Email Protocols moz-extension://ed906d0d-6bc0-4c0e-a490-37c8468a0c70/re...

www.geeksforgeeks.org

Email Protocols
GeeksforGeeks

5 - 6 minutes

Last Updated : 15 Jun, 2022

Email protocols are a collection of protocols that are used to send and
receive emails properly. The email protocols provide the ability for the
client to transmit the mail to or from the intended mail server. Email
protocols are a set of commands for sharing mails between two
computers. Email protocols establish communication between the sender
and receiver for the transmission of email. Email forwarding includes
components like two computers sending and receiving emails and the
mail server. There are three basic types of email protocols.

Types of Email Protocols:

Three basic types of email protocols involved for sending and receiving
mails are:

• SMTP
• POP3
• IMAP

1 of 4 5/18/24, 09:34
Email Protocols moz-extension://ed906d0d-6bc0-4c0e-a490-37c8468a0c70/re...

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol):

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is used to send mails over the internet.
SMTP is an application layer and connection-oriented protocol. SMTP is
efficient and reliable for sending emails. SMTP uses TCP as the transport
layer protocol. It handles the sending and receiving of messages between
email servers over a TCP/IP network. This protocol along with sending
emails also provides the feature of notification for incoming mails. When
a sender sends an email then the sender’s mail client sends it to the
sender’s mail server and then it is sent to the receiver mail server
through SMTP. SMTP commands are used to identify the sender and
receiver email addresses along with the message to be sent.

Some of the SMTP commands are HELLO, MAIL FROM, RCPT TO, DATA,
QUIT, VERIFY, SIZE, etc. SMTP sends an error message if the mail is not
delivered to the receiver hence, reliable protocol.

For more details please refer to the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
article.

POP(Post Office Protocol):

Post Office Protocol is used to retrieve email for a single client. POP3
version is the current version of POP used. It is an application layer
protocol. It allows to access mail offline and thus, needs less internet
time. To access the message it has to be downloaded. POP allows only a
single mailbox to be created on the mail server. POP does not allow
search facilities

Some of the POP commands are LOG IN, STAT, LIST, RETR, DELE, RSET,
and QUIT. For more details please refer to the POP Full-Form article.

IMAP(Internet Message Access Protocol):

Internet Message Access Protocol is used to retrieve mails for multiple

clients. There are several IMAP versions: IMAP, IMAP2, IMAP3, IMAP4,
etc. IMAP is an application layer protocol. IMAP allows to access email
without downloading them and also supports email download. The
emails are maintained by the remote server. It enables all email
operations such as creating, manipulating, delete the email without
reading it. IMAP allows you to search emails. It allows multiple
mailboxes to be created on multiple mail servers and allows concurrent
access. Some of the IMAP commands are: IMAP_LOGIN, CREATE, DELETE,
RENAME, SELECT, EXAMINE, and LOGOUT.

2 of 4 5/18/24, 09:34
Email Protocols moz-extension://ed906d0d-6bc0-4c0e-a490-37c8468a0c70/re...

For more details please refer to the Internet Message Access Protocol
(IMAP) article.

MIME(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension Protocol):

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension Protocol is an additional email

protocol that allows non-ASCII data to be sent through SMTP. It allows
users to send and receive different types of data like audio, images,
videos and other application programs on the Internet. It allows to send
multiple attachments with single message. It allows to send message of
unlimited length.

Summer-time is here and so is the time to skill-up! More than 5,000

learners have now completed their journey from basics of DSA to
advanced level development programs such as Full-Stack, Backend
Development, Data Science.

3 of 4 5/18/24, 09:34
Email Protocols moz-extension://ed906d0d-6bc0-4c0e-a490-37c8468a0c70/re...

And why go anywhere else when our DSA to Development: Coding Guide
will help you master all this in a few months! Apply now to our DSA to
Development Program and our counsellors will connect with you for
further guidance & support.

Share your thoughts in the comments

Please Login to comment...

4 of 4 5/18/24, 09:34