IMAP servers play a crucial role in modern email communication.
They facilitate managing and synchronizing your email on multiple devices and email clients.
Meaning that:
If you make changes to your email account on one device, your email account will be synced on other devices.
Here’s how it works 👷
Upon sending an email, the first protocol in action is SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). SMTP takes the email from the sender to the sending server and then to the receiving IMAP server.
The recipient can then connect to the IMAP server to manage their email.
Typically, you must add your email service provider's IMAP server to your email client.
However, suppose you're using a Gmail email address with the Gmail interface. In that case, this is unnecessary because the email client is already connected to it due to not using external email services.
But if you want to use an external email address with the Gmail interface, you’ll have to add the IMAP server of the external ESP to Gmail.
For example, if you want to use a different email client to manage your email, you can use Gmail’s IMAP server:
imap.gmail.com
An IMAP server typically uses two ports: 143 and 993.
Port 143 is the default port but does not offer any encryption. Port 993 is used for secure connections through TLS/SSL encryption.
Pros and Cons of using an IMAP server ➕➖
IMAP has some distinct advantages over older protocols like POP3.
Pros
- ➡️ Synchronization across all your devices and applications: Check and manage your email everywhere there’s an internet connection
- ➡️ Selective downloading: IMAP initially only downloads the header of emails, saving you bandwidth and space. Entire messages can be downloaded if you so wish.
- ➡️ Folder management: IMAP allows you to create and modify folders on the IMAP server, meaning everything will be synced perfectly
Cons
- ➡️ Server dependence: Though IMAP does offer offline access for email clients (any changes will get synced upon reconnection), users may experience issues when a server is having troubles or is unstable.
- ➡️ Storage limits: Exceeding the limits set by your email provider could lead to issues when sending and receiving emails
- ➡️ Security vulnerabilities: Because the emails are stored on servers, the information is more vulnerable to security breaches
Here to stay
Even though the digital realm develops exponentially fast, IMAP will be around for a lot longer.
Its pros outweigh its cons, and it fits perfectly in the modern world, where everybody seems to be connected to the cloud.
If you still have a hard time understanding IMAP, don’t worry. We’ve created a post that goes more in-depth on what IMAP is.
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