How to Send Email to Bcc Recipients in iPhone Mail

Reduce reply-all email chains by blind-copying a list of message recipients

The iOS Mail logo on an iPad
by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated August 20, 2019

If you use iPhone Mail and want to send an email to more than one person, you could line their addresses up in the To field. This makes for a long list of email addresses with an unwieldy message header. It also reveals all of the addresses to every recipient. To hide email message recipients, use the Bcc field.

Instructions in this article apply to devices running iOS 12.

How to Blind Copy Recipients in iOS Mail

To use the Bcc field in the Mail app to send blind copies:

  1. Create a new message, then tap the Cc/Bcc, From line to expand it. If you only added a single email account to your iPhone, the line will show as Cc/Bcc.

  2. Tap the Bcc line, then add one or more addresses.

    Cc/BCc/From field, Bcc field, email address in iOS Mail

  3. Add at least one To address.

    To send it to yourself using Undisclosed Recipients, add a new contact called Undisclosed Recipients and use one of your email addresses. This specific sender name is an informal internet standard to signify that the real distribution list has been blind copied.

  4. Compose and send the message.

The people who receive your email won't see the other addresses to which the email was sent. If appropriate, add a note to explain that the email was sent to other people and include their names. Then, you won't divulge their email addresses or risk a lot of reply-all correspondence.