In short
Partly. Uploading your PDF to FaxTelecom goes through an encrypted HTTPS connection, and the file is erased once the transmission is over. The last stretch, over the phone line to the receiving machine, travels in the clear: fax technology has no encryption layer, whichever service you use.
A limit of the standard, not of a provider
Faxing rests on an exchange of tones between two modems, defined in the late 1970s and never given any encryption. The receiving machine expects readable pages: it would hold no key to open encrypted content. No provider can therefore promise encryption all the way to the paper.
The stretch FaxTelecom protects
Between your browser and our servers, the file moves over HTTPS: someone on your Wi-Fi or at your internet provider cannot read it. On our servers, the document is used solely to build and transmit the fax, then deleted automatically.
Once converted into a fax signal, it crosses the telephone network to the receiving machine unencrypted, like every fax in the world.
Where the everyday risk lies
Tapping a phone line takes physical access and specialist equipment. Ordinary leaks are far more mundane: two swapped digits in the number, or pages left sitting in the tray of a shared machine. Double-check the number, tell the recipient your fax is coming, and put their name and the word “confidential” in the cover-page message.
If the document is highly sensitive, ask the recipient whether they offer an encrypted channel such as a secure portal or protected business messaging. Our fax security guide compares the options.
Key points
- Upload of the PDF to FaxTelecom encrypted over HTTPS.
- File deleted automatically after transmission.
- Final telephone leg unencrypted, for every fax service.
- Real-world risk: a wrong number and an unattended machine.