Gmail and Outlook encrypt email in transit, between mail servers, with TLS. That is not end-to-end encryption: the message is readable at Google or Microsoft and in both mailboxes. Gmail's confidential mode adds an expiry date and blocks forwarding, but Google's page lists no encryption. Outlook's Encrypt button needs a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription, and S/MIME needs certificates on both sides. Without any of that, encrypt the text in HushHush on your phone, paste the ciphertext into the email, and the recipient decrypts it in their HushHush.
What Gmail and Outlook can and cannot see
Both services protect the connection, not the message. Google's page calls TLS "Standard protection for your emails", available on every Gmail account and shown as a grey lock; a red open lock means the other side did not support it and the message went unencrypted. Microsoft says Outlook.com uses "opportunistic Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt the connection", and notes that this does not keep the message encrypted once it reaches the recipient's provider. Either way, the text sits in both mailboxes, and on the provider's servers, in a form the provider can process.
Gmail's confidential mode is often mistaken for encryption. Google's page lists what it does: an expiry date, revoking access, an SMS passcode, and switching off forwarding, copying, printing and downloading. It also says what it does not do: recipients "can still take screenshots", and "Recipients with malicious programs may still be able to copy or download your messages." The page does not mention encryption. It is access control inside Gmail, applied by Google to a message Google holds.
Encryption of the message itself exists in Gmail, but Google's page lists it under "Work or school Gmail accounts". Hosted S/MIME, the green lock, is listed for Frontline Plus, Enterprise Plus and the Education editions; an administrator turns it on and certificates have to be uploaded. Client-side encryption, the blue shield, leaves the organisation holding the only key, so that "Not even Google can open your briefcase", but it is again a Workspace feature an admin sets up. Neither is listed for a personal Gmail account.
Outlook is similar. Microsoft's page says: "To use encryption, your account must have a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription." S/MIME "requires the recipient to unlock the message with a certificate on their computer". Microsoft Purview Message Encryption works in new Outlook "as long as your email server has an Office 365 Enterprise E3 license"; Microsoft describes it as an online service built on Azure Rights Management, and a recipient on Gmail or Yahoo reads the message in Microsoft's portal after signing in. A personal Outlook.com account needs a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, and recipients elsewhere use a temporary passcode. Microsoft's service grants the access; the message is read through Microsoft's portal.
| What | Gmail or Outlook today | With HushHush |
|---|---|---|
| The words you type | Visible to Google or Microsoft | Ciphertext only |
| Who you email, when, and the subject line | Yes | Still yes |
| Between mail servers | TLS, when both sides support it | Ciphertext either way |
| A "confidential" or "Encrypt" message, read by the provider | Readable: the provider holds it | Ciphertext only |
| Needs a subscription, certificate or admin | For any message-level encryption | No: two phones, one pairing |
Who this affects
A solicitor emailing a client at a personal address. A doctor replying to a patient. A recruiter sending an offer. A journalist whose source only has Gmail. Someone writing from a work mailbox that belongs to the employer. None of them have a certificate, and most cannot ask an administrator to switch on S/MIME for the other side. And email lasts: it is backed up, searched and kept for years, so whatever is readable today stays readable.
The addresses and the subject line are never encrypted by any of these methods, HushHush included. Keep the subject bland and put the sensitive part in the body.
How HushHush helps
HushHush encrypts the text on your phone before it goes into Gmail or Outlook. Type the message in HushHush and tap send; it is encrypted and copied as ciphertext, which you paste into the body of an ordinary email from any mail app and any provider, personal or work. The email carries only ciphertext. The recipient copies it out and taps Paste in their HushHush to read it. Both of you need HushHush, and you pair once, in person, by scanning each other's QR code. No certificate, no subscription, no admin. And if you both connect your mailboxes inside HushHush, it does the sending and the decrypting for you.
Pair once, in person
Open HushHush, add a contact, and scan the QR code on the other phone. No account, no phone number, no server.
Type it in HushHush
Write the message and tap send. It is encrypted on your phone and copied as ciphertext.
Paste it into the email
Gmail or Outlook carries the ciphertext. Your contact copies it and taps Paste in HushHush to read it. Or connect your mailbox inside HushHush (Gmail, Outlook or any IMAP mailbox) and encrypted emails are sent and decrypted automatically, with forward secrecy in one-to-one chats.
What HushHush does not do. It does not hide who you email, when, or how often; the addresses, subject line, time and length of the ciphertext are still visible to both providers. Both people need HushHush and one in-person pairing. It protects the text you paste, not the rest of the email: anything written outside the ciphertext is as readable as before.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gmail end-to-end encrypted?
Does Gmail confidential mode encrypt emails?
How do I send an encrypted email in Outlook?
Can I encrypt an email without PGP or a certificate?
Is TLS the same as end-to-end encryption?
Encrypt it before Gmail or Outlook sees it.
HushHush is on the App Store and Google Play. Pair in person, then send in any app.
Related
Sources
- Learn how Gmail encrypts your emails, Gmail Help, accessed 7 October 2026.
- Send & open confidential emails, Gmail Help, accessed 7 October 2026.
- Turn on hosted S/MIME for message encryption, Google Workspace Admin Help, accessed 7 October 2026.
- Send S/MIME or Microsoft Purview encrypted emails in Outlook, Microsoft Support, accessed 7 October 2026.
- Microsoft Purview Message Encryption, Microsoft Learn, accessed 7 October 2026.
- Send encrypted messages with a Microsoft 365 personal or family subscription, Microsoft Support, accessed 7 October 2026.