Google will end support for Gmailify and the POP protocol for incoming emails in January 2026
Google is planning to remove two features from Gmail in January 2026. These include the Gmailify extension and POP protocol support for mail from other clients.
Gmailify was introduced in 2016 to integrate external email accounts (such as Yahoo! or Outlook) with some of Gmail's additional features, including a reliable spam filter, automatic sorting of incoming messages into categories, enhanced push notifications on smartphones, and an advanced search function with special operators.
Fetching emails via the POP protocol allowed Gmail users to integrate messages from other email accounts. Instead, Google will use the IMAP protocol, which is already supported by most email services and is considered the modern standard. However, you can still link Gmail via POP in other email clients.
Users should check their email service settings to ensure that IMAP is enabled. The changes will only affect future emails.
Google also recommends that users with work or school accounts contact their IT administrators if a migration to Google Workspace is required.
It was previously reported that users who have access to client-side encryption (CSE) in Gmail on a Google Workspace Enterprise Plus account with the Assured Controls add-on, can now send end-to-end encrypted emails to any recipient. This encryption provides an additional layer of protection before the data reaches Google's servers. It protects the body of the email, including images and attachments.