IMAP vs POP3: the difference and why it matters when migrating
IMAP or POP3 — what is the difference and which should you pick when moving email? A clear explanation without jargon.
POP3: download and (often) delete
POP3 pulls email from the server to a single device and by default deletes it from the server afterwards. Handy in a one-computer era, but risky: if your mail lives only locally, there is no copy on the server to migrate.
IMAP: everything stays on the server
IMAP keeps your folder structure and messages on the server, synced across all your devices. That is exactly why IMAP is ideal for a migration: the complete mailbox sits centrally and can be copied one-to-one to a new provider.
What this means for your migration
If you currently use POP3, first switch your mail client to IMAP (or check that "leave a copy on the server" is on) before you migrate. Otherwise you only migrate whatever happens to still be on the server.
emailmover works entirely over IMAP on both sides — source and target — so your whole mailbox comes along, folders included.