What are IMAP and POP3 protocols?

IMAP and POP3 are currently to most popular internet protocols for email. They allow your email client to establish a connection with your email account. In order words, they make it possible to send emails. Have you ever wondered what POP3 and IMAP are? Enjoy your reading!

Why should you use IMAP?

IMAP Internet Message Access Protocol) is responsible for synchronizing and receiving emails between a mail client and email account. IMAP replaced POP3, providing users with fast synchronization and stable connection to their email account, regardless of the type of email programme they use.

The biggest advantage of IMAP is the ability to synchronize all folders of messages between various email clients, both the browser, desktop and mobile ones.

Moreover, IMAP allows multiple users to use a single mailbox at the same time, which is particularly useful for companies which communicate with their clients or contractors via one common email account (e.g. a mailbox used by the office).

Take a look at these articles as well: How to set up your own email account?

Difference between POP3 and IMAP

Unlike POP3, IMAP email allows you to manage multiple email folders along with the messages inside them. POP3 makes it possible only to download all missed messages and to delete them.

IMAP, however, allows you also to download message headers without having to download the content and attachments. Since only the header is downloaded, the email runs much faster and doesn’t take up so much data transfer as POP3.

Another important difference is that the emails read on IMAP account are still stored on the server, whereas in the case of POP3, such messages and transferred to the device and removed from the server at the same time.

How to configure your email client to use IMAP?

Setting your email account to use IMAP is very simple. You just have to log into your email programme, go to settings and find a section, where you can set POP/IMAP redirection and enable IMAP. The process of setting up IMAP is the same for every e‑mail client.

However, if you email client doesn’t work after enabling IMAP, check of you should change the SMTP server settings or other settings in your mail programme.

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