What does CC mean in email?
CC means carbon copy. A CC recipient receives the message and their address is visible to other recipients. Put the person expected to act in To, and use CC for people who need to stay informed.
Free email learning tool
CC vs BCC Email Simulator
CC sends a visible copy of an email; BCC sends a copy with the recipient’s address hidden from public recipients. This free simulator shows who sees whom and who receives Reply All, before you make a real email mistake.
Nothing is sent or saved. Use sample names or addresses; your entries stay in browser memory.
1. Compose a pretend email
From: sender@example.com
The people expected to act. Visible to everyone.
People kept informed. Visible to everyone.
Hidden from public To and CC recipients.
Separate names or addresses with commas, semicolons or new lines. Up to 20 entries per field, 2,000 characters. Duplicates are merged, preferring To, then CC, then BCC. These are labels, not validated email addresses.
4 unique recipients in the original delivery.
2. See the email through their eyes
Visible identities in this view
- sender@example.com
- alex@example.com
- casey@example.com
You can see From, To and CC. This delivered copy does not tell you who, if anyone, was BCC’d.
Inspect example headers
From: sender@example.com To: alex@example.com Cc: casey@example.com Subject: Team update
Illustrative fields, not a complete deliverable email. This model strips BCC on delivery. Real clients may include an empty BCC header or the recipient’s own BCC address.
3. Check the reply before sending
Reply All from alex@example.com goes to:
- sender@example.com
- casey@example.com
Hidden BCC recipients are not included in this reply.
Common behavior, not a guarantee: this example has no custom Reply-To address, mailing list, forwarding or manual recipient edits. Mail clients can choose different reply targets. Always inspect the actual recipient list in your email app. See RFC 5322 §3.6.3.
Which should I use: To, CC or BCC?
How to use this simulator
1. Add recipients
Enter sample names or addresses in To, CC and BCC, separated by commas, semicolons or new lines.
2. Choose a viewpoint
Switch between each recipient’s inbox and the sender’s Sent view to inspect visible identities and example headers.
3. Compare Reply and Reply All
Check who receives the reply and whether a BCC recipient would reveal their identity to public recipients.
CC and BCC questions, answered
What does BCC mean, and can recipients see each other?
BCC means blind carbon copy. Public To and CC recipients do not see the BCC address list in the original message. This simulator models a common delivery method that removes the BCC header from every delivered copy; the sender still sees it in Sent.
What happens if a BCC recipient replies all?
Their reply can reveal their address in the new message’s From field to the original sender and visible To/CC recipients. It normally does not reach other hidden BCC recipients. Review the reply’s recipient list before sending; mail clients can behave differently.
Does Reply All include BCC recipients?
A To or CC recipient’s Reply All normally goes to the original sender and visible To/CC addresses, excluding the person replying. It cannot automatically include BCC addresses that are absent from the delivered copy. A custom Reply-To address, mailing list or client setting can change the targets.
Is BCC encryption, and does this tool send emails?
BCC hides a recipient list; it does not encrypt a message or prevent forwarding, screenshots or later disclosure. This educational tool sends no emails and keeps entered names in browser memory without uploading or saving them.
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