Thanks to
bitmover's topic here,
Overview on browsers. Which one should we use? Support free web while browsing., I took some time to look at Gmail's supposedly confidential mode.
Gmail’s confidential mode will be on by default for G Suite users starting June 25th
Google is rolling out its confidential mode to G Suite users by default starting on June 25th. If you use Gmail at work, you’ll be able to use the tool to write a confidential email, as personal account holders have been able to do since Gmail’s mid-2018 redesign.
Confidential mode is a powerful tool that will come in handy at work if you send messages containing sensitive details. It lets you set an expiration date for your message, which cuts off access when that day arrives. While the message is available, recipients won’t be able to forward your message to others, copy its contents, or download it, and the sender can revoke access at any point. To add another layer of security, you can set the message to only unlock after the recipient types in an SMS verification code that’s sent to their phone number.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/29/18644525/gmail-confidential-mode-on-default-g-suite-june
However, this is quite misleading, as protonmail say's that "Gmail confidential mode is not secure or private",
Without end-to-end encryption, Gmail confidential mode is little more than a marketing strategy. Learn why privacy experts call Google’s privacy features “misleading.”
When we launched ProtonMail nearly five years ago, we pioneered a new kind of email service: one that gives you control of your own data. All emails are end-to-end encrypted and zero-access encrypted, meaning not even we can read them. We also offer the ability to set expiring emails, which self-destruct after a period of time chosen by the sender.
Several years later, Google tried to integrate some of these same features into Gmail with “confidential mode.” Even though Google launched confidential mode over a year ago, people are still confused about what it does. Is it actually secure or private? Is it encrypted? When you turn it on, does it prevent Google from reading your messages? The answer to these questions is ‘no.’ In fact, the decision to call it “confidential” suggests a level of security and privacy that doesn’t exist in Gmail confidential mode.
Gmail’s confidential mode does not mean your messages are end-to-end encrypted. Google can still read them. Expiring messages aren’t erased for good, and the recipient can always take a screenshot of your message. Let’s take a closer look at how confidential mode works and why it isn’t so confidential after all.
Gmail’s confidential mode does not make emails private because Google can always read them. When you send an email with confidential mode turned on, Google keeps the email contents on its servers. Other Gmail users can read the email in their inbox, but outside users only receive an email notifying them that a sender “has sent you an email via Gmail confidential mode” along with a link to a page on google.com. (This is similar to ProtonMail’s encrypt to outside feature.)
https://protonmail.com/blog/gmail-confidential-mode-security-privacy/I know someone will says that it's a competitor, but I'm sure more high level accounts in this community have been using protonmail for years and I haven't heard any complains from them. So for those who have been inching their hands to get on this supposedly Gmail confidential mode, then think again, Big G is always one step ahead of us, and don't sacrifice all your data to them. Think smart!!!
