My Favorite Techie

Archive for the ‘email’ Category

There are two ways in which to retreive email on your computer or phone, POP3 and IMAP. The questions are always “What is the difference?” and “Why use one over the other?” Here is a brief explanation of the two and when to use them.

POP3

POP stands for Post Office Protocol. This protocol is the older of the two. It is also the most popular choice as it is the most understood.

When mail is sent to you, it is stored on your provider’s mail server. Under the POP method, when you open your email client and download mail, it copies ALL your mail from the server to your computer and then typically deletes it from the mail server unless the option to retain a copy is enabled on your software. This method is fine if you access mail in only one place or don’t need access to previous emails remotely.

IMAP

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. In this method, mail that is stored on a mail server is accessed by the email client as if it is stored locally on the computer. Your software then manipulates the mail, regardless of where you are or what computer you may be using, without having to transfer files back and forth.

This method of email access is great for those who access mail from multiple computers and locations or need access to past and current email messages at all times.  The major difference with IMAP over POP3 is that messages don’t get sprinkled on multiple computers causing confusion. All messages and files REMAIN on the mail server.

As our society moves from single point of email access to multiple points of access, this method is getting more popular. One can setup email on as many computers or mobile devices as they wish and get access to their email from anywhere without loosing anything.

So, which one is better? They both do their job well, but the ultimate reason for choice should be based on how much you rely on your mail and from how many different places and devices.