• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

To POP Or To IMAP, That Is The Question

Anyone who uses POP to retrieve e-mail from a mobile device knows that not everything you do on your phone is reflected in your account online. Google feels your pain, and wants you to know that IMAP can save you the hassle of re-performing actions when you log in from your PC.

I have to say, IMAP is the best. I used to access my Gmail via standard POP systems. It was useful for reading messages, but often times the things you did on your phone weren't carried over to your online account. Once Google started offering IMAP on mobile phones, I enabled it and have been a happy e-mail reader since.

Google spells out the differences:

1. A one-way communication path (POP). Your device asks us for data and pulls it from our servers -- but that's it. Things you do on your device have no effect on the server. If you read a message on your phone, then log in to Gmail, you will see that same message marked as unread. It may start to feel like Groundhog Day.

2. A two-way communication path (IMAP). Unlike with POP, your devices talk back to our servers and sync your changes automatically with IMAP. When you sign in to your Gmail account in a Web browser, actions you've taken on your e-mail client or mobile device (like putting a message in a "work" folder) will also appear in Gmail (your message already will have a "work" label on it). This all happens automatically once you set up IMAP, so you don't have to read or sort all your mail twice. This is really helpful when accessing Gmail from multiple devices.

I definitely agree with that last statement. I access my e-mail from multiple devices and platforms constantly. It would be utterly infuriating if I had to see all the same messages marked "unread" and have to wade through them again to find the items I truly haven't read.

IMAP is all well and good, but it can be a little bit of a pain in the rear for your average person to figure out. The process involves enabling IMAP online in your Gmail account settings, as well as enabling it on your devices. Thankfully, Google offers up tutorials how to enable IMAP on most smartphones in its "How To" section.

From start to finish, it shouldn't take you more than about 10 minutes to figure out. Once you do, you'll be much happier, I promise.

« If You Have No Privacy, Don't Blame Microsoft | Main | Cisco Delivers On Open Promise »