Gmail: Google strokes “Gmailify” and pop support

From January, Google will set the “Gmailify” functions and the pop process for Gmail. The group justifies the changes in a support entry with the fact that users should access their “messages in Gmail in the safest and latest way”.

The Gmailify function was Introduced in 2016. With it, Google made it possible to extend some Gmail functions such as spam protection, faster searches or a inbox divided into different categories to external email accounts. This feature will fall away from January 2026. This means that users can no longer use the Gmailify features such as spam protection or the inbox organization of third-party e-mail accounts. There are also “better e-mail notifications on the smartphone” and a faster search via search operators.

As a solution, Google offers the option of reading and sending e-mails from other mail accounts in the Gmail app. A standard IMAP connection (Internet Message Access Protocol) is used for this.

Out for pop procedures

With the upcoming changes, Google also strokes the support of the POP3 procedure (Post Office Protocol). In the future, Gmail will no longer be able to call up emails from third-party accounts using the old POP3 procedure. Likewise, the option “Call messages from other accounts” in Gmail is no longer available on the computer, it is said.

Here, too, Google makes the IMAP process standard. In the documentation of the respective mail provider, Google recommends looking for the corresponding settings for the IMAP changeover and switching the POP protocol to IMAP.

According to Google, the change only affects the call methods. This means that already synchronized emails remain in the Gmail account. The group also points out that users of work or educational accounts should address their administrators who can help Google Workspace with a possible migration.