Criptext lets you unsend your Gmail messages and attachments any time

Need to unsend an email or attachment? We’ve all been there. Criptext lets you recall any message you send through its service with just a click.

Available for Gmail as an extension for Chrome and Safari, Criptext encrypts your outgoing mail and shows you when it was opened. It converts your email text into an image only when it’s opened, so it can’t be scanned by bots. You can recall a message at any time or set it to self-destruct after a specified time.

Criptext also lets you securely send attachments up to 100MB in size. It encrypts your attached files, displays them in a custom attachment viewer and gives you the option to lock them with a password or block printing and downloading.

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Using Criptext is a snap — install the extension and check the Enable box when sending a message from your Gmail inbox. A new Email Activity button shows you the read status of your secure messages and the option to recall them.

Criptext is free while it’s still in beta and will continue to be for at least six more months, as it seeks feedback from users to improve its existing features and offer new ones.

The service might be too much for most users, but it could be just the thing enterprises need to maintain control over their correspondence — especially in sectors like healthcare, consulting and legal services.

What about mobile? CEO Mayer Mizrachi says:

We believe that mobile is lacking a secure mail client that users can depend on so developing mobile apps is a no brainer. That said it’s a question of when. For now, we have a lot on our plate and we want make sure that we’re giving our users the best experience possible in secure email before spreading ourselves too thin.

In its effort to woo enterprise customers, the company has to deal with the evolving landscape of industry-specific regulations for email security and confidentiality.

For example, Criptext says its service appeals to companies and individuals in the healthcare industry, but attaining the necessary HIPAA rules and guidelines means adapting frequently to changing requirements in order to remain compliant.

With more companies becoming aware of the need for secure communication channels, Criptext is an interesting workaround for features Gmail is missing.

The firm is also working on extensions for Firefox, Thunderbird and Mac Mail as well as support for Microsoft’s Outlook.com email service.

➤ Criptext

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