MailMate is a great app for encrypting your email on your Mac If You Don’t Mind a Web Client on Mac, Try ProtonMail The aforementioned ProtonMail has a terrific iOS app, but no Mac software. Jan 02, 2019 When you compose a message and lock icon will appear next to the recipient. Click the lock icon so it’s closed to encrypt the email. Note: If the lock is blue, the email can be encrypted. If the lock is red, the recipient needs to turn on their S/MIME setting. Email Providers That Need Third-Party Encryption Tools. Nov 08, 2019 You need to be using macOS, Apple Mail, be sending encrypted emails from Apple Mail, not be using FileVault to encrypt your entire system already, and know exactly where in. Nov 19, 2019 A) Sign - this verifies that the email was sent by yourself. When GPG Mail is installed, all messages are signed by default (button is blue). Click on the button to turn signing off. B) Encrypt - encrypts the content of the message plus any attachments. It does not encrypt the subject line or hide any other metadata.
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Mail User Guide
Email messages that are digitally signed or encrypted can offer enhanced security when sending or receiving email.
Send digitally signed and encrypted emails
A digitally signed message lets your recipients verify your identity as the sender; an encrypted message offers an even higher level of security. To send signed messages, you must have a personal certificate in your keychain. To send encrypted messages, the recipient’s certificate must be in your keychain.
Encrypt Email On Mac Mail
- In the Mail app on your Mac, choose File > New Message.
- Move the pointer over the From field, click the pop-up menu that appears, then choose the account for which you have a personal certificate in your keychain.A Signed icon (containing a checkmark) in the message header indicates the message will be signed when you send it.
- Address the message to recipients.An Encrypt (closed lock) icon appears next to the Signed icon if your keychain contains a personal certificate for every recipient; the icon indicates the message will be encrypted when you send it.If you don’t have a certificate for every recipient, you must send your message unencrypted. Click the Encrypt icon to replace the closed lock icon with an open lock icon.
Some mailing lists reject digitally signed messages because the signature is treated as an attachment. To send the message unsigned, click the Signed icon in your message; an x replaces the checkmark.
Why Encrypt Email
Note: If for some reason your certificate isn’t associated with your email address, or if you want to use your certificate with a different email address, Control-click the certificate in Keychain Access, choose New Identity Preference, and provide the requested information.
Receive digitally signed and encrypted emails
In the Mail app on your Mac, a Security field in the header area indicates whether a message is signed or encrypted.
- A signed icon (a checkmark) appears in the header area of a signed message. To view the certificate details, click the icon.If the message was altered after it was signed, Mail displays a warning that it can’t verify the message signature.
- A lock icon appears in the header area of an encrypted message. If you have your private key in your keychain, the message is decrypted for viewing. Otherwise, Mail indicates it can’t decrypt the message. See If Mail can’t decrypt emails.
If you want to include encrypted messages when you search for messages in Mail, set the option in the General pane of Mail preferences. The option enables Mail to search individual words, even though the message is stored encrypted.
See alsoUse personal certificates in Mail on MacUse SSL to connect to the outgoing mail server in Mail on Mac
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Mail User Guide
If you receive an email message that the Mail app on your Mac can’t decrypt, it’s possible your digital certificate or its private key is missing from a keychain. Try these suggestions.
- If you have a backup of your keychain (created when you export your digital certificate and private key), import the Personal Information Exchange (.p12) file. See Import and export keychain items.
- If your digital certificate and private key are stored on a Common Access Card (“smart card”), insert the card in your Mac, then try again.
- If you no longer have your digital certificate or its private key, obtain a new certificate. See Use personal certificates.