Can Someone See If You Forward Their Email?

If I Forward an Email Will the Original Sender Know?

You’re here to get the answer to this question and in most cases the answer is “no ,” the original sender won’t know you’re forwarding their email.

⚠️ Note: If you include the original sender on the message you’re sharing, they’ll obviously see that you’re forwarding it.

For traditional emails such as those you send to and receive from individuals, there is no notification or alert to the originating sender that you are forwarding their message.

However, and this is a big however, there are exceptions to this that may come into play if the sender uses tools to monitor messages and interactions.

Let’s look at the exceptions in more detail before you decide whether or not to forward the message.

When Does Forwarding an Email Notify the Original Sender?

Although most times, the sender of a message won’t know that you forward it, here are a few instances when they might be notified or become aware of the forwarding.

Tracking Pixels

Tracking pixels are tiny images that marketing and advertising companies insert into messages. These pixels can track things like when an email is opened. If you forward a message that contains a tracking pixel, this can indicate to the original sender that the email has been opened again.

Email Interaction

Spammers can use tools to find out if an email account is active. This can include things like downloaded inline images within a message (including tracking pixels). If a spammer finds out that your account is active because you opened the email, they may also be able to detect that the recipient you forward the message to has an active account as well.

Server Logs

Many large companies and especially those dealing with sensitive or confidential information can keep track of what happens to emails within the company. This may allow them to track the recipient and destination of a message that is forwarded and then notify the original sender if requested.

What Does Forwarding an Email Do?

When you forward a message or an email thread, you’re sending it to a new recipient. Your service provider adds certain indicators and may include attachments by default. Additionally, the message is sent in its entirety including the original sender’s name and/or email address.

These are important considerations when forwarding emails. For instance, if you don’t want your recipient to know you’re forwarding the message, you may want to alter it first. As for attachments, you might need to remove them if they contain personal information or confidential data as described later.

Forwarding Indicators

First, you’ll notice “Fw“or “Fwd” added to the beginning of the subject line to show your recipient that they’re receiving a forwarded message. With most email services, you can edit the subject line to remove that text.

Next, you’ll see something like “Forwarded message” or a separator line between what you add to the email and the original message beneath. Like earlier, this is something that you can normally edit or remove before hitting the Send button.

Forwarding Attachments

As for attachments, service providers can work a bit differently. For instance, in Gmail and Outlook, attachments are included by default. But, you can select the attachment and click the X or choose Remove (Attachment) in the toolbar or drop-down menu.

In most cases, inline images are included with forwarded messages as these aren’t considered separate attachments.

Forwarding Original Message Details

One more consideration when forwarding an email is the details included from the original message.

Below the Forwarding Indicator in the body of the message, you’ll see the original sender which can display their name and email address.

Along with the sender details, you can see any recipients who were copied (CC) on the original message. This can also include names and email addresses.

Finally, you’ll see the original date and time for the message.

All of these details are shown to your new recipient when you forward the message. However, you can remove this information to keep the original sender, copied recipients, and timestamp private.

What Security Issues Can Email Forwarding Cause?

Before you forward a message, there are two other things to think about and those are privacy and security. If you aren’t careful, you could wind up in legal trouble for sharing something you shouldn’t.

If you forward a message that contains personal information such as an individual’s login credentials, financial data, health information, account numbers, or similar secure details, this can be considered a privacy breach.

Another consideration is passing along a company’s confidential information such as trade secrets which can also lead to privacy violations.

Finally, if you forward a message that unbeknownst to you contains malicious links or attachments, then you’re opening your forwarding recipient to these digital dangers which can result in repercussions.

The bottom line is that if you’re unsure, either ask permission from the original sender to forward the email or create a brand-new message paraphrasing the details.

How Do You Forward a Message or Email Thread?

If after reviewing all of the above, you want to send a message or thread you receive from someone to a new recipient, here’s how to forward an email in Gmail, Outlook, and Clean Email.

Forward a Message in Gmail

1. Open the email and do one of the following:
   • Select the More button (three dots) on the top right and choose Forward.
   • Click Forward at the very bottom of the email.

1. Add your own text.
2. Optionally edit the subject and body or remove any attachments.
3. Enter the recipient in the To line.
4. Click Send.

Forward a Message in Outlook

1. Select the Forward button (blue arrow) to the right of Reply All on the top right.
2. Add your own text.
3. Optionally edit the subject and body or remove any attachments.
4. Enter the recipient in the To line.
5. Click Send.

Forward a Message in Clean Email

1. Select the Forward button (right-pointing arrow) at the bottom of the email.
2. Add your own text and optionally edit the subject and body.
3. Enter the recipient in the Add recipients line.
4. Click Send.

⚠️ At this time, Clean Email doesn't allow forwarding attachments. While inline images can be forwarded without issues, any attachments in the original message won't be included when the email is sent.