How Do You Know if You Have Imap or Pop?

When you set up upward an electronic mail client or app, you'll come across the terms Popular and IMAP. Practise you know which one to choose, and why? If you aren't sure what these terms represent and how each affects your email business relationship, don't worry.

Below, nosotros explicate how these protocols work, the differences between POP and IMAP, and how to decide which i best fits your needs.

Popular vs. IMAP: The Basics

Popular and IMAP are both protocols used for retrieving email from an e-mail server and so y'all can read messages on your device. They're used when connecting to your electronic mail account from a desktop email app, like Thunderbird, Outlook, Apple Postal service, Spark, or similar. You don't need to worry about these email protocols when you use webmail (such equally Gmail.com), because the service handles it all for you.

POP stands for Mail service Office Protocol, and is the older of the two. Information technology was created in 1984 as a manner to download emails from a remote server. Ii revisions that added some enhancements, called POP2 and POP3, followed in subsequently years. POP3 is still the current version of the protocol, though this is often shortened to simply POP. While POP4 has been proposed, it's been dormant for a long time.

IMAP, or Internet Bulletin Access Protocol, was designed in 1986. Instead of just retrieving emails, it was created to allow remote access to emails stored on a remote server. The current version is IMAP4, though most interfaces don't include the number.

The primary difference is that Pop downloads emails from the server for permanent local storage, while IMAP leaves them on the server while caching (temporarily storing) emails locally. In this style, IMAP is effectively a form of cloud storage.

The Workflow Differences Betwixt Popular and IMAP

To properly compare Pop and IMAP, let's expect at a simplified version of how they each work.

The Popular Workflow

When using POP, the electronic mail client first connects to the email server. Once information technology's successfully continued, it grabs all the mail on the server. It then stores this mail service locally on your device then you can access it in your electronic mail client. Finally, it deletes the mail service in question from the email server before disconnecting. This means that the messages then just exist on the device you downloaded them to.

Annotation that while POP volition delete mail from the server by default, a lot of POP setups allow you to exit copies of your email on the server. This tin be useful if you're worried about losing your mail service, but if your mail provider doesn't offer much server space, it tin cause you to run out rapidly.

How IMAP Works

IMAP works a piffling differently than Pop. Subsequently it connects to the email server, information technology fetches whatever content you requested, similar all new email or the contents of a specific message. This is cached locally, and so you tin can work on your device. Once you brand changes to your electronic mail, such as deleting messages or sending a new email, the server processes and saves these changes, then disconnects.

IMAP is a piddling more complex than POP, but the biggest aspect to remember is that all changes with IMAP happen on the server. Y'all aren't downloading local copies of all your messages; you lot're using the email client to manage the email stored on the server. The simply data stored on your device (unless you lot explicitly download something) are cached copies for efficiency.

Pros and Cons of POP and IMAP

Now that you know how they each work, what are the benefits and drawbacks of using POP or IMAP?

Advantages and Disadvantages of POP

Popular was designed for a simpler time when you lot only needed to access your electronic mail from i device. In those days, abiding internet access also wasn't common, so Popular made sense for punch-up connections where yous got online, did what you lot needed, and then disconnected. It thus has the post-obit pros:

Mail is stored locally, and then information technology's always accessible fifty-fifty without an internet connection.
An cyberspace connection is needed only for sending and receiving mail. Managing information technology works fine offline.
It saves server storage space, since old messages are deleted from the server automatically.
You lot take the option to get out copy of mail on the server, giving flexibility if needed.
If you lot like, it's possible to consolidate multiple email accounts and servers into i inbox.

POP has some advantages in specific situations, but it's largely outdated today. Information technology's not designed for checking electronic mail from multiple devices, so you lot can experience issues even if you leave a copy of email on the server. For example, if yous delete an e-mail on ane device, that deletion doesn't sync to the server, so other devices will nonetheless have that message. And since each device downloads every message from the server, information technology's easy to end up with a bunch of duplicates and not know what you've already dealt with.

Downloading every message from your Pop account can use upwards a lot of infinite on your device, depending on how much post you have. A lot of Pop utilize today is to access mailboxes provided by your ISP, web hosting visitor, or similar, which tend to suffer from extremely express storage.

Advantages and Disadvantages of IMAP

As mentioned earlier, IMAP was created to allow remote access to emails stored on a remote server. The idea is to allow multiple clients to manage the aforementioned inbox, which is in line with how most people use email today. So whether you log in from your domicile or piece of work estimator, you lot will e'er encounter the same emails and binder structure, since they are stored on the server. All changes you brand are immediately synced to the server, so you don't take to worry about confusing duplicated inboxes.

Equally a result, IMAP has the following advantages:

Postal service is stored on the remote server, so it'due south accessible from multiple devices.
All changes are tracked on the server, preventing duplicate inboxes, sent messages existing on just ane device, and similar issues.
Faster overview, as but headers are downloaded until content is explicitly requested.
Mail is automatically backed up, as long every bit the server is managed properly.
Saves local storage space by non requiring your figurer to download all messages.
You take the selection to store mail locally if needed.

While an internet connection is needed to access postal service using IMAP, it's still possible to work offline and sync changes when you're back online. The only major drawback of IMAP, which is also a trouble with POP, is that most email providers offer a limited amount of infinite. Thus, you may demand to clean out your email ofttimes if yous have lots of messages in your account.

Pop vs. IMAP: What'southward Right for Me?

In almost every example, we recommend IMAP over POP today. There'south a good chance that you'll want to access your email from at to the lowest degree ii devices, and doing so with POP is a huge headache. Since every email service worth its salt supports both, at that place are no compatibility concerns.

Nevertheless, if you lot're still not sure, beneath are a few points to help yous make up one's mind whether to utilise IMAP or Pop:

Choose POP if:

You only access your post from a single device, and never plan to access information technology from another.
You need constant access to all your email.
Your don't have a consequent connection to the internet.
You lot have limited server storage.

Choose IMAP if:

Y'all want to access your email from multiple devices.
Yous have a reliable and constant internet connection.
You desire to receive a quick overview of new emails or emails on the server.
Your local storage space is limited.
You are worried almost bankroll your emails up.

What Well-nigh Microsoft Exchange?

While Popular and IMAP are supported by every modern email service, you lot've probable seen another entry when setting up mail: Microsoft Exchange. Besides called Commutation ActiveSync, this option uses Microsoft'due south Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) to fetch email and other data so your mail service client can read information technology. In addition to email, MAPI can sync other data like calendars and contacts.

If you use Outlook on your computer at work, or if your visitor has email powered by Microsoft 365, you'll utilise Substitution for your email protocol. Information technology's similar to IMAP in functionality, merely is more specific to Microsoft's services.

POP and IMAP: Your Mail, Delivered

It's important to know how Pop and IMAP work so yous can make the right choice for your email needs. Retrieve that if you use webmail, the service handles all this, so you don't have to think nigh information technology. But side by side time you set up a new email app on your phone or computer, you lot'll know how both of these protocols handle mail. IMAP is nearly always the right choice, unless y'all accept some specific reason to get with Pop.

At that place'southward a lot more than to learn about how email works, including the security measures built into modern messaging.

7 Common Email Security Protocols Explained

How practise ISPs and webmail services protect email users? Here's how the seven electronic mail security protocols keep your messages condom.

How Do You Know if You Have Imap or Pop?

Popular vs. IMAP: The Basics