Are you stuck halfway while setting up your email account on Outlook or another email client because of terms like IMAP or POP? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
In simplest terms, IMAP and POP are email protocols or message accessing agents. While they both serve the purpose of managing emails and folders in an organized manner, there are important differences to consider before making a choice. We’re listing some of the common factors that you can consider before deciding.
Storage Space
IMAP keeps emails on the mail server, allowing access from multiple devices. If you plan to save up space on your computer or phone, IMAP is the way to go since all emails are stored in the server, it won’t consume any local storage.
POP downloads emails to the local device, removing them from the server. POP is the best way to go about it if your company requires constant email exchanges and you are busy to organize your email on the server ( delete or archive ).
Synchronization Across Devices
IMAP synchronizes email actions across devices, ensuring changes are reflected everywhere. POP doesn’t sync, so actions on one device don’t affect others. With IMAP, if you have two devices that can access the same email, when you read a particular email on your phone, it will also reflect on your laptop that it has been read. Same goes for deleting an email, once you delete it from any devices, it will be removed from the server as well.
Whereas on POP, email are downloaded to local devices and it does not synchronize between devices. This is a great method if you would like to keep personal and work apart and not be distracted. If you first access an email from your laptop, it won’t be available to download on your phone.
Email Accessibility
IMAP provides offline access to previously accessed emails. POP requires an active internet connection to access emails. If you are always on the go and need to constantly have access to your email account, IMAP is the way to go. However, POP is great if you only work from one specific workplace.
Backup
When it comes to backup, IMAP provides ease of mind as every email sent out or received are stored within the server. Unless you delete it or forgot to renew your hosting, the email will always be where it supposed to be.
Whereas with POP, you will need to backup your email manually since emails are downloaded directly to your local device.
You Decide!
All in all, both IMAP and POP has its own functionality and benefits. Whichever you choose will depend on how well you work efficiently and productively.
