What is POP3, IMAP and SMTP?

Video – Vlog #04

What is the difference in email protocols, POP3, IMAP and SMTP?

Script – Vlog #04

David Logan: Hi everybody. My name is David Logan, the I.T. geek, explaining technology making it simple for you – the home worker. With me today co-host is …

Willie Nicol: Hello I’m Willie Nicol, I’m the techno dinosaur who needs help from David, although I’m now getting better, I’m now a learning techno dinosaur.

David Logan: Excellent. Excellent. Willie I believe you’ve got a question for me today?

Willie Nicol: I do indeed David and it concerns e-mails. I just know that they work, so I don’t know my POP3 from my IMAP and my SSL from my port. So I’d be really obliged if it can be a brief outline of how the e-mail system works.

David Logan: OK. So let’s start off of POP and IMAP. POP being P-O-P, that stands for post office protocol – POP. IMAP is Internet Message Access Protocol. I-M-A-P. The difference between these two is, Willie, IMAP you get you can see on your mobile phone. You see on your laptop, your computer. What these do is you see the emails on your on your device, but a search on the computer and the cloud. You understand? Yes. Thank you. Yeah. So what is doing is that your device is checking, a server in the cloud and then come back so you get same emails here on your phone, as you do on your computer, Now POP is slightly different. POP, you’re looking for e-mails on your phone. It goes to the computer in the cloud. Downloads those emails onto your phone. Then you can read and reply. Now, if you go to your computer, you won’t see these emails that’s been downloaded. You may see new e-mails which have arrived since you last used your phone. So basically POP is going to download email using the default option with POP as a download these e-mails. In some cases, you can delay, say, leaving the server for 30 days. Does that help you there? The POP and IMAP?

Willie Nicol: Yes, it does. So what I get from that, David, I start with IMAP – you can have your e-mails in the server in the cloud, and they’ll go to any device you want. Your P.C. and your phone. With POP it will send your e-mails to one device only, and then we go to a second device – the same emails won’t be there. Is that correct?

David Logan: That’s correct – by default. Yes.

Willie Nicol: Right.

David Logan: In general, I’m using an e-mail client – trying to be un-technical, you can through an e-mail client, like micorosft outlook, mozilla thunderbird or A.N.other e-mail program. You can see it within the settings – leave email for 30 days, 60 days or 90 days. So when you go to another device, you can still download those same emails.

Willie Nicol: I see. OK. OK.

David Logan: The reverse is SMTP, which is another protocol. So P-O-P and I-M-A-P receive e-mails. S-M-T-P is about sending emails, pushing them out from your device, from your phone, from your computer out to the receiver. S-M-T-P stands for simple mail transfer protocol. S for sierra, M for mike, T for tango and P for papa. Now, in this scenario here, if you’ve got the setup for IMAP. It will save it in the sent folders of the email – on the server. It is setup for I-M-A-P. If you’re set up to download emails and send from your device, you can send from any device, but it will not save on the server.

Willie Nicol: OK

David Logan: Have I confused – are you OK?

Willie Nicol: I’m getting there. Just about.

David Logan: So, with IMAP It’s like Microsoft exchange, which some viewers may hear, may know of as Microsoft 365. It leaves all e-mails on the server, whether you send or receive. SMTP you can send via IMAP and it will save on the server, so if you look at the sent items here on the phone, sent items on the computer – the same sent box – same sent items. POP is different , it’s only what’s been sent from that device, whether it’s a phone, tablet or computer.

Willie Nicol: OK. Yep.

David Logan: Does that answer your question now?

Willie Nicol: Yes, I’m a lot clearer, a lot clearer with it now – with the in, out, the server and the cloud. So that makes more sense to me. Thank you.

David Logan: Any other questions on the email?

Willie Nicol: No, I think that will do me just now – as much information as I can absorb for one day.

David Logan: OK, so we’ll look at ending this video, but to the viewer, if you want to know more, or you want to ask either of us a question, feel free to reach out. Send us a message. Put something down below YouTube, Facebook message us direct message, whatever email we have a website coming soon, It will be up shortly. But it’s bye from me and bye from Wllie.

Willie Nicol: Bye now.