BCC Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

In 2020, an estimated 306.4 billion emails were sent and received each day. It’s only logical to assume that that number will continue to climb. With that many emails circling the world, you can assume that most people with access to some form of technology have sent or received an email at some point. 

If you’re a frequent email user, you’ve probably seen the acronym BCC. Today, we’ll show you what BCC means, its origins, and how to use it in a sentence.

What Does BCC Mean?

When you see the abbreviation BCC, it means blind carbon copy. A blind carbon copy is a duplicate of a written or typed document, a copy of an email, or another electronic document. When the copy is sent, the sender’s email address or name is not visible to the primary recipient or addressee. In this context, BCC is a noun.

Here are a few quick examples of BCC used in sentences as a noun:

• For security reasons, we’ll be using BCC’s from now on when emailing customers.
• Dan will want a BCC of the discussion.

BCC can also be a verb. As a verb, it is the act of sending a duplicate of an email, text, or document to someone whose name will not be visible to the primary recipient. 

Here are a few examples of BCC used as a verb:

• I BCC’d you this morning on my response to my client.
• After our most recent exchange, I’ll be BCC-ing you on all of my correspondence with my co-worker.

The blind carbon copy is an excellent way to ensure that copies of an email are distributed without alerting the main recipients of your email that a copy has been sent to others.

What Is the Origin of BCC?

BCC as the term “blind carbon copy” is similar to the abbreviation CC. CC means “carbon copy.” BCC and CC are both terms used in emails, but the original meanings of these terms are more dated. 

In the old days, prior to emailing and copy machines, one way of making a copy of a document was to make a physical carbon copy with carbon paper. Printers made copies by pressing pigment onto an additional blank sheet of paper underneath the sheet of carbon paper. 

If a printer made a blind carbon copy, the person receiving the document would not know it wasn’t the original. It’s interesting how words that had meanings unrelated to the digital age still apply today. For instance, Spam is a brand of canned, cooked pork, but it’s also a term for unwanted emails. 

A Monty Python skit that overused the word Spam for comedic purposes inspired the renaming of unwanted email as Spam. Now, emails from unknown senders or long lists of recipients go to a Spam folder.

When Should You Use BCC?

Many people prefer to send or receive an email rather than a phone call or face-to-face meeting. When sending an email at work, occasionally, you’d like to discreetly make your supervisor aware of a situation with a fellow employee. As the sender, you can send a BCC to your supervisor by simply entering their email in the BCC field before you send your email.

Another reason you might use bcc is for privacy. Sometimes, it’s easier to send one email to several people, and traditionally, you can just add recipients to the cc field. However, you don’t want to give away someone’s email address without their permission accidentally. It’s possible to send a copy of the email to a large number of people without any of them seeing that you sent it to anyone but them by using the BCC field.

CC vs. BCC

In some business settings, the preferred email etiquette is to use CC to include a large group of interested parties in the topic of discussion. The CC field is generally reserved for secondary recipients, and the reply all feature is used to keep everyone in the email thread of responses. 

If you have a long list of recipients, it may be best to put your entire recipient list in the bcc field and your email address as the primary recipient. Following these steps creates a clean courtesy copy for everyone in your intended audience.

One downside to using BCC over CC is that a future reply will not make it to the person who was BCC’d even if reply-all is used. The original recipient is never intended to learn that a person has been BCC’d.

BCC in Business

It is common for small businesses to use the BCC field to send emails to undisclosed recipients in email marketing. This practice is a security measure that protects the email addresses of the email recipients.

An ESP is an email service provider. You may need a specific email service provider if you have a business that sends many emails. A specialized ESP can help you send bulk emails to a mailing list or list of subscribers. 

If you have an email program for your company, when you email clients, it is wise to use BCC to send emails to multiple people to protect the recipients’ email addresses. In addition, newsletters should also use BCC to protect the email addresses of the recipients

Email addresses are pieces of personal info. That means your email address book is full of other people’s personal information. That’s one reason why it’s important to gain consent before sending an initial email. It’s also important to be honest about the number of future emails a person can expect to receive.

How to BCC or CC Someone in an Email

You’ll find the field to send a BCC or CC someone when you send an email through your email service.

Emails can be copied easily without your knowledge and sent to additional recipients that the sender never intended. That’s why it’s best to use discretion with what you share via the internet.

When you’re corresponding with coworkers, remember that everything you are seeing could have been sent to your superiors and higher-ups within the company using BCC. 

Additionally, proofreading, using best practices, and operating with transparency can help you avoid any professionally embarrassing email blunders. If you have questions about your workplace’s BCC and CC policies, it’s advisable to consult with your HR department.

Are There Synonyms for BCC?

Synonyms convey the meaning of one word using a different word or phrase. Unfortunately, there are no perfect synonyms for BCC. However, there are some similar words, including:

• Duplicate
• Duplication
• Doppelganger
• Facsimile
• Replica
• Mirror image
• Match

Are There Any Antonyms for BCC?

Antonyms express the opposite meaning of a word. Here are antonyms and related antonyms for bcc:

• Original
• Prototype
• Archetype
• Antithesis
• Reverse

Examples of BCC

• Can you BCC me on that response?
• Bcc-ing your boss keeps them in the loop on important matters.
• You may be asked to use BCC at some point.
• Type the name into the BCC field.

Conclusion

Now you know the meaning of BCC and how to use BCC in your emails at work, at school, or even in your personal life. Try using BCC today!

Sources:

1. Bcc Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 
2. History of Cc and Bcc Before Emails | Merriam-Webster
3. What is the difference between Cc and Bcc? | Computing Services Centre