As landlines have become increasingly rare, people find themselves in difficulty when needing to send a fax. It’s a lot of hassle to get a landline installed just to use a fax machine a couple of times a month. Luckily, there’s an alternative to faxing via the traditional method: Gmail fax. We’re going to teach you how to send a fax over the Internet.
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Can You Really Send a Fax Over the Internet?
You can do a lot of surprising things online, and one of them is sending an e-fax. An e-fax is a fax that isn’t sent from fax machine to fax machine with physical paper. Instead, all the documents remain online on the sender’s end so you can fax from anywhere. You can also receive faxes paperlessly via your email account.
Is It Really Safe to Send a Gmail Fax?
Faxes were sent via landlines traditionally because it was considered the safest way to keep your documents secure. However, sending a fax through Gmail may be even more secure than sending them from fax machine to fax machine. When you send documents to or from a fax machine, you run the risk of an unwanted party coming across the physical papers and sneaking a peak.
When you send faxes through Gmail, nobody but you has access to your device if it’s password protected, which is where the documents will be. Google can’t read the content of your email, subject line, or any file sent alongside your email. They’ve confirmed this multiple times to settle any worries people have about the company spying on their personal information. So, yes, it’s safe to send a fax through Gmail, and it’s entirely secure.
How to Send a Fax through Gmail
1. Sign Up For an Online Fax Service
If you want to send faxes through your email account, then you need to be registered with an online fax service. The service is what will convert what you send from a regular email into a digital fax. However, be careful when choosing a service, because there are many that require you to download apps or programs, and these are often restrictive. They’re also typically far more expensive than easy, browser-based services.
Choose a service that doesn’t make you download anything. There are many well-respected companies offering online fax services, so pick one of the most recommended ones if you wish to be safe and have an easy time.
2. Head Into Gmail
As soon as you’ve gotten set up with the online fax service, you’re ready. Head over to Gmail and start drafting an email the way you normally would, but don’t type anything into the body of the email. The body of the email is where you’ll place the documents you wish to send as a fax.
It’s best for readability if you send a PDF document containing everything you wish the other party to receive. This includes if you’re sending images only. Give each image its own page within the PDF document the way each one would have its own page if printed when sending a physical fax. Finally, type your cover letter into the subject box of your email.
3. Enter the Fax Number
This is where a digital fax differs the most from a regular email. Instead of entering an email address, you type the fax number followed by the domain and extension of your fax service. For example, it’ll look something like 2024336755@rcfax.com.
Test Drive Our #1 Recommended Choice and Fax Free for 30 Days! Gone are the days of needing a landline to send faxes. It’s easier and a little more secure to do it through Gmail, and it can be done in three simple steps.