To understand what the differences are between Pop3 and IMAP, first you will discover what each one means, for an e-mail service. What is SMTP And why this service is imported, you will find out from this article.
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Email applications are used on a very large scale on Windows PC, Android smart phones, iPhone and macOS. Almost all mobile operating systems and PC come with a pre-installed e-mail customer. For Windows 10 we have the customer Windows Mail (cu Outlook optional), on macOS is the client Mail al Apple, Android comes with a Mail application in which they can connect both Gmail accounts as well Third accounts of other provider, and so on.
Before we start to I set up an email account for my smartphone, iPhone or on an email client PC (eg. Outlook, Thunderbird, Windows Mai, Apple Mail, etc.), besides the login data: Username, word, server incoming, server outgoing, type of security, we must also understand some terms. SMTP, IMAP and POP3.
What does this mean SMTP?
You noticed that in the steps to add email account in an application, to The server sending messages Required to enter “SMTP server“. This is the address to the Shipment Server Messages. Outgoing.
SMTP comes from Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, and as the name says, it is Standard Protocol sending E-mail messages. Leave SMTP You can't expedia, redirect or retransmitis Messages from a customer / email application (Outlook) to a recipient e-mail server.
So if you start setting up an email account on Outlook, Thunderbird, Android or iOS, when you see “SMTP“, to know that it is only about Shipment messages by email. This protocol is not related to IMAP or POP3, even though most systems use both for SMTP as well as for IMAP or POP3 the same authentication data. User and password.
What does this mean IMAP?
If at SMTP it's about sending email messages when we talk about IMAP We are thinking about receiving / receiving messages on / and from an email server.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) It is the protocol that deals with receiving and managing the messages received from the host server they were received. You will never be able to send email messages through an IMAP server.
The biggest confusion of many is that at the reception server I do not know what to choose between IMAP and POP3.
What does this mean POP3 and what is the difference between IMAP and POP3?
The same as IMAP, the protocol Pop3 is strictly dealing with receiving and managing messages received on e-mail server.
The term “Pop3” It comes from Post Office Protocol, version 3, and the distinction towards IMAP consists in the management of the messages received. Pop3 stores email messages received on the application / e-mail client on your PC or smartphone, after which delete them from the host server, they are stored locally.
Compared to pop3, IMAP stores messages on the host sever And he can synchronize on multiple devices (PC, laptop, smartphone, iPhone), without storing them locally, only if the e-mail customs uses an extension that allows this.
So SMTP is “common denominator” When it comes to the proper functioning of an e-mail account, which wants to send and receive messages. IMAP or POP3 are at the choice of each user, depending on the needs. If you want to add your e-mail account on Mac, iPhone and iPad, then you will definitely use IMAP to be available on all 3 refreshments. A message read on one of the devices will be marked as “read” And the others. The same will happen with the deleted messages, marked as a flag or blocked.
If you use a business address on the laptop or service PC, then Pop3 can be the solution. The messages will be downloaded and store only on a device and will be automatically deleted from the e-mail server, they can be accessed from elsewhere.
