What is the difference between imap and pop mail

Pop3 vs. IMAP: Which is better? Can't find what you're looking for? Contact our support team now. Open a Support Ticket. Live Chat. Last Name. How can we help you? It is fast. It is slower as compared to POP3. A user can not search the content of mail before downloading to the local system. A user can search the content of mail for specific string before downloading. It has two modes : delete mode and keep mode. Skip to content. Change Language. Related Articles. Table of Contents. Do you know which one to choose, and why?

If you aren't sure what these terms stand for and how each affects your email account, don't worry. POP and IMAP are both protocols used for retrieving email from an email server so you can read messages on your device. They're used when connecting to your email account from a desktop email app , like Thunderbird, Outlook, Apple Mail, Spark, or similar. You don't need to worry about these email protocols when you use webmail such as Gmail. It was created in as a way to download emails from a remote server.

While POP4 has been proposed, it's been dormant for a long time. Instead of simply 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 way, IMAP is effectively a form of cloud storage.

When using POP, the email client first connects to the email server. Once it's successfully connected, it grabs all the mail on the server. It then stores this mail locally on your device so you can access it in your email client. Sent items cannot be synchronized using POP and can only be saved on the device from which they originated.

Having the ability for emails to be pushed to your device as they arrive. Instead, your device must be set up to automatically check your email server periodically to see if new messages have been received.

Having special folders created or settings set on one device available on all devices using that email account. Using POP, users must manually create or set these individually on all their devices.

With IMAP accounts, messages are stored in a remote server. Users can log in via multiple email clients on computers or mobile device and read the same messages. All changes made in the mailbox will be synced across multiple devices and messages will only be removed from the server if the user deletes the email.