The Best Guide for BCC in Outlook Calendar Invites

The Advantages of Using BCC

Using BCC in Outlook calendar invites brings several advantages that can enhance privacy and maintain the professionalism of your business communication:

• When engaging third parties such as contractors or consultants, BCC keeps their participation discreet to maintain the privacy of external partners.
• Keeping certain discussions or attendees within a select group can be important for sensitive matters, setting the stage for trust and integrity.
• It prevents unnecessary Reply All responses.
• For larger groups, the BCC feature keeps the invitation clean and professional.
• It allows the meeting organizer to control access to attendee contact information.

 

How to Send BCC Invites

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow the steps below on how to send a BCC invite:

STEP 1: Click on the “Required” button to open the “Select Attendees” dialogue.

STEP 2: Use the “Resources” field to input the email addresses of recipients you wish to BCC. This effectively hides them from other attendees.

Note: The recipients listed under “Resources” will not be able to see each other’s information, similar to BCC in a regular email. While this is a workaround and not an official BCC feature in calendar invites, it serves the purpose of hiding certain recipients ‘ details from others.

Tips and Tricks for Managing BCC Recipients

If you practice these few tips and tricks, you could efficiently use the BCC feature in Outlook:

• Add the key participants as regular attendees and others as BCC recipients.
• When sending updates or follow-up emails, customize the information for BCC recipients as they may need a different context or actions.
• Maintain an up-to-date contact list so that BCC recipients are current and relevant to the topic or event.
• Remind BCC recipients not to share their attendance or sensitive information.
• When you are inviting a large group, you should BCC all participants to keep their email private.
• Inform BCC recipients about whom they can contact for questions or inputs.

By using these methods, you can make sure that your BCC practices are effective and customized to the needs of all participants.

 

The Do’s and Don’ts of BCC

When to Use BCC

Here are the scenarios when you can use BCC:

• The BCC feature can be used when you want to share sensitive information with others.
• It can be used for a company memo or announcement, when you do not have receipents list to be shared with everyone.
• When you do want a Reply-All feature in your email. It can clutter your inbox with unnecessary replies.
• You can BCC a department to keep a record of the communication.
• When you want the identity of certain parties to be hidden.

Common Mistakes to Avoid With BCC

BCC is an excellent tool to maintain privacy in your communication. But, below are the common mistakes that must be avoided:

• BCC recipients may miss a follow-up email or critical information.
• BCC recipient may accidentally reply to all and reveal their identity.
• The recipients of the BCC email may not be sure if they have to reply or just be informed.
• Overuse of BCC can create mistrust if recipients come to know that they were secretly included/excluded in the email.
• In some industries, it may be compulsory to disclose all participants of communication, and using BCC may lead to a breach.
• BCC’d emails may be marked as spam, and the recipient might miss it.

To avoid these issues, it’s important to apply BCC carefully and communicate expectations to BCC recipients.

 

FAQs

Can I Hide BCC Recipients During an Outlook Meeting?

Yes, you can hide BCC recipients during an Outlook meeting by using the ‘Hide Attendee List’ feature. This option makes sure that when you send out a meeting invite, the attendees will not see the full list of people who have been invited. This feature is beneficial for maintaining privacy and discretion for your meeting’s attendance list.

Here’s how to do it:

• On Outlook for Web and New Outlook for Windows: After setting everything else up, go to the ‘Response Options’ and select ‘Hide Attendee List.’ A tick will appear next to the option to confirm it’s been selected.
• On Outlook for Mac: Look for ‘Attendee Options’ to find the equivalent setting.

The invitees will receive the meeting information, but the list of attendees will be kept confidential, similar to using BCC in an email. It’s essential to use this feature judiciously, respecting privacy and transparency norms as required in professional settings.

Why Is BCC Not Showing by Default and How Can I Enable It?

In Outlook, the BCC field is not visible by default to keep the user interface simplified and to prevent accidental use of the BCC line, which could lead to privacy issues if not used correctly. However, enabling it is simple:

STEP 1: Start composing a new email.

STEP 2: Click on the Options tab.

STEP 3: Click on the three dots and then select BCC.

The BCC field will now appear in the email window.

What are the Risks of using BCC?

Some of the common risks that are involved if you are using BCC are:

• Using BCC can make the recipient suspicious and can damage the relationship.
• If BCC’d recepients accidently replies to all, it could lead to exposure of sensitive information.
• If you use the BCC feature excessively, it may be marked as spam.
• BCC’d recipients are not always sure of what action is required on their end.

It is important to note that BCC should only be used when its benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks.