CC vs. BCC: What’s the Difference?

Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.
It’s essential to understand email etiquette to avoid embarrassing blunders. In this article, you’ll learn the difference between CC and BCC, and when it’s appropriate to use them.

Email may not be the latest or trendiest way to communicate, but it continues to dominate business communication. In 2019, 3.9 billion people around the world used email. By 2024, the number could hit 4.48 billion.

And even as social media marketing thrives, the benefits of email marketing remain. It’s low cost, easy to measure, and enables you to deliver targeted messages. Email marketing also excels at customer retention and revenue, primarily when you use best practices for email marketing.

Understanding email etiquette -- and avoiding embarrassing email blunders -- is essential. When you send an email with your email marketing software, CC and BCC appear below or alongside the “To” field and are used to include additional recipients. Let’s discuss what they mean and when you should use them.

What does CC mean when sending an email?

The CC abbreviation stands for “carbon copy.” CC recipients receive an exact copy of the email and any further “Reply All” responses in the thread. All recipients of the email will also see who has been CC’d.

CC functions exactly like the “To” field. However, email etiquette dictates that only the main recipients of the email appear in the “To” field. Primary recipients are more directly affected by the email and are typically expected to respond or take action.

For CC recipients, on the other hand, responding and acting are generally optional. The key purpose of the CC field is to simply keep someone in the loop. It’s often called a “courtesy copy” for this reason.

For instance, if you ask your copywriter to make a decision that will influence your graphic designer, it would be appropriate to CC the designer in the email.

What does BCC mean when sending an email?

The BCC abbreviation stands for “blind carbon copy.” BCC recipients also receive an exact copy of the email. However, they do not see further responses in the thread, and other recipients of the email will not see who is BCC’d.

BCC is most commonly used for mass emails and messages to email subscribers. It protects recipients' privacy by hiding their email addresses from other recipients whom they do not know. Additionally, the email has a cleaner and more personal look without a long list of recipients.

CC vs. BCC: What’s the difference?

Both CC and BCC send copies of an email to additional recipients. The main difference is that CC recipients are visible to others, while BCC recipients are not.

CC’d individuals will receive all additional responses to the email, assuming the “Reply All” function is used. BCC’d recipients do not receive additional emails unless you choose to forward them.

When you should use CC

Use a CC email when you want the email list to be visible to all recipients, and you want everyone to be included in the rest of the thread. Here are a few specific uses for CC:

  • Keeping stakeholders in the loop: Use CC to keep management and other involved parties updated on the status of projects.
  • Communicating urgency: Include higher-ups in the company in the “CC” field to indicate that the content of an email is important and time-sensitive. You don’t always need to do this right away, but it’s a helpful strategy if you’ve made a request several times.
  • Introducing contacts: Use the CC field to “e-introduce” two contacts to one another. This way, they can see each other’s email addresses. You can also accomplish this by including both recipients in the “To” field, but either approach is appropriate.

When you should use BCC

Use a BCC email when you want to include additional recipients but don’t want the recipients to know who else is receiving the email. Here are a few specific uses for BCC:

  • Using a mailing list: Any time you’re sending an email to many recipients who don’t know each other, it’s crucial to use BCC. When you’re launching an email campaign, the last thing you want to do is offend your targets by invading their privacy.
  • Sending a newsletter: Similarly, you should use BCC when sending a company newsletter to avoid exposing subscribers’ names and email addresses to each other without their consent. If too many people are upset by your emails and unsubscribe, you can end up on a blacklist, which can mark your emails as spam.
  • When you don’t want the main recipient to know: In rare cases, you can use BCC when you don’t want the primary email recipient to know that you’ve included someone else on the email. Examples include providing evidence of bad behavior to HR or looping your boss in on an issue you’re having with a client. A word of caution: Discuss this strategy with the BCC recipient first. If they “Reply All,” individuals in the “To” or “CC” fields will know that you’ve blind copied someone.

CC vs. BCC: Examples of when to use each

Let’s say you’re working on a product launch that involves a copywriter, designer, web administrator, and various members of the marketing and product development teams.

You need to send an important update to the designer. The update could potentially impact the project timeline, thus affecting the other people involved. Put your designer in the “To” field, then CC other interested parties, including management.

If your boss asks you to accomplish a task such as obtaining information from a partner organization, you can CC your boss in the email. This way, your boss sees that you’ve done what was asked, and they can stay in the loop on further communication with the partner.

Now, let’s say you need to send an email conveying important information about an event such as check-in times and materials to bring. The email will go to a list that includes all event attendees. In this case, you should use BCC to protect the privacy of your attendees.

Or, perhaps a client has been harassing you. You tell your boss about the situation, and they ask you to BCC them on future communication so they can observe your interactions with the client.

A similar scenario could happen if a coworker is behaving inappropriately. Most of the time, however, it’s best to avoid BCC on emails with coworkers. It can seem shady and potentially lead to workplace tension.

Confidently using CC and BCC in your future emails

CC makes your email list visible to all recipients and loops everyone into an ongoing thread. BCC recipients, meanwhile, are invisible to each other and won’t be included in email responses.

CC is best for keeping stakeholders informed, while BCC is best for mass emails and email lists.

Alert: our top-rated cash back card now has 0% intro APR until 2025

This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a lengthy 0% intro APR period, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee! Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

Our Research Expert

Related Articles

View All Articles Learn More Link Arrow