The differences between POP and IMAP accounts

Hello,

Many e-mail users have the option to connect to their e-mail account using either POP or IMAP, but which one is best for you? The following lists provide the information you need to decide the best way for you to connect to your e-mail account.

Pop Accounts:

• E-Mail is stored on your computer.
• You must wait for mail to download before you can read it.
• E-mail can be deleted from the server when downloaded and may not be available if you check your e-mail from more than one computer.
• Mail folders that you create are stored on your computer.
• Pop accounts can become corrupted resulting in messages being downloaded multiple times to your computer.

IMAP Accounts:

• E-Mail is stored on the server.
• You do not need to download all e-mail before you can begin reading new messages.
• More than one computer can access the account at the same time.
• Mail folders that you create can be stored on the server and be accessed by all of your e-mail clients.
• You can use any computer to cleanup your inbox and mail folders for all computers.
• IMAP accounts become corrupted far less often than POP accounts.

I hope you find this information helpful in deciding between using POP or IMAP.

-Raymond