What is IMAP- Internet Messaging Access Protocol

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IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol) is an Internet standard that describes a protocol for retrieving messages from an email server. IMAP allows you to access your email messages wherever you are; most of the time, it is accessed through the Internet. With IMAP, you can sync applications across multiple computers that access the same email account to see the same status and messages.

IMAP Helps to Synchronize Email Message

Basically, email messages are typically stored & organized in folders on an email server. Every time you check your inbox, your email client communicates with the server to connect it with your messages.

Using IMAP, when you read an email message, you're not actually downloading or storing it on your computer. Alternately, read it from the server. This makes it possible to check your email from multiple different devices without missing a thing.

IMAP & Other Email Protocols

IMAP is a modern & higher standard for storing and receiving email than POP (Post Office Protocol). Accordingly, POP is simple to implement & more stable and trustworthy than IMAP. POP works by contacting your email server and downloading all your new messages from it. When we downloaded them once, they vanish from the server.

Unlike POP, IMAP allows you to access, organize, read, and sort your email messages without having to download them first. Therefore, IMAP is very fast and efficient. The server also keeps track of all the messages you send, so you can access your sent messages from anywhere. IMAP does not move messages from the server to your computer; Instead, the emails on your computer are synced with the emails on the server.

We cannot send emails by IMAP, To send email, you must configure your client to also use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

What are the Advantages of IMAP?

Even without an email client, IMAP can be accessed on the Internet. Since all changes take place in one central location, the state of emails and folders is preserved between sessions, even if the user changes computers. Folder actions, read/unread status, and other manipulations appear the same on any computer, anywhere. This means email can be accessed from any computer at any time, and folders and message status are in sync. Since emails only exist in the IMAP protocol on the server, they are secure, unlike POP3, if the computer is lost or destroyed.

What are the Disadvantages of IMAP?

Advanced features of IMAP’s make it more complex & thus some hosts don’t support the protocol. It is difficult to implement. IMAP mail is only available when you are connected and is not available offline. Also, some email programs have difficulty supporting IMAP, although browser-based solutions are often available

Programmers may encounter difficulties with partial implementations and private extensions, as well as bugs and glitches; and users may find email slow and sometimes unreliable.

What are IMAP Extensions?

IMAP allows extensions to the protocol & single commands contained within it. Many of the IMAP extensions have been defined or implemented. These are the most popular are listed below:

  • IDLE - It allows real-time notifications of received emails.

  • SORT – It sorts the messages on the server so that the email program can receive some of them without downloading.

  • THREAD allows email clients to retrieve related messages without downloading all emails in a folder.

  • CHILDREN implements a folder hierarchy.

  • ACL (Access Control List) establishes rights for single users on each IMAP folder.

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