What is the difference between POP and IMAP?

IMAP

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) has many advantages compared to POP3..

• When using the IMAP protocol, all emails and folders are stored on the server. Sent messages are also saved on the server in the Sent Mail folder, and sent emails can be viewed simultaneously in all email clients and webmail.
• Modern IMAP email clients maintain a constant connection with the server and notify the user immediately when a new message arrives. This makes email communication much more efficient and responsive.
• The IMAP protocol allows email clients to download messages in parts. This is especially important for mobile devices, where attachments are downloaded only when requested, helping to save valuable data traffic.
• IMAP allows flags to be attached to each message. For example, messages can be marked as unread, read, replied, forwarded, or deleted.
• The IMAP protocol also supports server-side searches, which means the email client does not need to download all messages in order to perform a search.
• Since mailbox backups are created every night, it is possible to restore emails if needed. The restoration service is paid, and for additional information we recommend contacting our customer support.

POP3

POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) is an email protocol developed in the late 1980s and is becoming outdated by today’s standards.

• The biggest drawback of POP3 is that when messages are downloaded from the server, they are automatically marked as read. This means that if email is accessed from multiple devices (for example, a smartphone), it is not possible to distinguish between read and unread messages.
• A POP3 email client connects to the server periodically rather than maintaining an active connection, which results in delayed notifications of new messages.
• When using POP3, folders are not available while reading email. Virtual folders may exist in the email client, but they do not exist on the server, meaning other email clients cannot see them.
  
  Attention!

  POP3 only accesses messages in the INBOX folder. This also means that POP3 cannot see messages stored in IMAP subfolders. For example, messages moved to the spam folder by a spam filter or messages moved to folders by server-side filters will not be visible.

• There is no information about which messages have been replied to.
• Sent messages are not stored on the server.
• Many POP3 email clients are configured by default to delete messages from the server after a certain period. This means the service provider cannot create backups of the messages because they no longer exist on the server. In such cases, older messages may also not be accessible from other devices, such as a mobile phone.