When will Gmail drop POP and Gmailify?
Timeline and effect for users
Google is phasing out two legacy Gmail features: Gmailify (which links non‑Gmail accounts into Gmail) and POP access. According to reporting, new users will lose access to those features in the first quarter of 2026, while existing accounts will retain POP and Gmailify functionality for a later, unspecified window in 2026. The company has signaled a clear removal, giving users months to prepare rather than an immediate cutoff.
Who is affected
- People using older desktop email clients that rely on POP.
- Users who rely on Gmailify to bring third‑party inboxes into Gmail without migrating mail.
- Small services and scripts that pull mail via POP for archiving or automation.
Practical next steps
- Move to IMAP where possible: IMAP keeps mail synced across devices and is the standard replacement for POP.
- Export important mail: use Google Takeout or client export tools to back up messages before the change.
- For third‑party accounts: consider migrating mailboxes into Gmail or configuring IMAP/forwarding on the original provider.
- Check business systems: ensure any automation or archival tooling that uses POP is updated to supported protocols or API access.
Why Google is doing this
Removing POP and Gmailify simplifies backend maintenance and nudges users toward modern protocols and APIs that better support synchronization, security features and server‑side protections. The change pushes the ecosystem toward standards that are easier to secure and to manage at scale, but it also forces some users and smaller operators to update workflows that had relied on decades‑old email access patterns.