Is IMAP or POP better for managing email storage on multiple devices?

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Level 1

22 points

Is IMAP or POP better for managing email storage on multiple devices?

Hi sorry if this has been asked before but I couldn't find any reference to what I am struggling with.

My mail provider (Plusnet) is telling me I need to reduce the size of my mailbox. The limit is 1GB and then they want to remove content. They are saying this helps all customers in that one customer is not slowing down the system.

I am using IMAP and apparently this means all my content is held on their servers so if they delete some to reduce the overall size I will lose it.

In our house all mail is visible on all devices and we need to keep it like that.

If I changed to POP mail will be held on my computer but will only be accessible on one device.

Mail comes into the inbox and also into several smart mailboxes set up for important things.

If I allow Plusnet to delete my inbox will the content in the smart mailboxes stay on my computer or will I lose it.

If this is the case are there other ways I can store content that will not be lost.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

josh.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 20, 2025 4:49 AM

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Answer 1

May 20, 2025 5:19 AM in response to Josh 100

Your mail provider is asking you to delete some of the messages still stored on the server, or to move the messages to storage elsewhere. That’s usually messages (and messages with big attachments) in the inbox, and probably also messages in a sent folder, junk or trash folder, and maybe a few other folders.

That elsewhere can be on Mac, on local external storage on a Mac, on hosted storage, or on a network-attached storage device on your local network; most places where files can be stored for months or years..

If you absolutely need all messages accessible on all mail clients, then you will need to pay for more storage on the mail server, or relocate the messages to a different mail server and preferably one with larger storage quotas. (POP definitely won’t do this.)

The usual compromise is to archive older messages into an archive folder (maybe you create a folder on your Mac called “Inbox 2019”, and move all messages in the Inbox folder from 2019 there) and a pass cleaning out the obvious junk, and a pass looking for any messages with large attachments.

IMAP is the appropriate connection for most uses, particularly when there is more than one mail client in use.

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Answer 2

Josh 100 Author

Level 1

22 points

May 24, 2025 5:03 AM in response to MrHoffman

Mr Hoffman. Firstly thank you for your response. Secondly apologies for my delay in responding. I have been having problems signing in to my account, forgotten name and password. I have had the account for many years and was trying to sign in afresh and couldn't find name or password and didn't realise I could respond from the message on the email.

I can see you understand the problem I have very well.

Can I put forward something that you can comment on. I have been wondering if I could have all my messages directed to my iCloud account. I have 5GB of free storage on the apple iCloud account and it would be many years before I exceeded that amount. From what I have read I can put all our email addresses in as an alias. Would this perhaps work in that when my broadband supplier wants to delete stuff from their server the messages would be retained on my cloud account.

Again thanks for your help.

Josh.

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Answer 3

May 24, 2025 7:11 AM in response to Josh 100

Apple doesn’t offer a means to “pull” messages into your Apple email, but some email providers offer rules which can be used to forward to or “push” mail to a different email server. Gmail does offer a means to “pull” messages fro other email servers, but that also means giving your email access credentials to Google.

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Answer 4

Josh 100 Author

Level 1

22 points

May 24, 2025 9:50 AM in response to MrHoffman

Thanks for your response.

I was looking at this page in the Apple iCloud user guide it seems to show what I was talking about. It is very probable that I have not understood it correctly.

I am thinking that if I use my iCloud account I can add my existing email addresses to it as an alias and read and send from my addresses.

Could I have your view please.

Add and manage email aliases for iCloud Mail on iCloud.com – Apple Support (UK) <Add and manage email aliases for iCloud Mail on iCloud.com – Apple Support (UK)

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Answer 5

May 24, 2025 10:42 AM in response to Josh 100

That’s for folks with their own registered domains, and many folks have not registered a domain and then set up the associated email server.

Given your original question around POP and IMAP, and with no offense intended, your having registered a domain and run a mail server seemed unlikely.

If you do have your own hosting and your own mail server configured, then yes, you can forward mail from the mail server, too. Postfix, OpenSMTP, Exchange Server and other common mail servers do have forwarding capabilities.

If you are using Gmail or Yahoo Mail, or an ISP-provided mail service, or similar service, the email hosting providers are just not going to permit you to transfer their domain over to Apple iCloud.

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Answer 6

May 24, 2025 11:08 AM in response to MrHoffman

MrHoffman wrote:

That’s for folks with their own registered domains, and many folks have not registered a domain and then set up the associated email server.

Ah, correction, not the domain-hosting support available with iCloud .

The alias-related support.

No, that alias support won’t work here, either.

Aliases use the Apple-registered domains, not a domain at a third-party.

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Answer 7

Josh 100 Author

Level 1

22 points

May 27, 2025 3:47 AM in response to MrHoffman

Hi. Thanks for all your help.

It looks as though I am just going to have to live with the problem and spend time on plusnet web mail and delete emails.

I was just hoping there might be a way around it as the webmail site has to be the slowest on the internet. Nobody uses it much so it has not been updated forever. This is according to plusnet people not me!

Anyway, many thanks again.

Kind regards.

Josh.

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