It was never intended to be a safe method of exchanging confidential documents. There are some things you can do to ensure that your personal information is secure in the event of sending emails.
Email disclaimers are useful tools for any business that regularly exchanges confidential information via email. Psychologists, lawyers, financial professionals, and others regularly send and receive confidential client information including personal bank account details, dates of birth, social security or tax ID numbers, medical records, and other identifying information.
A confidentiality statement will make it clear to recipients that the information in the email cannot be shared with anyone else and is not a legal contract. However, confidentiality disclaimers are not valid in the United States under any circumstances without written consent from the recipient to make an agreement.
Another popular use for email disclaimers is to safeguard trade secrets and classified information. Trade secrets are compilations or formulas that a business believes are crucial to its competitiveness for example, like the Coca-Cola recipe or Google algorithm. Classified information is information that a government agency determines is in need of protection to safeguard national security or foreign relationships, such as information from intelligence sources.
Sending emails with end-to-end encrypted is the best method to secure private information. This encryption method encrypts both the email as well as the attachments so only the intended recipients can view them. It is the easiest way to use email for exchanging confidential documents an email service that supports this, like Protonmail or Mailfence. If you’re looking to guarantee maximum privacy, choose an email service in Europe that adheres to the General Data Protection Regulation.
