What is IMAP?
IMAP, orInternetMessageAccessProtocol, lets you download messages from our servers onto your computer so you can access your mail with a program like Microsoft Outlook Express or Apple Mail, even when you aren't connected to the Internet.
IMAP creates a constant connection between mail clients (desktop and/or mobile) and your webmail.
What's the difference between IMAP and POP?
Unlike POP, IMAP offers two-way communication between your web Gmail and your email client(s). This means when you log in to webmail using a web browser, actions you perform on email clients and mobile devices (e.g. putting mail in a 'work' folder) will instantly and automatically appear in webmail.
IMAP also provides a better method to access your mail from multiple devices. If you check your email at work, on your mobile phone, and again at home, IMAP ensures that new mail is accessible from any device at any given time.
Finally, IMAP offers a more stable experience overall. Whereas POP is prone to losing messages or downloading the same messages multiple times, IMAP avoids this through two-way syncing capabilities between your mail clients and your web or server email.
If you're trying to decide between using POP and using IMAP with us, we recommend IMAP. However please feel free to discuss this with us to ensure you have the best setup for you.
Note however that IMAP stores the emails on our server therefore over time can take a lot of space. You can copy emails off the server onto another folder on your computer or we have other options, please ask us.
You may wish to use Google Apps if you wish to store lots of email away from your
We can setup this for you.
