Ultimate Guide: Encrypting Emails in Outlook – Are Confidential Emails Encrypted?

Key takeaways :

• Encrypting emails in Outlook Online, Outlook.com, and Microsoft Outlook on Windows 11 is possible with different methods and techniques.
• For Office 365 secure emails, the process of sending encrypted emails using Outlook Online is similar to the desktop version, with a slightly different menu appearance.
• Encrypting email in Outlook.com follows a similar process to the desktop version, allowing users to send encrypted emails through the web browser interface.
• With a Microsoft 365 subscription, users can send encrypted emails using Outlook on Windows 11 without the need to install any certificates for encryption.
• Outlook provides various encryption options and methods, including the ability to prevent forwarding of emails and adding the encrypt button to the toolbar for quick access.

How to Send Encrypted Emails from Office 365

Office 365 secure emails can be sent using Outlook Online. The process and technique are the same as with Outlook, only the menu looks a bit different.

1. Compose a new email in Outlook Online.
2. Select Encrypt in the toolbar.
3. Click Change Permissions if you also want to prevent forwarding of the email.
4. Click Send when done.

If you don’t see the encrypt button, then click on the 3 dots. You can also add the encrypt button to the bottom toolbar.

Encrypting Email with Outlook on the Web (Outlook.com)

Encrypting email in Outlook.com is similar to using the desktop version. Follow these steps to encrypt an email if you prefer to use Outlook on the Web:

1. Launch your favorite web browser and navigate to Outlook.com, logging in with your Microsoft account.
2. Compose an email by clicking on the New message button at the top-left corner of the page.

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How to Encrypt Email in Microsoft Outlook on Windows 11

With a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can send encrypted emails to your contacts. By default, you get the OME or Office 365 Message Encryption for sending encrypted emails using Outlook. As such, you don’t have to install any certificates to encrypt your email.

1. Open Outlook on your Windows PC.
2. Click on New Email at the top-left corner.
3. Click on Options in the Menu Bar.
4. Click the Encrypt icon and select Encrypt. You will see a message that says, “This message will be encrypted.”
5. Enter all the details and send your encrypted email.

There are several encryption options and methods you can use to encrypt an email in Microsoft Outlook. For a quick and easy method, if you’re using Outlook on the Web with a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can simply click the Encrypt button in the new email window to send an encrypted email.

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How to Encrypt an Email in Outlook’s Desktop Version

First, draft your email as you normally would. After composing your email, navigate to the Options tab located in the email composition window. Here, you’ll find the option to encrypt your email, an essential step to secure your email before sending. Select the Encrypt button to activate this feature.

1. Go to Outlook.com and log into your account.
2. Click on New mail.
3. Switch to the Options tab on the far right of the Ribbon menu.
4. Select Encrypt (lock icon).
5. From the dropdown menu, select Encrypt. You’ll now see the message, “This message will be encrypted.”
6. Compose your email and hit the Send button.

If you have a personal Gmail or Yahoo! account, you don’t have the option to send end-to-end encrypted email. So if encryption is important to you, consider switching to an Outlook account.

1. Click Options in the menu.
2. Select Encrypt and choose Encrypt with S/MIME from the drop-down list.
3. Hit Send once you finish drafting your email.

How to Encrypt Emails with OME

In the Outlook desktop application, encrypting an email using Office 365 Message Encryption (OME) is easier than S/MIME as no certificates are required.

Encrypting with Microsoft 365 Message Encryption

As a Microsoft 365 subscriber, all you have to do is open Outlook on your desktop, then follow the steps below to encrypt a message:

• Activate Azure Rights Management For sensitivity labels to apply encryption with rights management, the Azure Rights Management service from Microsoft Purview Information Protection must be activated for your tenant.
• Check for network requirements. You might need to make some changes on your network devices such as firewalls.
• Check your Microsoft Entra configuration. There are some Microsoft Entra configurations that can prevent authorized access to encrypted content.
• Configure Exchange for Azure Rights Management. Exchange doesn’t have to be configured for Azure Rights Management before users can apply labels in Outlook to encrypt their emails.

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How to configure a label for encryption

1. Follow the general instructions to create or edit a sensitivity label and make sure the Items option is selected for the label’s scope.
2. Then, on the Choose protection settings for the types of items you selected page, make sure you select Control access.
3. On the Access control page, select one of the following options:
   • Remove access control settings if already applied to items: When you select this option, applying the label removes existing encryption, even if it was applied independently from a sensitivity label.
   • Configure access control settings: Turns on encryption with rights management and makes the following settings visible.

Editing labels to newly apply encryption or change existing encryption settings. It’s a common deployment strategy to initially configure sensitivity labels that don’t apply encryption, and later edit some of the existing labels to apply encryption. The labels that you edit will apply that encryption for newly labeled items. Items that are already labeled remain unencrypted, unless you remove the label and reapply it.