Nowadays, when you hear someone talk about faxing, theres a decent chance its the punchline to a groan-inducing dad joke. (Not that I would ever be guilty of such silliness, of course. I stick strictly to the fax.)And yet, here in the futuristic-feeling time of 2025, we all find ourselves facing the very occasional and impossibly baffling need to send something somewhere specifically by fax. Try as you might, sometimes, you just cant avoid it. (One might even say those are just the fax of life!)Faxing is antiquated technology through and through, but for whatever reason, we as a society dont quite seem ready to shed it entirelydespite the fact that weve got approximately 4.3 gablillion better ways to transmit documents, be it via messaging, email, or secure cloud sharing. Heck, you could even ask Gemini or ChatGPT to summon a virtual carrier pigeon and see what sort of nonsense they cough up in response.When the specific request for a fax slaps you back to reality, though, youve got no choice but to figure out some way to make it happen. You certainly wont find any easy options within the apps Google gives you as part of its Workspace productivity suite.But good golly, have I got just the tool for you to tuck away in your virtual toolbox for the next time that need arises.Unearth all sorts of little-known tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. A useful new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday!Free fax, no taxAll rightwell make this fax and furious: The next time you find yourself facing the hilarious but unavoidable demand to send something via fax, an app called HP Smart is the tool you need.HP Smart is a completely free app that looks like a run-of-the-mill interface for futzing around with an HP-made printer. And it is that, on the surfacebut beneath that uninspiring outer layer is a hidden gem of a feature that anyone can take advantage of, whether you have a physical printer in front of you or not. Itll take you about two minutes to figure out and get running the first time, then all of 20 seconds to use after that. You just open up the app on whatever type of device youre usingphone, computer, carrier pigeon, you name itand then:Make your way through the initial setup screens.The app will ask you to sign in with an HP account. Fret not, though, for you can create one right then and there, on the spot, for free.On the apps main screen, find the Mobile Fax option.If you dont see that right awaywhich I didnt, the first time I opened the app on Androidlook for an option to Personalize Tiles at the bottom of the screen. You should then be able to activate the toggle next to Mobile Fax, whichll then cause the missing option to appear.Click or tap that option (or peck it, in the case of a carrier pigeon), then tap the command to compose a new fax.And hey, how bout that? There, in front of your fax-addled face-beak, will be a simple screen for specifying your lucky recipient and selecting exactly what files you want to transmit.Fill out a few fast fields, and poof: HP Smart will send any file or photo as a fax for you.You can select an existing file or photo, if you have a digital version already ready, or you can use the apps built-in camera option to capture a virtual copy of a physical document right then and there. You can even add in your own custom cover page, if youre really feelin wild.Need a cover sheet? Yep: HPs app can handle that, too.And thats pretty much it! Hit that Send Fax button, then just sit back and watch as HP Smart works its retro-tech transforming magic.Youll see your fax being sent right from your phone or computer.Within a matter of moments, youll see confirmation that your fax has been delivered, as a physical sheet of paper somewhere in the real worldall for the ever-reasonable price of precisely $0.The app lets you send faxes to a sprawling list of countries that isnt limited only to the U.S. Its specifically for sending faxes, though; if you for some reason need to receive a fax, please go get your head examined.Sorry. Thems just the faxand nothin but the fax.HP Smart is available as a native app for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.It is completely free to use for now, with no caveats or catches and no credit cards required. Officially, HP says its part of an ongoing trial, but the trial has been running for months with no sign of an imminent end (and if HP does ever decide to start charging for the service, it says itll give 30 days notice before making any such shift).HP promises that faxes sent through its service are confidential, secure, and even compliant with the strict U.S. HIPAA privacy regulations.Get even more productivity-boosting goodness in your inbox with my free Cool Tools newslettera single new standout discovery every Wednesday!