Google is simplifying end-to-end email encryption for businesses

What just happened? Google is celebrating Gmail's 21st birthday by introducing new encryption features for enterprise users. The company's latest security system aims to simplify encryption options for businesses of all sizes while providing IT departments with the tools to maintain information integrity. Other updates from this week improved Google Chrome's encryption and allowed Google Fi subscribers to send encrypted RCS messages to iPhones.

Starting today, IT departments participating in Google's beta can use Gmail to send end-to-end encrypted emails to recipients within the same organization. The functionality will expand to all Gmail inboxes in the coming weeks and to non-Gmail inboxes by the end of the year.

The new functionality, which is activated in just a few clicks, aims to provide small organizations with email security that typically requires dedicated IT departments. It also circumvents the need for proprietary software and exchanging decryption keys.

An ...