How to Send an Encrypted Email in Gmail on Android

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: September 4, 2018 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to make sure your email is end-to-end encrypted when you're writing a new message on Gmail, using Android. Gmail automatically encrypts all emails, and shows a red lock icon in the Subject field when encryption is not possible.

Steps

1
Open the Gmail app on your Android. The Gmail icon looks like a white envelope with a red lining around it. You can find it on your Apps menu.
- If Gmail opens up to an email, tap the
  icon on the top-left to go back to your Inbox.
2
Tap the New Email button. This button looks like a white pencil icon on an orange button in the lower-right corner of your screen. It will open a new, blank email.

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3
Enter your contact's email address into the "To" field. Tap the text field next to "To," and type or paste your contact's email here.
4
Enter a subject line for your email. Make sure to add a subject line that lets your contact know what your email is about.
5
Check if there's a red, open lock icon next to the Subject field. If your email is not encrypted, you'll see a red, open padlock icon on the right-hand side of the Subject field.
- Gmail automatically encrypts all emails with end-to-end encryption.
- You won't see a lock icon in the Subject field if your email is encrypted. The icon will only show up when encryption is not possible.
6
Write your email in the body field. Tap the "Compose email" field, and write your message here.
7
Tap the
icon. This button is in the upper-right corner of your screen. It will send your encrypted email to your contact.

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