Open & download attachments in Gmail

When you get an email with an attachment, you can download the attachment to your device.

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Download an attachment

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
2. Open a message.
3. At the bottom of the message, in the attachment, tap Download .
   • At the top of your device’s screen, a notification appears.
4. To open the attachment, tap the notification.

Tip: Attachments save to a download folder on your device. Learn how to find files on Android.

Add an attachment to Google Drive

Important: You can’t add certain attachments to Google Drive. Learn about files you can store in Drive.

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
2. Open a message.
3. At the bottom of the message, in the attachment, tap Save to Drive .
4. Optional: Update the attachment’s name and location in Drive.
5. At the top right, tap Save.

Download a photo in an email

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
2. Open a message.
3. At the bottom of the message, in the photo, tap:
   • Download : Save the image to your device.
   • Save to Drive : Add the photo to Google Drive.
   • Save to Photos : Add the photo to Google Photos.

Tip: If a photo is in the message, not as an attachment, you can save the photo:

1. Tap and hold the photo.
2. Tap View image.
3. At the top right, tap More options .
4. To save, in the menu, select an option.

Learn about suspicious attachments

To protect your account from potential viruses and harmful software, Gmail notifies you about suspicious attachments in the email. An attachment may be suspicious because:

• The attachment allows unverified scripts: We can't confirm that the message's attachments are safe to open. If you open the attachments, there's a chance malicious software will run on your computer or device.
• The attachment is encrypted: Some attachments, like documents that require a password to open, are encrypted and can't be scanned for viruses.
• The attachment includes emails (.eml): While we check the message and .eml attachments for spam and viruses, we can't confirm that the sender in the .eml files actually sent those emails. Learn more about authentication.

If the email looks suspicious, don't reply and don't download the attachment. You can:

• Report spam in Gmail
• Report abuse from a Gmail account

If the email is from someone you know and trust, ignore the warning.

Related resources

• Send attachments with your Gmail message
• Send Google Drive attachments in Gmail