Short answer:
If external images are not displayed in Gmail, email signatures that use hosted images may show as image links or placeholders instead of the actual logo, banner, social icons, or other signature images. In Gmail, this is controlled by the "Always display external images" setting.
Use this guide to understand how Gmail image settings affect email signatures and what to check if signature images do not appear correctly.
Why this happens
Many email signatures use externally hosted images. This can include:
- Company logos
- Campaign banners
- Social media icons
- Certification badges
- Other images loaded from a secure web location
If Gmail is configured to ask before displaying external images, those images may not load automatically. Instead, Gmail may show image placeholders, file links, or missing images in the email body or signature.
Gmail setting that controls external images
In Gmail, users can control whether external images are displayed automatically.
The relevant setting is:
- Always display external images
- Ask before displaying external images
For the best email signature experience, select:
Always display external images
How to update the setting in Gmail
- Open Gmail.
- Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner.
- Click See all settings.
- Go to the General tab.
- Find the Images section.
- Select Always display external images.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.
What users may see when external images are blocked
When Gmail does not automatically display external images, users may notice that:
- The company logo does not appear in the email signature.
- Signature images appear as clickable file links.
- Campaign banners are missing.
- Social icons or other icons are not displayed.
- The signature layout may look incomplete.
Important note about security
Gmail may ask before displaying external images to help protect users from unknown or unwanted image tracking. If your organization uses trusted, centrally managed email signatures, users should allow external images so the signature can render as intended.
For administrators
If several users report missing images in Gmail, ask them to verify the Gmail image setting first. This is especially relevant when:
- Images show correctly for some users but not for others.
- The same signature works in Outlook but not in Gmail.
- Images appear as links instead of visual elements.
- Only hosted images are affected.
If the Gmail setting is correct and images still do not display, check that the image URLs are publicly accessible and use HTTPS.
Related troubleshooting
If images still do not appear after enabling external images, verify the following:
- The image URL opens in a browser without requiring login.
- The image is hosted on a secure HTTPS URL.
- The image has not been deleted or renamed.
- The email client or browser is not blocking images through another security setting.
