What is IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)? IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a standard retrieval protocol for receiving email. It stores email messages on a mail server, enabling the recipient to view and manipulate them from any device. Internet message access protocol ( IMAP ) is a protocol for receiving email. It allows users to access their emails from different devices. It was designed by Mark Crispin in 1986 as a remote access mailbox protocol; the current version of IMAP is IMAP4 . It is used as the most commonly used protocol for retrieving emails. This term is also known as Internet mail access protocol, Interactive mail access protocol, and Interim mail access protocol. In this article, we will see the difference between IMAP and SMTP . What is Internet Message Access Protocol ( IMAP )? IMAP is an application layer protocol that operates as a contract for receiving emails from the mail server. It was designed as a remote access mailbox protocol, the current version of IMAP is IMAP4.
