Gmail for schools and businesses is getting an encryption option

Google gives Gmail for schools and the more expensive subscription for companies the option to encrypt emails on the client side. As a result, Google’s servers can no longer see what is in the emails.

Google Client Side Encryption in Gmail

Users can sign up for the beta in the next month, says Google. The function is called CSE, Client Side Encryption. It is the first time that there is an option to encrypt emails in Gmail, a service that has been around for more than eighteen years. Calendar, Meet, and Drive already had client-side encryption options.

The beta will run on Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard. The function will therefore not be available for Enterprise users for the time being, nor for private users of Workspace. Regular users of the free mail service will also not get the option for the time being.

It remains to be seen whether that will ever come, because showing relevant advertisements based on the content of emails is a revenue model from Google for Gmail. With subscriptions, the money comes in through the subscribers and there are no advertisements in that version of the service. Google says encryption for other Google services is also coming.