MIME.
- No encryption supported: The message isn’t encrypted, or Gmail doesn’t recognize the encryption type.
- Optional: To change encryption settings, tap Settings.
.
View details.Check encryption of received emails
- In Gmail, open an email.
- At the top, next to the recipient, tap Show details
.
- Check the encryption type:
- Standard encryption (TLS)
- Enhanced encryption (S/MIME)
- No encryption supported
What to do if an email isn’t encrypted
- 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.
. Remove unencrypted addresses or private details before you send.Learn why emails aren’t encrypted
For standard encryption to work, the email providers of both the sender and the recipient always have to use TLS.