Definition
💡 Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3) lets you have access to your inbox. Unlike IMAP, which stores the messages on your mail server, POP3 downloads the emails from the server to your computer. By default, this protocol deletes the stored messages from the server’s inbox afterward.
Example
When you check your email using the POP3 protocol, a copy is created and stored on a single device. This lets you view the email even if you’re offline.
What is a POP3 account?
A Post Office Protocol that uses Version 3 is a type of email account that allows users to access their messages from a single device. This means you don’t need to access your emails from different devices/locations.
What service is provided by POP3?
This protocol allows you to access your emails offline. With it, you can also:
- Send and store bulk emails
- Retrieve emails from a mail server and download them to a local client
- Use a single dedicated device to access your email account
- Access emails even with a slow internet connection because the protocol is more efficient with bandwidth usage
With this protocol, you can’t create or make changes to the message on the email server. However, the protocol is easy to use and requires less storage space. Different email applications also support POP3.
Which port is used to connect to a POP3 server?
POP3 works with the following ports:
- Port 110 – This is the default, non-encrypted port.
- Port 995 – This port works over TLS/SSL and is recommended if you want to use the protocol securely.
What is personal POP3?
This requires you to create a POP3 account with your preferred email provider. You’ll then need to connect to a POP3 server. With a personal protocol, you can:
- Retrieve emails from a remote server.
- Store messages on your local device.
You’ll need to configure your email client so it connects to the POP3 server. Here are some drawbacks you should note:
- You can’t mark messages as “Read” on different devices.
- The protocol can’t synchronize sent items. This means you can’t send messages using multiple devices.
- You must set up a dedicated device to automatically check your email server.
- You must manually create folders. If you organize your emails on one of your devices, you’ll have to undergo the same process if you also want organized messages on a different device.
