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by
Ludovic Armand
January 30, 2024
· Updated on
Emails have been around for a really long time now.
They were originally created as the digital version of mail and borrowed some terminology and core concept from it. Some of these terms that are coming from the paper era are CC and BCC.
If you ever wondered: What does it mean to CC someone in an email? You’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll explore what CC means in email and how to use it. Let’s dive into it.
CC means carbon copy. It's a field in the header of an email that lets you to send a copy of an email to other recipients. When someone is in CC, they can see the email thread, recipients, including other people in CC.
It's a good way to keep other people informed about what is discussed in an email. However, it’s important to know that, unlike the regular recipients of an email, the content of an email is generally not addressed to CC recipients and are not necessarily involved in the conversation.
For example, you may contact a potential client via email and want to keep someone else in your team informed about how things are going with that lead. In that case, adding your colleague in the CC might be a good option as they will be able to see the email thread, but their input won’t be necessary for the conversation.
You can learn more about the history of CC and BCC here.
BCC stands for blind carbon copy. It is very similar to the CC feature, but with one major exception:
When you BCC someone on an email, other recipients of the email won’t be able to see it.
This means that the recipients in the "To" and "CC" fields won’t know that you included a BCC recipient in the email.
It is most used when you want to send a copy of an email to someone but don’t want the recipient of an email to know about it. It could be useful if you need to keep someone informed without revealing their identity to others.
The BCC will receive emails just like any other recipients of the email, but their presence won’t be known by anyone else than you and them.
You should always use BCC with care as it comes with some ethical implications around privacy, transparency, trust, honesty, integrity, and even compliance.
The main difference between CC and BCC in emails is that depending on the one used, other recipients might not be aware that the copy has been sent to someone.
When you CC someone on an email, all recipients will be able to see who received the email and their email addresses. CC is used when you want multiple people to be informed and don’t mind other’s knowing about it.
On the other hand, when you BCC someone, their email address is hidden from other recipients. Recipients are unaware of the presence of BCCs unless they have been mentioned by the sender. BCC is used when you want to discreetly let someone be informed about a conversation without the other recipients knowing.
CC promotes transparency, trust, and in a certain way collaboration among recipients, while BCC maintains confidentiality and privacy. While CC recipients are not expected to actively participate in the conversation, they easily can add their input at any moment. However, BCC recipients remain passive observers.
CC is a useful tool in your email arsenal. It’s quick and easy to use and provides a good way to improve communication. But from a technical point of view, it is almost identical to the “To” field. The difference lies in the email “conventions”. The “To” field is for recipients the email is originally addressed to and the CC field is for people you want to be informed or want in the loop.
CC is a good way to share information with people who are not the primary recipients of an email but want them to be able to see a conversation. CC allows them to stay informed and provides them with context.
However, as we’ll see below, there are some situations where CC is not the best option to use.
When you want to introduce a new person to an existing email conversation, CC should be used. By CC'ing the new participant, you include them in the conversation and let them see the previous discussions. This way, they will be able to quickly catch up on the context and contribute to the conversation.
This use case also applies when you’re emailing someone to introduce them to another person, as the CC’ed person isn’t the person the email is originally addressed to.
Unlike CC, BCC has some specific use cases that couldn’t be replaced by the “To” field. And since the BCC field is hidden from all other recipients, the BCC comes with some advantages.
This is probably the most common use case for the BCC field in email. Imagine you’re sending an email to all participants of an event you’re organizing, but don’t want all recipients to know the email address of each other. You could add all recipients in BCC and your email address in the “To” field. This way, everyone will receive a copy of the email, but won’t be able to see all the other recipients.
Using BCC is a good option if you want to keep a copy of an email in one of your other email addresses without giving it to the recipient.
CC and BCC aren’t all good. They also come with their downside, like the inability to easily exchange with colleagues inside an email thread. Let's take a look at situations when you should think twice before using CC or BCC.
We all know how overwhelming it can be to be overloaded with emails and CC’ing people in almost all your emails is a surefire way to fill someone else’s inbox.
Sending every single email to many can make it difficult for people to prioritize their messages and result in the opposite of what you were trying to achieve; keeping them informed and in the loop. It's best to be mindful and avoid inundating others with unnecessary emails.
Respecting privacy is crucial in all communication methods, and it certainly applies to emails.
Before adding new recipients to a conversation, you should make sure that the recipients accept that you add someone.
There might be sensitive information in the thread that the other person wouldn’t want to share.
If you're hoping for a response or direct action from a recipient, then CC’ing them isn’t your best option. Instead, you should include them in the "To" field.
When you CC someone, they will generally assume that no action is required from them and that they should get involved in the exchanges. To avoid confusion and set clear expectations, you should always put people who need to take action in the primary recipient field.
While CC is a great way to add people to the loop, we’ve seen that it’s easy to overload your colleagues if you indulge in CC’ing too much.
A great alternative to the copy carbon field in email using a collaborative email client like Missive.
Missive is a shared inbox and email management software that let you easily share emails with other team members and discuss with them in a conversation.
CC is a way to send a copy of an email to someone who's not the main recipient. On the other hand, BBC is used to send a copy of an email to someone without the other recipients knowing.
People that are CC'ed will receive replies to the email when someone reply to all, as opposed to the people who are BCC'ed.
You should use CC (carbon copy) when you want to include other recipients who may be interested in or relevant to the email's content, without requiring a response from them. The CC recipients' email addresses will be visible to all other recipients. You should use BCC (blind carbon copy) when you want to secretly include additional recipients without disclosing their email addresses to the other recipients. BCC recipients will still be able to respond and reply to all, but their email addresses will remain hidden.
CC is used in email to send a copy of an email to a secondary recipient that may benefit from the email's content, without having to participate in the discussion.
February 3, 2025
Tasks in Missive: Your Inbox is Now Your Command Center
Our inbox is where work happens. It's where decisions get made. Where commitments are born. And let's be honest - it's what most of us use as a to do list.
Our inbox is where work happens. It's where decisions get made. Where commitments are born. And let's be honest - it's what most of us use as a to do list.
We've spent 10 years at Missive transforming email from a lonely slog into a team sport. But after hundreds of conversations with customers, we realized something obvious:
Instead of fighting how people naturally work, why not make their inbox exceptional at what they're already using it for?
Let's be real - we know the whole "inbox zero" thing is a myth, and that treating your inbox as a pure to-do list has its problems. But here's the thing: people are going to use their inbox to track work, whether we like it or not. So instead of preaching about the "right way" to work, we decided to give you tools that improve the way you already work.
We're putting tasks where they belong - right inside your inbox. But we're doing it thoughtfully.
Now you can prioritize what matters, collaborate effectively, and keep your team in sync - all without leaving your inbox. No more scattered tools. No more lost context. No more wondering who's working on what.
Your inbox is finally becoming what it should have been all along: A clear, organized command center where email and tasks blend seamlessly, exactly where you already are.
This isn't about building another "everything app" or asking you to change how you work. It's about making your inbox better at what you're already using it for. We know that might sound contradictory, adding features while claiming simplicity, but we've been ruthless about only adding what matters.
Everything else? We left it out.
The goal isn't to make your inbox do everything. The goal is to make it do the things you're already using it for, exceptionally well.
Now, let's walk through what's changing and how it makes your work life smoother.
We've completely re-imagined how tasks work in Missive.
You'll now find dedicated views that brings together all your tasks in one place, everything's organized in a single view. And the best part? Tasks now come with assignment, rich-text descriptions, and due dates that automatically sync to your calendar.
To keep everyone aligned, we've introduced a new 'In progress' intermediate status; watch your work progress naturally from "To do" to "In progress" to "Closed" — giving your whole team clear visibility into what's moving forward.
The "Assigned to me" and "Assigned to others" mailboxes have morphed into the Task views. The new Tasks view shows everything assigned to you across all your teams and organizations, while Team Tasks gives you a focused view of what's happening in specific teams.
Want to customize your view? Use filters to zero in on exactly what you need - like seeing only tasks for specific team members or projects. You can even pin your favorite filtered views to your sidebar for quick access. And when you need to check the conversation that sparked a task, just click the conversation pill to jump right to it.
We are also introducing teams spaces, a new way to organize your teams. Every team has now a dedicated space in the sidebar, and every member will see the right elements depending on their role in the team.
In each team space, you will find the team inbox, the team chat and the newly introduced team tasks view. You can always disable the team chat or the team inbox for a specific team in the team settings.
The team inbox, under the team space, can still be expanded to reveal the Closed, Sent and All mailboxes.
When working from a team inbox, as soon as you click reply, the conversation will be turned into an 'In progress' task, assigned to you. And when you're done with the draft, you can just hit 'Send & Close' and the task will be automatically closed.
Some companies will use these team spaces as traditional teams (support, design, etc), and others will use it as dedicated client spaces — with one team space per client. How you decide to use it is entirely up to your business.
If you have a checklist that your team goes through all the time, you can automate the whole thing with the new Create Task rule action. No more manual task creation.
Here's what I mean: Let's say every new client needs five things done — review their needs, check what you have in stock, work up pricing, draft a proposal, and get the thumbs up from your manager.
Instead of creating these tasks by hand every single time, just set up a rule.
Now when an email comes in with "New Client" in the subject (or when someone drops a #newclient tag in the conversation), boom - all five tasks get created automatically, assigned to the right people, with the right due dates. Simple, automatic, and nothing gets missed.
This is just the beginning. We're committed to making Missive the best place for teams to work together, and we have more exciting updates planned.
Your feedback has been invaluable in shaping these improvements, and we can't wait to hear what you think about the new tasks experience.
The best part? All these new features are available in every Missive plan. No upgrades needed.
Want to learn more about tasks in Missive? Check out our help guide for detailed information on how to make the most of these new features.
If you feel uncertain about the new tasks experience, and have any questions, we're here to help. We have 4 webinars scheduled in the next 2 weeks, and we'll be covering everything you need to know about tasks in Missive. Book a seat now using this link and we'll see you there!
Oh, one more thing, we gave Missive a fresh coat of paint too! We hope you like it.✨
November 28, 2024
The 9 Best Email Client Apps for Gmail for Every Use Case
The best email clients for individuals and teams by use case. Including benefits, features, and pricing.
1.8 billion users.
121 billion emails — per day.
Gmail dwarfs most popular email clients.
Still, reading emails in a browser tab feels… clunky?
Don’t get me wrong: I’ve been a Gmail user for years and I love it.
But I’ve found dedicated desktop email apps offer far more email productivity & customization.
Despite its dominance, Google hasn’t released an official desktop version of its email service. So users like you and I keep asking:
What are the best email apps for Gmail?
When I wrote the first version of this article, years ago, my mission was simple:
👉 Find the best email client to supercharge my personal productivity and facilitate team collaboration.
I needed something to simplify my email workflows AND give my team better tools — for clear communication and project management.The search led me to try dozens of apps, judging them on criteria like ease of use, customizability, collaboration, and productivity.
I've kept that original mission in mind while thoroughly re-evaluating and testing the latest offerings.This updated comparison includes a wide range of email clients. Some excel at personal email triage, others at conversational experience. Many boast team collaboration features.Let’s dig in and find your optimal email client for Gmail.
My evaluation focused on key criteria that savvy users care about, based on personal usage and discussions in online communities like Reddit.
These factors included:
I prioritized email apps with clear signs of ongoing development. All the Gmail email clients on the list support OAuth, as it’s the recommended way to connect your Gmail account to an email client according to Google. It will be the only supported way starting in Fall 2024.
For macOS, the top contenders are Apple's stock Mail app and the Gmail optimizer, Mimestream.
I know, most of you are probably screaming at your screen that Apple Mail made the cut, but hear me out — it has an incredible number of useful features for Gmail users.
Apple Mail offers robust custom filters, smart mailbox views, and notification control. It also provides AI-powered search assist, automated unsubscribe detection, send later scheduling, and built-in privacy tools. The user-friendly interface, system-level integration, and regular updates keep it feeling fresh. Best of all, it comes pre-installed with all Mac, so no need to download or update new software.
Free.
Mail lacks true integration with the Gmail platform. Mimestream shines as a purpose-built native app using the official Gmail API under the hood. This direct API connection allows Mimestream to mirror Gmail's interfaces, features, and real label structures in a way Apple's IMAP implementation can't.
Mimestream optimizes viewing and triaging the Gmail inbox with features like nested labels, calendar invites, and support for Gmail's latest search functionality and more. Mimestream provides an optimized experience that makes viewing and triaging your Gmail inbox faster and more efficient — with the added benefits of a native macOS app, not a browser window. The only core Gmail functionality it lacks is scheduled email sending.
$4.99 per user per month.
For Windows, Microsoft Outlook has long been the standard for email due to its ease of use, powerful search capabilities, and tight Office integration. And it’s still on top for the same reasons (especially with a Microsoft 365 account). There's also a full-fledged integrated calendar, eliminating the need to switch between windows to manage your day.
And if you're not an Apple user, Outlook is probably one of the best Android email clients out there.
Unfortunately, the latest Outlook release has been controversial. Microsoft has removed functionality like import/export tools and system tray access that power users loved in previous versions by shifting to essentially becoming a desktop clone of the web app. Shared mailbox management and capabilities like viewing favorite folders have also suffered. Some Reddit users find the web version performs better, but the general consensus is that the new desktop Outlook feels like a downgrade.
Free with ads, or starting at $1.99 per month for the ad-free version.
Email clients designed with teams and productivity in mind offer major advantages over individual email management tools — especially for businesses.
Based on my latest research, core business needs around email are:
No other email client meets those needs better than Missive.
Missive has been a game-changer for my team's productivity and communication. It’s a unified inbox that combines all our accounts into one app, while also offering shared inboxes — the multiplayer mode for email. The collaboration features like shared draft editing with @mentions, internal chat, and one-click assignments.
Shared labels, advanced rules, mobile apps, calendar sync, and a growing library of integrations make Missive a powerful software to consume your business’ Gmail accounts. Management tools like email templates, send later scheduling, snoozing, and follow-up reminders help each of us personally optimize our individual email processes. Missive also excels at email delegation with team members or virtual assistants.
However, according to some Reddit users — Missive is not perfect.
People have shared a learning curve, lack some granular customization, no email tracking, and advanced collaboration features locked behind paid tiers. But in my experience, no other client matches Missive's intuitive yet powerful blend of personal email management and team communication.
Missive’s pricing is competitive compared to other Gmail email clients—especially for small businesses that want to collaborate around emails.
Free plan available and starting at $18 per month per user for advanced features.
For those seeking a free, open-source, and community-driven email client, Thunderbird has made a name for itself. This cross-platform app has evolved a lot over the years with great features like tabbed email viewing, robust custom search tools, and built-in phishing/spam filtering.
Starting is easy with simplified account setup wizards and friendly reminders. Then, customization begins with custom themes, smart foldering, advanced filtering, and extending functionality through add-ons.
Thunderbird's uniqueness lies in its built-in privacy tools like remote image blocking and organization of emails into dedicated "Message Archive" locations outside your inbox. No complex rules needed. The tabbed interface with quick filters also makes email triage fast compared to a standard chronological view.
An open-sourced, Outlook alternative, for those looking for an Android email app.
Free.
If customization is your #1 priority in an email client, eM Client should be at the top of your list to test. This app takes a unique approach by bundling standard email/calendar/tasks management with note-taking.
eM Client lets you tweak things like instantaneous translation of messages, watchlist notifications for contact interactions, advanced attachment search filters, and a library of templates/text snippets.
You can also customize the toolbar layout. For enterprise users, eM Client includes admin deployment tools and integrations.
The flexibility can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, as eM Client can feel overwhelming with so much to configure, especially if you’re coming from a simpler app.
But if you love customizing apps, eM Client is worth considering.
Free for non-commercial use and starting at $59.95 for commercial use.
While the other clients on the list all use the traditional inbox management concepts to varying degrees, Spike goes a step further by completely reinventing email for individual productivity and team collaboration.
While not for everyone, it’s taking its inspiration from chat apps and social media to transform email into an infinitely scrolling feed of conversational "channels". These are organized around contacts and teams instead of the typical chrono-threaded approach.
This different experience lets you chat and share assets like notes, documents, and voice clips in your inbox. It includes features like automating message tone, video calls, and AI prioritization based on relationship context instead of subject lines and sender aliases.
Spike maintains core functions like account unification and calendar support. But its conversation-centric design can be hard to get used to.
Free plan available, starting at $5 per month per user for advanced features.
In the personal productivity front, Superhuman takes a traditional approach with an email interface optimized for speed and efficiency. It adds depth through an AI engine that powers automated split inboxes for VIPs and service emails, intelligent follow-up reminders, social insights about contacts, and error correction.
Superhuman isn't cheap at $30/month, but the premium delivers an unmatched experience that feels like a personal productivity force multiplier.
Starting at $30 per month.
For those who live on their mobile devices and want an extra AI-powered assist for email management on mobile devices. It automatically prioritizes messages, provides AI-written summaries, and generates email drafts based on voice prompts or sentiment reactions.
These AI integrations improve mobile email management, bridging the context and functionality gap compared to desktop experiences.
Its freemium model with premium tiers offers a compelling way to enhance mobile email through intelligent optimization and AI assistance.
Free plan available, starting at $49 per year for advanced features.
Desktop simplicity, intelligent mobile assistance, effective team communication, smart spam filtering, hyper-customized productivity…Whatever your use case, there’s a third-party Gmail client for you.
The key is finding the right fit based on your priorities.
For me, Missive's collaboration-focused experience has been a game-changer for team communication without compromising individual productivity.
But what about you? Maybe you'll prefer Thunderbird's community-driven open-source approach. Or the AI-enhanced efficiency of Superhuman for power users!
No matter the app, upgrading from Gmail's web interface can optimize email and get you closer to inbox zero.
It’s time to take control of your inbox.