When you send an encrypted email, you can apply a range of protection settings to control who can view your content, how it's displayed, and how long it remains accessible. This article walks through each setting and what it does.
1. Accessing Encryption Settings
To access these settings, click the gear icon next to "Encrypt with PPAD" in the New Message window (1). This opens the Settings panel where all protection options are available.
2. Allow Forwarding
This setting controls whether people other than your original recipients (To, CC, and BCC) can access the encrypted email body and attachments.
Enabled: The email can be forwarded, and anyone who receives it can still access the encrypted content. You'll still be able to track and see who has viewed it, regardless of how they received the email.
Disabled: Only your original recipients can view the encrypted content. If the email or attachment is later shared with someone else, that person won't be able to access it.
You can change this setting at any time, even after the email has been sent.
3. Dynamic Watermark
Available on Advanced plans.
Dynamic Watermark applies a custom watermark to all encrypted attachments. Watermarks can automatically display information like the viewer's email address or IP address, which helps deter unauthorized sharing, screenshots, and photos of the content.
Display
Choose what information appears in your watermark. You can select up to four options:
Text: Enter custom watermark text. By default, this field is set to "CONFIDENTIAL," but you can edit it to whatever you'd like.
Email address of viewer: Displays the viewer's email address. This option isn't available if your Access setting is "Anyone with the link (no email verification)," since the system can't verify the viewer's identity in that case.
IP address of viewer: Displays the viewer's IP address.
Date and time viewed: Displays the date and time the file was opened.
Color
Choose the watermark color: Gray, Red, or Blue.
Position
Choose where the watermark appears on the page: Center, or another available position.
Note: Position settings apply to PDF, DOCX, and PPT files only.
Opacity
Adjust the watermark's transparency using the slider, from fully transparent to fully opaque.
4. Prevent Screenshots (Screen Shield)
Available on Advanced plans.
Screen Shield is a screenshot protection solution. When enabled, it:
Blocks common screenshot keyboard shortcuts.
Optionally splits the screen so the full document content can't be captured in a single screenshot.
For more details on how Screen Shield works, see our full article on Screen Shield.
5. File Expiry
File Expiry sets a time limit on how long the email and its attachments remain accessible. You can choose either:
A set duration starting from when the recipient first opens the email or file, or
A specific expiry date, after which the file can no longer be decrypted or viewed.
6. Allow Printing
This setting controls whether recipients are able to print the file. Toggle it on to allow printing, or off to prevent it.