POP vs IMAP..should be easy but..

Generally, POP email protocol was meant to download email from the server to local PC once. Therefore, not all devices may even see the email once it's been downloaded by that one device. Is that what you want?

Whereas, IMAP is designed to see the same email from multiple devices as it syncs and caches from the email server.

You may be able to configure your POP email to keep the original email on the server, but will have to know how to do so?

My experience is with pop3 is that the message downloading (and deleting) is controlled by the client, not the server. So if many clients want to download it they can. Then one of the clients can be set to delete as needed. My smaller ISP still only offers pop3 last I checked and I get mail on my phone and home computer no problem.

IMAP stores the email on the server to be “viewed” on the client. If you delete it, it’s gone. I’m not sure how a server offering both would handle it but if one client uses pop3 and downloads a email before the user deletes it on the IMAP machine it would probably work fine.

I use Web Mail. not need to mess with anything. not stored on laptop or phone.

Also more resistant to malware

wa8yxm wrote:
I use Web Mail. not need to mess with anything. not stored on laptop or phone.

Also more resistant to malware

Actually, no. Unless it's corporate email everything is web based from the user perspective. If you open something malicious then you will get infected regardless of the type of email system because you are still opening it locally on your device.

Campfire Time wrote:
Unless it's corporate email everything is web based from the user perspective.

Uh, whut? I use Outlook. I hate webmail.

On the phone look for a POP option to leave a copy of the emails on the server. This way even if she deletes it on the phone the other devices should still see it. Test before actually working with valuable messages just to be sure it works as intended.

IMAP: email is left on the server. If you delete an email (using any device) then that email is gone for good.

POP: email is downloaded to the your machine - BUT only that one machine. AND the email is left on the server so that it can be downloaded again by another machine.

Your email client (such as Thunderbird) can be set to leave the POP email on the server forever, or, to delete the email after a set certain period of time.

Warning: if you use POP and leave email on the server without a time limit, AND then use a new machine (such as a laptop) to download emails - it will retrieve all emails left on that server from the beginning of time.

You might like POP if you don't have a firm grasp on it.

Your email client can also be set to Delete the message from the server when downloaded.

fj12ryder wrote:
Your email client can also be set to Delete the message from the server when downloaded.

That doesn't sound right to me. Yes, if you delete the email it's deleted from the server, but if using Outlook or something similar it's still available locally.

One of the options you have is to have the messages deleted from the server when you download them rather than keep them on the server. They'll be available on your computer, but deleted from the remote server. Looks something like "Delete received messages from Server". You have a copy on your machine, but no where else.

As was mentioned you can leave the messages on the server and have them deleted later, when you prefer.