Google ends POP support for gmail

Google has officially announced that it will end POP (Post Office Protocol) support for Gmail in January 2026.

I'll explain what POP support is and how to respond.

♦︎ POP stands for Post Office Protocol, and it is one of the long-standing mechanisms for loading emails.

♦︎ A function that allows you to check emails from other companies at once in one place called Gmail is Gmail's "POP Receiving Function (Check Emails from Other Accounts)".

♦︎ Google has decided to end the import function in the old POP in order to unify into a new mechanism, such as the IMAP method, which is more convenient and secure.


🛠️ How to respond
We will explain whether this end of POP support is relevant to you and how to deal with it.

1. Check if it relates to you!
It will affect you if you usually use it in the following ways.

✅ Who is likely to be affected
• People who open the Gmail screen (web version or app) and receive a bunch of emails from non-Gmail email addresses (e.g., provider, school, or private domain emails).

• This is if you are using a function called "Check emails from other accounts" in "Accounts and Import" in Gmail's "Settings".

❌ Who is not affected
• People who only use Gmail addresses.

• People who use email software such as Outlook and Thunderbird to set their Gmail address or other email addresses using the IMAP method.

• People who forward non-Gmail emails to Gmail (set to automatically send them to Gmail when they arrive).


[How to respond]
Alternative: Switch to "Automatic Email Forwarding"

[Description]
This is the easiest and recommended method.
Go to the settings screen of the original email address (Company A's email) that you wanted to import into Gmail and set it back to "Automatically send (forward) all incoming emails to your Gmail address".
This eliminates the need for POP.

The least impactful is setting up "automatic forwarding" in the original email service.
If you're not sure how to set it up, check the support page of the company that offers the email service (such as the provider).