[Encryption](https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-ietf-openpgp-crypto-refresh-10.html#section-2.1) is one of the core facilities of OpenPGP. It provides confidentiality.
## High-Level overview of the message encryption process
Core concept:
- The plaintext is encrypted with a symmetric "session key."
- The "session key" itself is stored in encrypted form, possibly multiple times:
- The session key is encrypted to the encryption keys of each intended recipient of the message.
- Alternatively, or additionally, the session key may be encrypted using a passphrase (this mode of operation doesn't require any OpenPGP certificates.)