Gmail to End Support for Gmailify and POP from January 2026

Google has officially announced Gmailify and the Post Office Protocol (POP) will no longer be supported in Gmail starting January 2026. The move is significant for users who use these features to work on third-party email accounts in Gmail. Gmailify let users use Gmail's mighty tools such as spam filtering, powerful search, and inbox organization on external email services, while POP allowed message downloads at user-specified intervals. With support set to end shortly, users will have to look elsewhere for continuing to manage their emails in an efficient manner.

The upside is that Gmail will remain supported in the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), which presents a much smoother and contemporary solution. While POP downloads emails at intervals, IMAP enables real-time synchronization across devices and servers. This will make changes like reading, deleting, or arranging messages immediately accessible across all devices. Users will also be able to view and send emails from their connected external accounts using the Gmail app through IMAP connections.

Notably, all these changes will only affect future synchronization of emails. All the previously downloaded and saved messages using POP or Gmailify will be secure and usable within Gmail accounts. Users with already established external account configurations can easily redefine them to utilize IMAP, allowing continued access with no interruption.

With this action, Google is nudging Gmail users towards a more integrated and stable email management system, cutting back on reliance on older protocols. For those still using Gmailify or POP, the time is now to switch to IMAP and ensure your email configuration continues to run smoothly when the transition becomes effective in 2026.