The benefits of IMAP over POP3 when setting up an email account:

by | Aug 11, 2022 | Email Hosting

Introduction

As the title suggest we will have a look at IMAP v POP3 as the email protocol that will suit you best.

If you’ve ever used an email client like Outlook or Gmail, then you already know what POP3 and IMAP are. If not, don’t worry! Here’s the breakdown: POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol 3 and is a standard for downloading emails from an email server to your computer or phone. IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol and is a more advanced version of POP3 that stores your messages on the server instead of your computer. This makes it easier to access them from multiple devices because they’re always in one place—the cloud! So let’s have a look at IMAP v POP3 in everyday use

Download your messages and access it from any Email client from several different devices.

An IMAP email account lets you download your messages and access it from any Email client and access your emails from several different devices such as:

  • PC or Mac Email Client
  • Mobile phone, tablet, or other device (Android, iOS, Windows Phone)
  • Browser (Chrome, EDGE, Firefox and many more)

Send emails from multiple devices.

IMAP lets you send emails from multiple devices.

If you use the same email address on multiple devices, then an IMAP account allows you to access those messages directly with any device.

All your mail kept on the server.

IMAP keeps all of your mail on the server. With POP3, the messages are downloaded to your computer and then deleted from the server. This can cause problems if you forget to delete an old message on your computer before deleting it from the server (or vice versa). If you have lots of email, this can reduce performance because each time you get a new message on a POP3 account, it has to be downloaded by software provided by your ISP or provider.

Keep your business emails up-to-date across multiple devices and users

IMAP is the best way to keep your business email up-to-date across multiple devices and users. Unlike POP3, which only keeps a copy of your emails on your device, IMAP keeps all of your mail—including sent messages—on the server. This means that if an employee leaves for the day, her message history will still be available for other employees to access in their own inboxes.

Additionally, IMAP allows users from anywhere in the world to access the same set of emails from multiple devices at once. For example, if you’re checking work email on a laptop but need to grab something quickly while waiting at the airport gate currently without internet access, you can log into your account through Gmail or another web portal with ease and send off any additional messages needed until you get back home again later that night (or even tomorrow morning).

Conclusion

With IMAP, all of your business emails are always synced with the server and you can access them from any device. It’s easy to set up and is great for companies that need email access on multiple devices or users who want to be able to check their email on different machines at once. I think in the IMAP v POP3 battle IMAP is by far the best option.

Eitel Bock
Latest posts by Eitel Bock (see all)