If you think about all of the emails you’ve sent and received over the years — and how many you probably haven’t deleted — it stands to reason that you want to keep email as private and secure as possible. Whether you’re sending everyday greetings to friends (and exposing their information and email addresses) or using email to exchange highly personal info like banking information, there are several steps you can take today to ensure your email won’t be seen by anyone else. And there are specific email privacy settings you should always have on, according to tech experts.
“While email privacy settings have been around for a while, most people do not know what these settings are or how they work,” says Matt Aubin, Company Founder and Technical Investigation Specialist at Counter Surveillance and Cyber Team. “The most important thing to remember is that the default setting on your email client is not secure. This means that anyone with access to your email can view your emails, read your attachments, and even delete them.”
Luckily, Aubin says, there are many email privacy settings that you can turn on to make your data more secure and confidential. Here are a few you need to know about.
Turn on email encryption
“This will encrypt your messages so that only the intended recipient can read them,” Aubin says. “It is not just a good idea but also a legal requirement in some countries.”
Turn on email signatures
Email signatures will display your signature at the bottom of every email, which will include your name, contact information, and website URL. “This is an easy way to make sure that people know who you are and what to expect from you in terms of business dealings or personal relationships,” Aubin says.
Turn on two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication is crucial if your goal is to ensure your email is safe and secure. “This will require two pieces of information before someone can access any of your emails, such as a password,” Aubin says. “If you are sending emails from your personal email address, we recommend turning on BCC so that the recipients of your email don’t know who else is on the thread. This is especially important if you are sending out sensitive information like messages from a bank account or other personal information. This setting will also help you protect yourself from spammers who might be trying to get access to your account by adding themselves as an additional recipient of the message.”
To turn on 2FA, go to the Apple menu and System Preferences. Click on Apple ID and then click Password & Security under your name. Toggle on Two-Factor Authentication.
Your email is one of the first places where hackers can learn a whole lot of private information about you. Start putting these tips into effect ASAP to prevent an exchange of personal info without your knowledge or consent.
