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Fax explained

Sending a fax from Gmail: what Google does not do

Gmail has never had a fax feature, and Google offers none. Anything that looks like “send a fax from Gmail” goes through a third party.

Short answer

Gmail does not send faxes. Three workarounds exist: an email-to-fax gateway, where you write to an address of the form number@provider; a web service, where you upload the PDF directly; and an add-on, which is a gateway in disguise. Only the web service asks for neither a subscription nor access to your mailbox.

The three ways to go about it

  1. 1

    The email-to-fax gateway

    An operator gives you a domain: you write to 0123456789@that-domain and the attachment becomes the pages. Billed monthly or per page, and an account is required.

  2. 2

    Uploading straight to a web service

    Save the attachment as a PDF, then upload it to the form. The document passes through no mailbox at all. No account, no subscription.

  3. 3

    The add-on

    Google Workspace extensions that add a “fax” button are dressed-up gateways. Read the permissions before installing: most ask to read your mail.

The gateway's hidden price

A fax sent from Gmail leaves two lasting copies: one in your sent mail, one on the provider's servers. Neither was needed for the transmission. For ordinary correspondence that is of no consequence; for a document covered by medical or professional confidentiality, they are two points of leakage created by the choice of tool alone.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official Google fax service?
No. Neither Gmail nor Google Workspace sends faxes, and Google does not resell such a service. Any offer claiming otherwise belongs to a third party.
Can a fax be received in Gmail?
Only through an operator that assigns you a receiving number and relays the pages to your address as PDFs. Without that operator, no fax reaches a mailbox.
Does the attachment have to be a PDF?
On this site, yes, up to 10 MB. Gateways sometimes accept other formats by converting them, but conversion shifts the layout — on a document meant to be signed, that is rarely harmless.

Send a fax now

The form fits on one page: a PDF, a recipient and a return address. No account, no card.

Open the form

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