Visnovo Knowledge Base - The difference between POP3 and IMAP

We can easily create e-mail addresses at Visnovo and configure them in the e-mail client of your choosing!

When configuring your email address, you will be asked to choose between the protocols POP3 and IMAP. Depending on which protocol you choose, email will either be saved directly to your device or kept on the email server.

POP3

POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol, where 3 is the version number. This protocol allows you to retrieve email like you used to do at the post office. You start by identifying yourself, after which the postal worker checks if there is new mail for you. The postal worker then supplies you with all the mail that was waiting on you.

Your email client essentially does the same with POP3. The client connects to the email server (post office), tells the server for which email address its retrieving email (identification), after which the email server supplies you with new messages (your mail).

Your messages will now be present in your email client and are no longer present on the email server. Because of the nature of POP3, using an email address configured with POP3 on multiple devices is not recommended. When retrieving emails on one device, it will no longer be present on the email server but only on that device. Afterwards, those emails can not be viewed on the other device.

Most email clients have an option to save a copy of emails on the email server when using POP3.

Note: When you delete emails while saving copies on the email server, the emails will be deleted on all devices and the email server.

Use the following information to configure an email address with POP3:
Incoming mail server

Server mail.yourdomain.tld
Port: 995
SSL Enabled
Username: Your email address
Password: The password for the email address

Outgoing mail server

Server mail.yourdomain.tld
Port: 465
SSL Enabled
Username: Your email address
Password: The password for the email address

IMAP

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is useful for reading e-mails on multiple devices, especially with the rise of mobile devices like smart phones and tablets. The content of your mailbox will be the same on each device that is using IMAP.

Every incoming, read and sent e-mail can be viewed anywhere, because the e-mails will be saved on the email server. Another advantage of IMAP is that when one of your devices is no longer working, the e-mail will still be safely located on the email server.

When using IMAP, only the sender and subject of the e-mail will be shown at first. Once you click on the message, the entire message will be retrieved from the server, but at the same time the message will remain on the email server.

What IMAP does is make a copy of the message on the server and places this message on the device you're retrieving email with. On top of that, your email software will maintain an open connection with the email server so new e-mails will be automatically retreived.

Note: When you delete an e-mail on a device that's using IMAP, the email will also be deleted on other devices (including the e-mail that is located on the email server).

Use the following information to configure an email address with POP3:

Incoming email server

Server mail.yourdomain.tld
Port: 993
SSL Enabled
Username: Your email address
Password: The password for the email address

Outgoing mail server

Server mail.yourdomain.tld
Port: 465
SSL Enabled
Username: Your email address
Password: The password for the email address

In this article we discussed the difference between POP3 and IMAP.

If you still have questions after reading this article, please contact our support department.