Lockbin guide · Updated November 9, 2026
Short answer
Add the free Lockbin for Outlook add-in, then click Lockbin while you write an email. Lockbin encrypts your files and puts a secure link in your own email, or adds a secure upload button so a client can send you documents. Your client opens the link in any browser on their phone or computer, with no account and nothing to install. Premium is $10 a month and includes a signed HIPAA BAA.
Why clients get stuck with Outlook's built-in encryption
When a client outside your organization gets an encrypted Outlook message, they're often asked to sign in with a Microsoft account or wait for a one-time code before they can read it. Many give up and call you, or ask you to just send it normally.
Lockbin takes a different route. Your files are encrypted and stored at Lockbin, and your email carries a secure link. Your client clicks it and reads or downloads the files in their browser. No Microsoft account, no Lockbin account, no app.
Which Outlook it works in
- Works: Outlook on the web, new Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and classic Outlook for Windows with Microsoft 365 or Outlook 2021 and later.
- Accounts: Microsoft 365 and Exchange work or school accounts, and personal Outlook.com and Hotmail accounts. It also works when you write from a shared mailbox, once it's added to your own account.
- Not yet: the Outlook phone apps, and Outlook 2016 or 2019. On a phone, send from the Lockbin website or your Lockbin inbox instead.
- Use Gmail? There's a Lockbin add-on for Gmail too. With any other email, send from your Lockbin inbox in the browser.
Set it up in about a minute
- Download Lockbin for Outlook. It's a small file, lockbin-outlook.xml.
- In Outlook, open the add-ins page, choose My add-ins, then Add a custom add-in > Add from file, and pick the file. The setup page has direct links for work and Outlook.com accounts.
- Start a new email, click Apps in the toolbar, then Lockbin, and click Connect Lockbin. You sign in once.
For a whole office, a Microsoft 365 admin can add it for everyone from the admin center, and each person signs in with their own Lockbin login.
Send an encrypted message and attachments
- Write your email in Outlook as usual and put your client in To.
- Open Lockbin, choose Send files, and pick your files.
- Lockbin encrypts them and adds an Open your secure files button to your email. Send it.
Your client gets one email, from you. The button opens the files in their browser, and they can reply securely from the same page. Files go straight from your computer to Lockbin, never through Outlook, and the add-in can't read your other email.
Keep client details out of the Outlook email itself and in the secure files. Lockbin's BAA covers what you send through Lockbin, not your email account.
Ask a client to send you documents
Open Lockbin in a new email and stay on Request files. Tick what you need, such as a photo ID, insurance card, tax return or signed forms, or type your own, then click Request these files. A secure upload button goes into your email. Your client uploads from any phone or computer without an account, and the files arrive encrypted in your Lockbin inbox.
HIPAA and price
The add-in is free with any Lockbin account. The free plan includes 10 secure messages and one document request. Premium is $10 a month for one user, and Enterprise is $10 per user a month, both billed monthly with unlimited requests.
Premium and Enterprise include a signed HIPAA Business Associate Agreement. Open HIPAA BAA in your Lockbin inbox menu and sign it in about two minutes; Lockbin countersigns instantly and emails you the PDF. See how Lockbin's BAA works, or Lockbin for insurance agencies if you collect applications and IDs.
Lockbin stores message bodies and attachments encrypted with AES-256, each message with its own key, uses TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, and records when each message is opened.
Questions
Can I send encrypted email from Outlook to someone who doesn't use Outlook?
Yes. With Lockbin for Outlook, your email carries a secure link. The recipient opens it in any browser, whatever email they use, with no Microsoft or Lockbin account.
Does my recipient need an account to open it?
No. Recipients open Lockbin messages and upload links in a web browser on their phone or computer without creating an account or installing anything.
Does Lockbin for Outlook work with Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com?
Yes. It works with Microsoft 365 and Exchange work or school accounts and with Outlook.com and Hotmail, in Outlook on the web, new Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and classic Outlook with Microsoft 365 or Outlook 2021 and later. It isn't in the Outlook phone apps yet.
Is sending from Outlook with Lockbin HIPAA compliant?
Yes, on Lockbin Premium and Enterprise, which include a signed HIPAA BAA you can sign yourself in the dashboard. Keep patient details in the Lockbin files, not the Outlook email.
How much does the Outlook add-in cost?
Nothing extra. It uses your Lockbin plan: free for 10 secure messages, or Premium at $10 a month with unlimited requests and the BAA.
Or start free with 10 secure emails and one document request. Questions? Email support@lockbin.com.
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