email protocols

Email protocols are sets of rules that allow emails to be sent and received across the internet. The main protocols are SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), which sends and forwards emails from your device to the email server, and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) or POP3 (Post Office Protocol) for retrieving emails from the server to your device. SMTP handles outgoing messages, while IMAP and POP3 retrieve incoming messages. IMAP allows you to see emails stored on the server across devices, whereas POP3 downloads emails to your device and removes them from the server. These protocols work together to ensure smooth email communication.