Confidential mode
Send feedbackConfidential mode keeps the body of a message out of the recipient's mailbox. Instead of the text itself, they receive a short notice with a link, and the content opens in a viewer that offers no way to forward, copy, print or download it. You set how long the link lasts, and can require a one-time code before it opens.
Availability: This feature is part of the paid packages — it isn't included on the free plan. Check Plans & pricing for what each package includes, or open Admin → Subscription to see what your workspace is on.
What confidential mode does
- The message body never reaches their mailbox. It is held in NevTan Mail, and what arrives is a notice with an Open confidential message button.
- The content opens in a viewer, in a browser, rather than in their mail app.
- The viewer offers no forward, reply, print or download, and selecting text and the right-click menu are both switched off.
- The link stops working on the date you choose, after which the page says the message has expired.
- You can require a one-time code, so that having the link is not enough on its own.
Send a confidential message
- Write the message as usual: Fill in the recipients, the subject and the body first — confidential mode applies to whatever the body holds when you send.
- Turn on confidential mode: Choose the padlock-and-clock control in the compose toolbar. On a narrow screen it is Confidential mode in the ⋮ menu instead.
- Set the expiry and the passcode: Both are covered in the next section. The defaults are one week, with no passcode.
- Choose Save: This is what switches the mode on — there is no separate toggle. A card appears in the compose window confirming the date the content expires.
- Send: Nothing else changes. Scheduled sending works the same way.
While the card is showing, you can still change your mind:
- Edit on the card reopens the dialog so you can change the expiry or the passcode.
- The × on the card turns confidential mode off again and sends the message normally.
Expiry and passcode
| Setting | Choices | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Set expiration | 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months | How long the link keeps working, counted from when you send. The dialog shows the exact date beside the menu. |
| Require passcode | No passcode, or Email passcode | Whether opening the link is enough on its own, or a one-time code has to be entered first. |
The two passcode choices behave quite differently, and the difference matters:
- No passcode — the message opens for anyone who follows the link. Nothing checks who they are.
- Email passcode — the reader is asked for the address the message was sent to. A six-digit code is emailed to it, valid for ten minutes. The code is only ever sent to an address that was actually a recipient of that message, so access is tied to the people you addressed it to.
Without a passcode, the link is the only secret
The notice that arrives is an ordinary email, and your recipient can forward it like any other. Whoever receives it can open the message, because the viewer does not ask who they are. Choose Email passcode whenever it matters that only the people you addressed can read it.
What the recipient sees
- A short notice in their inbox, marked as a confidential message, saying when it expires and carrying the button that opens it.
- Nothing to install, and no NevTan account needed. It works from any mail app and any browser, so you can use it with people outside your organization.
- With no passcode, the button opens the message straight away.
- With a passcode, they enter the address the message was sent to, receive a six-digit code by email, and enter it within ten minutes. A fresh code can be requested if it runs out.
- A banner above the message states that forwarding, copying and downloading are switched off for it.
- Once it expires, the page says the message has expired and suggests asking you to send it again.
What it does not protect against
Confidential mode raises the effort involved in passing a message on. It is not encryption, and it cannot make a determined reader forget what they have read. Be clear about what it leaves open:
- Screenshots and photographs. Nothing in any system of this kind can prevent them, and the same is true here.
- Copying by hand. The text is on screen, so it can be retyped or dictated.
- Attachments are not covered. Files you attach are sent with the notice as ordinary attachments, so they can be saved and forwarded as normal. Only the message body goes behind the link — put anything sensitive into the body rather than into a file.
- Forwarding the notice itself. The viewer blocks forwarding; the email carrying the link does not. A passcode is what closes this.
- It is not end-to-end encryption. The content is held by NevTan Mail so that the viewer can show it.
Treat it as discretion, not secrecy
Confidential mode suits a message you would rather was not forwarded around — a salary figure, a draft, a reference. For anything whose exposure would be serious, do not rely on a viewer that a screenshot defeats.
After you send
- The expiry is fixed at the moment you send. It cannot be shortened, extended or changed afterwards.
- Access cannot be withdrawn early. Once the message is on its way, the link keeps working until the expiry date you chose arrives, so pick the shortest period that is actually workable.
- Your own copy in Sent is the notice, not the original text, because the notice is what was sent.
If you need to correct something, send a replacement with a short expiry and tell the recipient to ignore the first. See Composing email for the rest of the compose window, and Plans & pricing for which packages include confidential mode.