How to Open Encrypted Email + FAQs

In this day and age, email encryption is more important than ever. Whether you're a businessperson sending or receiving confidential information or a streamer with personal messages to your fans, keeping your communications safe and secure is crucial.

Compromised credentials account for 20% of data breaches, and yet, most of the emails sent daily are not encrypted. In fact, email clients don't automatically encrypt messages, so it's no wonder why very few people know how to open an encrypted email or what email encryption means, for that matter.

If you're here because you're having issues opening an encrypted email or don't know how to view an encrypted email, don't worry; we've got you covered. We'll break down what email encryption is and how it works practically on the most popular platforms. Let's dive in!

What Is Email Encryption?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to open encrypted email messages, it's important to know what email encryption is and how it works. Email encryption transforms readable data (plain text) into an unreadable format so only the intended recipient can read and decode it back to its original state. The main purpose of encrypting email is to protect sensitive information from being intercepted by third parties.

The following section discusses the types of email encryption and how they protect confidential messages.

Types of Email Encryption

There are three types of email encryption: public-key, symmetric-key encryption, and TLS. Public-key encryption is the most common type used in most email encryption solutions. Symmetric-key encryption is the fastest type and works without overheads on CPU resources, while TLS is the standard for email encryption.

Let’s take a deeper look at each email encryption type.

Public-key Encryption

Public-key (asymmetric) encryption uses two keys, a private and a public one. Maintaining and preserving public encryption keys is called Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The sender, in this form of encryption, which uses S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) technology, has both a public and a private key. The private key is a digital ID, digital signature, or certificate validated and issued by a Certificate Authority acting as a third party.

With PKI email encryption, the recipient already possesses the sender's private key on file. The digital ID is sent to the recipient before the encrypted email. When the actual encrypted email arrives, the recipient can verify if the two keys (the public and the private one) are a match to begin opening the encrypted email or file.

Symmetric-key Encryption

This type of encryption uses a shared key that both the sender and receiver can access. Symmetric-key encryption works with a single key that is used to both encrypt and decrypt the message, which is why for it to work, the two parties must have the appropriate key.

Symmetric-key encryption has exhaustion problems, and unless a key hierarchy is maintained or effective key rotation occurs, any time the key is used, it could potentially leak information that can be used to recreate the secret key. Regardless of this limitation, symmetric-key encryption is widely used by the defense and military sectors.

Transport Layer Security

Otherwise known as TLS, transport layer security is a mix of symmetric and asymmetric encryption. TLS establishes an encrypted link between a server and a client and keeps messages safe in transit. This means that all the data between the two parties during an active TLS connection is encrypted and cannot be intercepted by third parties. Nowadays, TLS is recognized as the standard for sending and receiving secure email messages.

Opening an Encrypted Email

Now that we’ve gone through the basics of email encryption, let's explore how you can open encrypted messages with the most popular email clients.

How to Open an Encrypted Email in Outlook

Opening an encrypted email in Outlook is quite simple. Here are the steps:

1. When you receive the protected message, you will see a banner informing you that the message has certain restrictions. It will read, "Message was protected with Microsoft Office 365."
2. Click the area where it says, "Click here to read your message." You will be sent to your decrypted message.

Whether you are using Outlook’s desktop, browser, or mobile app, the message should open without requiring you to do anything special.

The procedure of opening a protected email in Outlook using a single-use code is a bit different. Once you receive the message, you need to do the following steps to view the encrypted email:

1. Select "Read the message."
2. You will be directed to a web page where you need to sign in to get the single-use code.
3. Once you've received it, enter the code and click "Continue" to read the encrypted message.

That's it! You've successfully opened and can now view and read the encrypted email in Outlook using a single-use code.

How to Open Encrypted Email in Gmail

The option to send and open encrypted emails is available with Gmail's Confidential Mode. This mode allows you to set expiration dates and issue or revoke permissions anytime.

So, how do you open an encrypted email in Gmail? There are two ways of opening a message sent with confidential mode on Gmail, depending on whether the sender requires an SMS passcode.

Here are the steps for SMS passcode-protected emails:

1. Select "Send passcode" and wait for the passcode to be sent to you.
2. Once you've received it, type it in and click "Submit."

If the code is correct, you will be directed to the message so you can read it. The procedure is the same if you use a different email client than Gmail.

The procedure is the same for web or mobile Gmail apps. However, if you are using a different email client to open the encrypted email, you will have to go to the link provided in the message, sign in with your Gmail password, and only then will you be able to read the message.

How to Open an Encrypted Email on iPhone

Concerning the setup and OME (Office 365 Message Encryption) capabilities your organization has enabled, there are two options to open an encrypted email on your iPhone or iPad.

The newer version of OME doesn't require any action from you. The message will appear like any other email; you can simply open it and read the content. In other words, if you use the latest version of Microsoft 365, the encrypted email will be decrypted before it reaches your mailbox.

Follow these steps for the older version of OME:

1. Select "Click here to view protected message."
2. You will then be prompted with a login screen where you should select your organization and sign in.
3. After signing in, you should be able to view the encrypted email.

Final Thoughts

Email encryption has grown in importance for companies and individuals because of the ease with which emails can be hacked. Considering that in over 90% of the cases, malware reaches targets via email, it’s no wonder why encrypted email services are always coming up with new ways to safeguard your data. Hopefully, by the time you pick the appropriate solution, knowing the basics of email encryption will keep you safe from unscrupulous individuals.

FAQs on Opening an Encrypted Email

How do you open an encrypted message?

Here are the steps for opening and viewing an encrypted email:

1. Click on the email or message.html attachment.
2. A new page will appear in your web browser, informing you that you have received a secure message.
3. Two options will appear — "Sign in" and "Use a one-time passcode." If you are the only user receiving the encrypted email, you have to "Sign in," but suppose you want others to see the message, you should select "Use a one-time passcode."
4. If you're using the "Sign in" option, by doing so, you will be immediately directed to your message.
5. If you've chosen the second option, you will get a message with two numbers: the email the code is intended for and the code itself. Once the code is typed into the encrypted message browser, it will direct you to your message.

You are now free to view your encrypted email.

How do you open an encrypted email attachment?

To open an encrypted email attachment, you need to use the same process as you would for opening an encrypted email. The only difference is that instead of clicking on the message, you click on the attachment, which will open it in your web browser. If the attachments have been protected by encryption software, the recipient must use the same software as the sender and a unique key or code to open it.

How do you open an encrypted zip file?

If you know how to open an encrypted email, you know how to open one containing zip files. Zip files can also be password protected, meaning you will need the password to extract the file's content. As with any other email, the sender must provide you with the password for you to be able to view the files. If the zip file is not password protected, double-click on it and extract the content to a location of your choice.

Why can’t I open an encrypted email?

Suppose there’s no issue with the encryption application that you and the sender are using. In that case, it’s most likely that you don’t possess the correct security key or credentials to open the encrypted message.