Everyday email and messages on a phone or a computer

People send short notes in more than one way.

A text (SMS) uses a phone number and the Messages app that came with many phones. A chat or messaging app (the name differs by brand) sends notes over the internet once you have an account. Email uses an email address and a mail app or a website such as Gmail. Skills for Success names email as one of the everyday digital tools people use to communicate. This lesson stays with those everyday moves. It does not replace *Email & Online Safety Basics in Canada*, and it does not teach Outlook — that course covers workplace inbox habits.

Each channel has a place. A text is handy for “I am at the desk.” Email is better when you want a subject line, a longer note, or a record you can search later. Get Cyber Safe says not to use text messages to send personal or sensitive information, and to avoid sending sensitive information by SMS or email when you are dealing with unexpected messages. If a note contains a health detail, a password, or banking information, stop and ask whether you should use a more private method — or wait and speak to the person.

On a shared or library computer, open only a mail account staff say you may use (often a practice account). Sign out when you finish if they ask you to. Do not open someone else’s inbox to “have a look.”

The labels differ by app, but the idea is the same: say who the note is for, what it is about, write the words, then send.

Gmail’s official write-and-send help (opened 10 November 2026) describes one common computer path: go to Gmail, click Compose at the top left, add recipients in the To field, add a subject, write your message, and click Send at the bottom. Drafts are saved automatically in a label named Drafts. You can also add Cc or Bcc recipients if you need copies. Other mail apps use different button names, but a tutor can point to the same four parts: who, subject, message, send.

Keep a first practice note short and plain. For this course, write to a tutor or to a practice address staff give you — not to a real employer, bank, or government office. Say who you are, why you are writing, and what you would like the person to know. You do not need fancy formatting. You do not need to attach a file today.

If you attach something later, remember Get Cyber Safe’s warning about surprise files (Chapter 3). On the sending side, attach only a file you created and that the other person expects. Double-check the To field before you tap Send so the note does not go to the wrong person. If your app offers Undo send for a few seconds, that can rescue a slip — Gmail describes an Undo option after sending — but do not count on it.

Get Cyber Safe explains that phishing can arrive as email, as a phone call, or as smishing (a text). The best everyday defence they list is to stay alert: never respond to unexpected messages from unknown numbers, avoid sending sensitive information by SMS or email, and think twice before clicking links or opening attachments.

Their “think before you text” list is specific:

• Do not use texts to send personal or sensitive information.
• Never open attachments from unknown or untrusted sources.
• Never click the links or call the phone numbers in suspicious messages — even if they say they are from your bank or mobile provider.

Malware can also reach a phone through internet downloads, text attachments, or Bluetooth transfers, Get Cyber Safe notes. That is one more reason to skip a surprise file and to turn Bluetooth off when you are not using it (their phones-and-tablets page asks you to do that so other people cannot try to pair with your device).

If a message looks urgent (“your account will close today”), that urgency is a reason to slow down, not to hurry. Use the habit from Lesson 7: open the organisation from its real home page or a saved bookmark if you still need to check something. The longer safety course has more examples of scams. This lesson only asks you to treat unexpected links, attachments, and phone numbers as things you can ignore until you have asked a person you trust.

1. Open the mail app or website staff say you may use (a practice account if they offer one).
2. Start a new message (Compose in Gmail on a computer).
3. Address it to a tutor or practice address — not to a real workplace or bank.
4. Add a short subject and two plain sentences.
5. Check the To field, send, and sign out if you are on a shared machine.
6. Do not open unexpected attachments and do not send private details.

When is a short text enough, and when is an email with a subject line easier to find later?