Outlook for Android Gains Age-Old POP3 Protocol Compatibility With New Update

POP3 protocol saves messages on to the device, and deletes them from the server.

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 17 September 2019 18:22 IST

Outlook for Android Gains Age-Old POP3 Protocol Compatibility With New Update

Microsoft Outlook gets support for an old protocol

Highlights

POP3 protocol has been around since 1988
The protocol doesn’t let you save messages in the server
Email users on multiple devices should stick to IMAP or Exchange

Microsoft Outlook has received a update on Android, and the update brings support for the age-old POP3 protocol. This protocol has been around since 1988, and modern email clients these days stick to IMAP protocol or Exchange commonly. POP3 protocol saves messages on to the device, and deletes them from the server. This doesn't let you sync mails on multiple devices, which means if messages are downloaded on your computer, they won't show up on your mobile phone – and vice versa.

In any event, Microsoft must think that adding POP3 support is essential, and that is why the latest update brings the protocol support. It could prove to be useful for users who are paranoid about their data being saved on the cloud. This update bumps the Microsoft Outlook app to version 4.0.7, and the size of the update should vary with size.

As mentioned, most existing email platforms rely on Exchange or IMAP to save content onto the servers. This enables them to sync emails and messages on all devices that the user is logged onto. Users often check emails on their smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other devices, and these protocols allow them to be up to date on their communications.

POP3 protocol, on the other hand, downloads messages onto the device and removes them from the server. But of course, Outlook has added POP3 compatibility, because some functions may not work with IMAP. In any event, wide compatibility on any app is always welcome. We still recommend users to not make the switch to POP3 (unless you absolutely want to!), and stick to Exchange or IMAP protocols for their email configurations.

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