Security

Is It Safe to Send Documents for Translation by Email?

No. Emailing a birth certificate, contract, or medical record for translation leaves a copy in inboxes and backups neither you nor the translator controls, with no expiry and no way to pull it back. Email isn't encrypted end to end, so the document passes through servers along the way and lingers in sent folders. For sensitive or certified work, send it through an end-to-end encrypted upload link the translator provides instead.

Why email is risky for translation source documents

The document you send for translation is often the most sensitive one you own: a passport, a marriage certificate, a court judgment, a bank statement for a visa file. Sent as an attachment, it lands in your sent folder, the translator's inbox, and both email providers' backups. It stays searchable, with no expiry and no record of who opened or forwarded it. One mistyped address sends it to the wrong person. Attaching a confidential document to an email is one of the most common and most overlooked risks in a translation workflow.

What about WeTransfer or a cloud link?

A file-transfer service or a shared Google Drive or Dropbox link is a step up from an attachment, because the file doesn't sit in an inbox. But it isn't private. The provider holds the encryption keys and can read the file, the link can be forwarded to anyone, and there's usually nothing keeping one client's document isolated from the next. For certified, legal, or medical translation, that's not enough.

How the options compare

Method	Encrypted so only the translator can read it?	Lives in inboxes / backups you don't control?	Can it expire?
Email attachment	No	Yes	No
WeTransfer / file link	No	No	Partly
Shared cloud drive	No	Provider's servers	Manual
End-to-end encrypted upload link	Yes	No	Yes

The safer way to send documents to a translator

Ask the translator for a secure upload link rather than emailing the file.
Prefer a link that encrypts the document in your browser before it's sent, so no server in the middle holds a readable copy.
Check that it needs no account to create, so you're not handing your details to another platform.
Confirm the translator deletes the source after delivery, or that the link expires on its own.
If you already emailed a sensitive document, there's no way to recall it, so factor that into anything reused, like a password on a bank statement.

Where doconvoy fits

A translator using doconvoy sends you a link instead of asking for an attachment. You upload from your phone or laptop with no account, the file is encrypted on your device before it's sent, and the request expires after the job so the document doesn't linger. For the translator's side of this, see how to receive documents for translation securely.

Replace email attachments with an encrypted upload link that needs no account and expires after the job.

Collect translation documents securely

Common questions

Is it safe to email documents to a translator?

No. Email isn't encrypted end to end, so the document sits in the sender's sent folder, the translator's inbox, and both providers' backups, searchable and with no expiry. For sensitive or certified work, use an end-to-end encrypted upload link the translator provides.

Is WeTransfer or a Dropbox link safer than email for translation files?

Slightly. The file doesn't clog an inbox, but the provider still holds the keys and can read it, the link can be forwarded, and there's usually no per-client isolation. It's better than an attachment, not private.

How should I send a passport or certificate for certified translation?

Through an end-to-end encrypted upload link from the translator, where the file is encrypted in your browser before it's sent and the request expires after the job. Avoid email attachments and public folders.