IMAP and POP3 are two important protocols when setting up a third-party email, so if you’ve ever done so, you’ve had to decide between the two.
Therefore, it is important to know the differences between the two and which one can best be adapted to the needs of each account. In this article we tell you, keep reading!
What is IMAP and POP3?
IMAP is the most used protocol and its main feature is that it consults emails directly to the server, and you may wonder, and what does this mean?
This means that emails are synchronized and saved on the server, without problems if they are used on different devices.
As for the POP3 email protocol, it connects to the server on which they are hosted and downloads them all to the device on which the account is configured.
This allows you to read them without an internet connection. Here there are usually two options, when downloaded, delete them from the server or keep them.
Differences between them
The main difference between the two is where email messages are stored . Therefore, POP3 stores emails on your computer or mobile and IMAP leaves them on the server.
Advantages and disadvantages of each
| IMAP | POP3 | |
| Advantages | · Emails are hosted on the server · From any device you can access emails · Biridectional communication (mail changes are reflected on the server) · Emails can be recovered | · You will have greater privacy · You can read emails without an internet connection · You may have little storage on the server |
| Disadvantages | · You need more server space · Emails will not work well without internet | · There is a danger of losing emails. · Communication is not birideccional · Does not work well from multiple devices |
Now you know what each of them means, how they work and the advantages and disadvantages they have, tell us, which of the two do you choose?
