IMAP and POP are the two primary protocols used by email clients for retrieving and storing emails.
IMAP (Internet Messaged Access Protocol)
IMAP Is the newest protocol, the advantages of using IMAP are that you can access email seamlessly over multiple devices with ease, and is recommended for almost all users. IMAP Keeps a copy on your mail on the server at all times which is useful as a backup measure.
Anything you do on one device such as moving emails, creating folders, sending email, or deleting, will automatically apply to the server as well, so replicated on any device you have connected to the account. The largest problem with IMAP the amount of email kept on the server, as quotas can be reached and mail will be refused if this is the case.
POP (Post Office Protocol)
When using POP your email client will connect to your server and download mail in full to the device which first access it, removes it from the server and closes the connection. Once properly accessed from one device, the message won’t be available on any other devices. Should you lose or damage this device you risk losing the only copy of those emails.
Using POP will also mean that issues with mailboxes being full should no longer occur. POP causes issues when you are trying to access from more than one device, as the email will no longer be present on the server.
Can I use different protocols on different devices?
While it is possible to use a combination of POP and IMAP, but should you? No. While this is physically possible, it is strongly recommended against as it is likely that you will experience problems with missing emails.
Which protocol is best for me?
IMAP if…
You are using multiple devices to access email.
You want access to your email at any times on any device anywhere in the world.
Local backups are unavailable/unreliable, as IMAP is backed up on our servers.
POP if…
You only access mail from one device
Email access is required when offline
You are concerned about quotas on your mailboxes
You are using our services as a POP box
