--- title: "How to Encrypt Outlook with Office 365" description: "Learn how to encrypt Outlook with Office 365 n this handy, step-by-step guide." canonical: "https://adamtheautomator.com/encrypt-outlook/" --- # How to Encrypt Outlook with Office 365 > Learn how to encrypt Outlook with Office 365 n this handy, step-by-step guide. Source: https://adamtheautomator.com/encrypt-outlook/ --- ATA Learning Tap to hide [ ATA Learning ](/) * [Home](/) * [Tutorials](/tutorials/) * [Instructors](/author/) * [Advertising](/advertising/) * [Recommended Resources](/resources/) * [About Adam](/about-adam/) Search for: * [](https://twitter.com/adbertram) * [](https://github.com/Adam-the-Automator) * [](https://www.linkedin.com/company/adam-the-automator-llc) * [](/feed/) ![How to Encrypt Outlook with Office 365](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/How-to-Encrypt-Email-in-Outlook-with-Office-365.jpg) # How to Encrypt Outlook with Office 365 [![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3af64110e538c07a01fd9f0782f700ce6ed2d798bbf7b120e299d375eca5b0b3?s=192&d=mm&r=g)Arman Castillote](https://adamtheautomator.com/author/arman-castillote/)23 April 20214 min. read Categories: [IT Ops](/category/it-ops/) Tags:[Email Management](/tag/email-management/)[Outlook](/tag/outlook/) Table of Contents * [Prerequisites](#h-prerequisites) * [Encrypt Outlook on Desktop](#h-encrypting-email-with-outlook-on-desktop) * [Encrypting Email with Outlook on the Web (Outlook.com)](#h-encrypting-email-with-outlook-on-the-web-outlook-com) * [Reading Encrypted Email in Outlook](#h-reading-encrypted-email-in-outlook) * [Reading Encrypted Emails Sent from Office 365](#h-reading-encrypted-emails-sent-from-office-365) * [Reading Encrypted Emails Sent from Other Email Providers](#h-reading-encrypted-emails-sent-from-other-email-providers) * [Manually Decrypting Email with ProtonMail](#h-manually-decrypting-email-with-protonmail) * [Conclusion](#h-conclusion) Do you send a lot of sensitive email with Outlook with an Office 365 subscription? If so, you’re in luck. Introduced with Office 365, Microsoft provides you with a built-in service to encrypt Outlook email. The service called [Message Encryption](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/ome?view=o365-worldwide) is built into Office 365. Along with encryption, the service can also ensure your messages can’t be forwarded and even ensure your email gets to the intended recipient. In this tutorial, you’re going to learn how to encrypt Outlook email to/from your Office 365 account to keep those emails secure! You’ll learn how to encrypt email with Outlook on your desktop and Outlook on the Web. ## Prerequisites This article will be a tutorial. If you’d like to follow along, please ensure you have these prerequisites: * A Microsoft 365 subscription ([Personal,](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/microsoft-365-personal/cfq7ttc0k5bf?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab) [Family](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/microsoft-365-family/cfq7ttc0k5dm?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab) or via a corporate subscription) * Outlook – [Download and install](https://www.office.com/) Office apps from the official page ## Encrypt Outlook on Desktop Let’s get started with Outlook on the desktop! Assuming you have Outlook installed on your PC, follow these steps to encrypt an email: 1\. Launch the Outlook Application and [login to your Outlook or Microsoft account](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/add-your-outlook-com-account-in-outlook-for-windows-642c1902-bdd9-4dc3-abe7-76d60b148b23). 2\. Compose a new email by clicking on **New Email**, as shown below. Doing so will open a separate message composer window. ![Composing New Email](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/outlook_compose_new.png) Composing New Email 3\. In the separate message composer window, click on the **Options** tab as shown below in the following screenshot. Right below the padlock icon on the toolbar, click on **Encrypt,** followed by the [permission](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/sensitivity-labels-office-apps?view=o365-worldwide#information-rights-management-irm-options-and-sensitivity-labels) you’d like to apply to this email. > _Outlook groups various “permissions” under the umbrella of “encryption,” which may be confusing. If you set any “permission’” in the **Encrypt** dropdown, the email will be encrypted. If you choose a “permission” other than **Encrypt-Only** other features will be added to the email._ Outlook provides you with four options for email protection. * **Encrypt Only** – This only encrypts the message without additional permissions. * **Do Not Forward** – Recipients can read the message but cannot forward, print, or copy the content. The data owner has full permission to their message and all replies. * **Confidential \\ All Employees** – Requires protection which allows all employees full permissions. Data owners can [track and revoke content](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/revoke-ome-encrypted-mail?view=o365-worldwide). * **Highly Confidential \\ All Employees** – Allows all employees to view, edit, and reply permissions to this content. Data owners can [track and revoke content](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/revoke-ome-encrypted-mail?view=o365-worldwide). ![Encrypting Email in Outlook](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/new_mail-1.png) Encrypting Email in Outlook 4\. Now, send your email knowing that it’s fully protected. ## Encrypting Email with Outlook on the Web (Outlook.com) Encrypting email in [outlook.com](http://outlook.com) is just about the same as 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](https://outlook.live.com/owa/), 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. ![Composing New Email](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/compose_new.png) Composing New Email 3\. At the top of the message editor, click on the **Encrypt** link. This action will bring up the message editor. ![Encrypting Your Email](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/new_mail_web.png) Encrypting Your Email 4\. In the message editor, you’ll see a message pop-up at the top. To modify permissions for the email, click on the **Change permissions** link. > _By default, all email sent with via [outlook.com](http://outlook.com) is encrypted._ ![Changing Permissions](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/new-1.png) Changing Permissions 5\. From the pop-up window, click on the **drop-down box** and choose the permission to set for your email, then click **OK**. > _The permissions to choose from are the same as demonstrated previously with Outlook on the desktop._ ![Selecting Permission](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/selecting_permissions.png) Selecting Permission 5\. Now, send the encrypted email! ## Reading Encrypted Email in Outlook You’ve now learned how to send an encrypted email with Outlook, but that’s only half the story. Once sent, you also need to know how to read those emails if someone else sends an encrypted email to you. ### Reading Encrypted Emails Sent from Office 365 If you are using Outlook and Office 365 and are sent an encrypted email from someone else on Office 365 and Outlook, you’ll see a padlock next to the message as shown below. This padlock on the email indicates it is encrypted and sent from another Office 365 account. ![Encrypted Email Indicator](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/emailwithpadlock.png) Encrypted Email Indicator To decrypt it, open the email. There are no other hoops to jump through. But what if it came from another email provider? ### Reading Encrypted Emails Sent from Other Email Providers [Different email providers](https://adamtheautomator.com/mailvelope/) have different ways to encrypt email. If you’re sent an email to your Office 365 account using Outlook, your experience won’t be as seamless as Office 365 —> Office 365. Perhaps you’ve received an encrypted email from a Gmail account. Emails received from providers other than Office 365 usually have instructions on how to view the email content. But in this case, you’re able to read what’s inside the email by clicking on it. To verify the email’s encryption details, click on the **padlock icon** at the email’s right-most part. ![Viewing Encrypted Email from Gmail](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/email_from_gmail.png) Viewing Encrypted Email from Gmail As you see in the screenshot, the **Message Security Properties** window shows that the email was encrypted and signed. ![Message Security Properties](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/message_properties.png) Message Security Properties ### Manually Decrypting Email with ProtonMail As mentioned in the previous example, receiving encrypted non-Outlook emails usually contains instructions to decrypt an email. Those instructions are dependent on which email provider the sender used to send the encrypted email. [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com/) is a popular, secure email client that can send encrypted emails to your Outlook inbox. Perhaps you were sent an encrypted email with [ProtonMail](https://adamtheautomator.com/protonmail-encryption/), and you’d like to read it. Related:[How to Encrypt Emails with ProtonMail to Everyone](https://adamtheautomator.com/protonmail-encryption/) > _These instructions apply whether you’re using Outlook on desktop or Outlook on the web._ 1\. Launch the Outlook app or open a web browser, then navigate to [Outlook.com](http://outlook.com) and log in to your Outlook or Microsoft account. 2\. Now, find and click on the ProtonMail encrypted email. Inside the email, click on the **View Secure Message** button. By doing so, your web browser will open a new tab, and you’ll get to a ProtonMail message decrypting page. ![Viewing Secure ProtonMail Message in Outlook](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/en_proton.png) Viewing Secure ProtonMail Message in Outlook 3\. In your web browser, you’ll see a form in a ProtonMail environment. Type in the password that the sender has set up for the encrypted email and click the **DECRYPT** button. ![Decrypting ProtonMail Encrypted Email](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/enter_password-1.png) Decrypting ProtonMail Encrypted Email 4\. If decryption is successful, you’ll stay in a ProtonMail environment that lets you read the encrypted email content in your web browser. > _Your access to the email content is only temporary. You’ll go through the same process the next time you open the email._ ![Successfully Decrypted Email](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/decrypted_email.png) Successfully Decrypted Email ## Conclusion In this article, you’ve learned to send secure emails with Outlook and Office 365 and work decrypt emails from other email providers. You should now have the know-how to send and receive emails to keep your sensitive emails secure. What email providers do you prefer for email encryption? 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