IMAP

Updated: 10/11/2017 by Computer Hope

Short for Internet Message Access Protocol, IMAP was created by Mark Crispin while at Stanford University in 1986. It is a protocol for retrieving e-mail from a server, similar to POP (post office protocol). The secure version of IMAP is called IMAPS, which stands for IMAP over SSL (secure sockets layer).

IMAP4 is the latest version of IMAP. It is similar to POP3 but with additional features.

Tip

IMAP defaults to port 143. IMAP4 uses port 993 over TLS/SSL.

Computer abbreviations, E-mail terms, Network terms, Port, Protocol