IMAP vs POP3 - How to Email in the 21st Century

POP is bad. IMAP is good.

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We made these instructions to help you move your email from POP (which is bad) to IMAP (which is good). While we actually went through each of the email services and clients ourselves and tested everything, each email installation is different and things can go wrong.

For that reason you should always back up your POP email account (we recommend CrashPlan) before converting to IMAP. In fact, it's a good idea to back up your account periodically anyway. This way if the unthinkable happens, you'll be safe and sound. We cannot be held responsible if you lose your email or if any other bad thing happens to you because of instructions you read on our site.