# What is email encryption, and how do PGP and end-to-end encrypted email providers protect your mail? URL: https://webvpn.org/encryption/email-encryption/ Updated: 2026-09-13 What email encryption means, the difference between TLS in transit and end-to-end encryption, PGP mail encryption, encrypted email providers, Gmail options, attachments. Email encryption means protecting the content of a message so that only the intended recipient can read it. It has two layers: transport encryption, where TLS protects mail as it moves between your device and the servers and between servers, which most email now has; and end-to-end encryption, where the message itself is encrypted on your device with keys the mail provider never holds, so that not even the provider can read it. PGP and end-to-end encrypted providers such as Proton Mail deliver the second layer; Gmail and most mainstream services deliver only the first. Email was designed without encryption, and adding it afterward has produced a confusing landscape of partial protections. This guide explains what each layer covers, how PGP mail encryption works and where it is hard, what end-to-end encrypted providers do differently, what Gmail actually offers, how encrypted email apps fit in, and how to protect attachments. ## Two layers of email encryption Transport encryption protects mail while it moves. Your mail client connects to your provider over TLS, and providers connect to each other over TLS when both support it, which is now the large majority of mail. An observer on the network sees encrypted traffic. The message, however, is decrypted at every server it lands on, stored in readable form, scanned for spam and often for advertising, and available to anyone with access to the server, including the provider and anyone who compels it. End-to-end encryption protects the message itself. It is encrypted on your device and decrypted on the recipient's. Servers in between store and relay ciphertext. The provider cannot read it, cannot scan it, and cannot hand over anything useful. The end-to-end encryption guide on this site explains the principle. Almost everyone has the first layer and thinks of their email as encrypted. Only the second layer means what people expect the word to mean. ## PGP mail encryption PGP, Pretty Good Privacy, and its open implementation OpenPGP are the long-standing standard for end-to-end email encryption, explained in detail in the PGP guides on this site. Each participant has a key pair. To send an encrypted message, you encrypt it with the recipient's public key; only their private key can decrypt it. You can sign it with your private key so the recipient can verify authorship. PGP works with any email provider, because the encryption happens in your mail client or an extension before the message is sent. It has two well-known difficulties. Both parties must have keys and exchange public keys correctly, which is unfamiliar to most people. And PGP encrypts only the message body and attachments, not the subject line or the metadata of who wrote to whom and when. For a person who needs to encrypt mail to a specific correspondent who is also willing to set it up, PGP remains the most flexible option. ## End-to-end encrypted email providers Providers built around end-to-end encryption remove the setup burden. When two users of the same service write to each other, messages are encrypted on the sender's device and decrypted on the recipient's automatically, using keys stored encrypted with the user's password, which the provider does not know. Proton Mail, Tuta and similar services work this way. The provider cannot read message bodies or attachments; some also encrypt subject lines. Mail to someone outside the service cannot be end-to-end encrypted unless the outsider uses PGP, and these providers support PGP for that case. Otherwise they offer a password-protected message, where the recipient receives a link and opens the message in a web view after entering a password you shared separately. Mail arriving from outside is encrypted on receipt so that it is stored end-to-end encrypted, though the provider necessarily saw it in transit. The trade-offs are limited compatibility with third-party mail clients, since decryption must happen in the provider's apps or a bridge, and that the provider still knows who you correspond with and when. The anonymous email guides on this site cover choosing among them. ## What Gmail offers Gmail encrypts in transit and at rest and Google holds the keys, so Gmail is not end-to-end encrypted by default and Google's systems process message content. Three features are often mistaken for encryption. Confidential mode sets an expiry and blocks forwarding and downloading, but the message is readable by Google and the protections are enforced by the interface, not by cryptography. The TLS padlock icon indicates the recipient's server supports transport encryption. Client-side encryption, which is genuine end-to-end encryption with customer-managed keys, is available to certain business and education plans and not to personal accounts. For personal Gmail, end-to-end encryption means adding PGP: a browser extension that encrypts in the Gmail web interface, or a desktop mail client with PGP support connected to Gmail over IMAP. The Gmail anonymity guide on this site covers Gmail's privacy limits more broadly. ## Encrypted email apps An encrypted email app is either the client for an end-to-end provider, which handles encryption automatically within that service, or a general mail app with built-in PGP support that works with any account. The first kind is simpler; the second is more flexible. On mobile, the providers' own apps are usually the practical choice, since PGP support in general mobile mail clients is limited. Judge any encrypted email app by the criteria in the how-to-use-PGP guide: where keys are stored, whether the code is open, and whether the app has been audited. ## Encrypting email attachments Attachments travel with the message and get whatever protection it has. With PGP or an end-to-end provider, attachments are encrypted along with the body. Without them, you can encrypt the file itself before attaching it. - For documents and archives, create an encrypted 7-Zip or ZIP archive with AES-256 and a strong password, as the file encryption guides on this site describe. - For PDFs, use the password protection built into PDF tools, with AES-256 rather than legacy settings, as the PDF guide explains. - For any file, encrypt it with GnuPG or age using a passphrase. - Send the password through a different channel than the email: a message, a call, or in person. Sending it in a second email defeats the purpose. - Clean metadata from the file first if it matters, as the metadata guide on this site covers. ## Choosing: a five-step decision - If both you and your correspondent can use the same end-to-end provider, do that; it is automatic and covers attachments. - If your correspondent uses PGP, or is willing to, use PGP from any provider. - If neither, use a password-protected message from an end-to-end provider, or encrypt the attachment and share the password separately. - For metadata privacy, not just content, use an anonymous account and connection as the anonymity guides explain; no email encryption hides who wrote to whom. - For conversations that need forward secrecy and disappearing messages, consider that email is the wrong medium and a modern messenger, covered in the messaging guides, is better. ## What providers and cryptographers say The account above follows how the technologies are documented and assessed. Mainstream providers document transport encryption and encryption at rest, and their terms describe scanning message content, which is consistent with holding the keys; end-to-end providers document that they cannot decrypt user mail and describe the password-protected message mechanism for outside recipients. The OpenPGP standard and its implementers document that PGP encrypts body and attachments but not headers, and that key exchange and verification are the user's responsibility. Cryptographers who evaluate email security describe email as a protocol that leaks metadata by design and recommend modern messengers for sensitive conversations, while acknowledging PGP and end-to-end providers as the practical options when email is required. ## Decide which layer you actually have Look at your email today and ask whether your provider can read it. If the answer is yes and that matters, move the conversations that need protection to an end-to-end provider or add PGP, encrypt the attachments that carry real information, and keep the provider that reads everything for the mail that does not. ## FAQ Q: What is email encryption? A: Protecting the content of email so that only the intended recipient can read it. It comes in two layers: transport encryption, which protects messages between servers and clients using TLS, and end-to-end encryption, which encrypts the message itself so that even the mail providers cannot read it. Q: Is Gmail encrypted? A: Gmail encrypts mail in transit with TLS and at rest on Google's servers, but Google holds the keys and can read the content. It is not end-to-end encrypted by default. Gmail's confidential mode restricts forwarding and sets expiry but is not encryption. Client-side encryption exists for certain business plans; personal users can add PGP through a browser extension or a mail client. Q: What are end-to-end encryption email providers? A: Services such as Proton Mail and Tuta that encrypt messages on your device with keys the provider cannot access, so mail between users of the service is end-to-end encrypted automatically, and mail to outsiders can be sent as a password-protected message or with PGP. Q: How does PGP email encryption work? A: Each person has a key pair. You encrypt a message with the recipient's public key; only their private key can decrypt it. You can also sign with your private key so the recipient can verify it came from you. Mail clients and extensions handle this once keys are exchanged. Q: How do I encrypt email attachments? A: Either encrypt the whole message with PGP or an end-to-end provider, which protects attachments too, or encrypt the file itself before attaching it, using 7-Zip, GnuPG, a password-protected PDF or an encrypted archive, and share the password through a different channel.