Gmail adds mobile E2EE

Email normally travels like a sealed envelope handed from one mail server to another. Google has now brought its strongest Gmail encryption, called client-side encryption, to the Gmail app on Android and iPhone. (workspaceupdates.googleblog.com) Google announced the rollout on April 9, 2026 for Google Workspace customers who already use Gmail client-side encryption. For the first time, those users can compose and read encrypted messages inside the Gmail app instead of using separate apps or web portals. (workspaceupdates.googleblog.com) Client-side encryption means the organization, not Google, controls the keys that lock and unlock the message. Google’s help pages say the email body, inline images, and attachments get this extra layer, while the subject line, recipients, and timestamps do not. (support.google.com) Gmail has long used Transport Layer Security, or TLS, which protects mail while it moves between servers. Google compares that to a secure mail carrier; client-side encryption goes further by keeping Google from accessing the decrypted contents at all. (support.google.com) The mobile change closes a gap in Google’s earlier rollout, which had already brought this system to Gmail on the web. Google said administrators must enable Android and iOS clients in the client-side encryption settings before employees can use it on phones. (workspaceupdates.googleblog.com) Google said licensed users can send an encrypted message to any recipient, not just another Gmail user. If the recipient uses the Gmail app, the message arrives as a regular thread; if not, Google says the recipient can read and reply through a browser. (workspaceupdates.googleblog.com) The feature is not a blanket upgrade for all 3.5 billion Gmail accounts. Google lists availability for Enterprise Plus customers with the Assured Controls or Assured Controls Plus add-on, and its help pages also describe client-side encryption options for some Education and Frontline editions. (workspaceupdates.googleblog.com) (support.google.com) Inside Gmail, users turn it on with the message security control and select “additional encryption,” which Google marks with a blue shield icon. On mobile, that means the highest-security Gmail messages now work in the same app people already use on the move. (support.google.com 1) (support.google.com 2)