What is the difference between an IMAP and a POP mail account?
Without going into all of the technical aspects between the two here is the simple version. Both IMAP and POP are different protocols for handling e-mail. What is meant by protocol is that IMAP deals with e-mail in a different way than POP does. Let’s explore what each does. POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is very simple. When the the POP e-mail server receives an e-mail it stores that e-mail on the server and waits you to request it. You request the e-mail from the server when you open your e-mail program (e.g., Outlook) and hit the Send/Receive button. When you press the Send/Receive button your e-mail program says to the server “do you have any mail? If yes, send it to me.” When the POP server receives this request from your e-mail program it sends the entire message to your e-mail program. Once the POP server has sent the e-mail to your e-mail program it does not have the message on the server anymore unless you specifically tell it to keep a copy. POP is basically a flow
