Is there a way to include BCC recipients when formatting MIME messages with PHPMailer for use with Gmail API?

Other Questions Gmail
1

I’m trying to set up email sending using PHPMailer to format MIME messages, which I then pass to the Gmail API. Everything works fine for the ‘To’ and ‘CC’ addresses, but the ‘BCC’ recipients aren’t getting the emails.

Here’s what I’ve done:

  1. Set up PHPMailer to format the message (not send it)
  2. Added ‘To’, ‘CC’, and ‘BCC’ addresses using PHPMailer methods
  3. Generated the MIME message
  4. Passed the MIME message to Gmail API for sending

The problem is that the BCC recipients never get the email. When I check the sent message, there’s no ‘undisclosed-recipients’ in the header either.

Interestingly, when I use Gmail’s web interface and add a BCC recipient, it works as expected. The ‘undisclosed-recipients’ shows up in the header, and the BCC address gets the email.

I’ve tried looking through PHPMailer’s docs, but they mention BCC only works for sending in Win32 environments. Is there a way to make this work with Gmail API? Any suggestions would be really helpful!

2

have u tried manually adding the bcc header to ur mime message? somethin like:

$mime = $mail->createHeader();
$mime .= ‘Bcc: [email protected]\r\n’;

might work. gmail api might strip bcc headers for security, so adding it after phpmailer formats could bypass that. worth a shot!

3

I’ve dealt with this exact issue before, and it can be frustrating. The problem lies in how Gmail API handles BCC recipients differently from standard SMTP servers. Here’s what worked for me:

Instead of relying on PHPMailer to handle the BCC, I separated that part from the MIME message generation. After creating the MIME message with PHPMailer (excluding BCC), I added the BCC recipients directly in the Gmail API request.

In the API call, you can use the ‘bccRecipients’ parameter in the request body. This keeps the BCC addresses out of the message headers but ensures they receive the email.

It’s a bit more work, but it’s reliable. Just remember to manage your BCC list separately and include it in your API call. This approach has been solid for me across multiple projects.

One caveat: make sure you’re not exposing BCC addresses in any logs or error messages for privacy reasons.

4

I’ve encountered a similar issue when working with PHPMailer and Gmail API. The problem likely stems from how Gmail API handles BCC recipients. Unlike standard SMTP, the API doesn’t process BCC headers in the MIME message.

A workaround I’ve found effective is to use the ‘bccRecipients’ parameter in the Gmail API request, separate from the MIME message. This keeps the BCC addresses out of the message headers while ensuring they receive the email.

Here’s a basic approach:

  1. Format your message with PHPMailer as usual, excluding BCC.
  2. Generate the MIME message.
  3. When calling the Gmail API’s messages.send method, include the BCC addresses in the request body.

This method has worked reliably in my projects. Just remember to handle the BCC recipients at the API level rather than in the MIME message itself.