When you set up email in an app, you are usually asked to choose between IMAP and POP. The choice affects how your mail behaves across devices, so it is worth understanding. For almost everyone, IMAP is the better option. This guide explains why.
What IMAP does #
IMAP keeps your mail on the server and syncs it to every device. Read a message on your phone and it shows as read on your laptop; delete it in one place and it is gone everywhere. Your mailbox is always consistent.
What POP does #
POP downloads messages to one device and, by default, removes them from the server. This means your mail lives on that single device and is not synced elsewhere, which can cause messages to seem to disappear from other devices.
Which should you choose? #
- Choose IMAP if you check email on more than one device, or want your mail safely on the server. This is right for almost everyone.
- Choose POP only if you deliberately want mail pulled down to one machine, for example for offline archiving.
Recommended IMAP settings #
- Incoming (IMAP): your mail server, port 993, SSL.
- Outgoing (SMTP): your mail server, port 465, SSL.
- Username: your full email address.
A note on storage #
Because IMAP keeps mail on the server, it uses your mailbox quota. If it fills up, archive or delete old messages, or increase your quota.
Need help? #
If you are unsure which to use or how to set it up, our support team can help over live chat.
