Google is beginning to phase out POP accounts starting in January 2026. Google began the process of sunsetting the ability to fetch mail from external accounts via POP

What is Being Phased Out?

•  "Check mail from other accounts" (POP Fetching): This is the feature in Gmail’s web settings that allows you to pull emails from an external provider (like Yahoo, Outlook, or a custom domain) into your Gmail inbox using the POP3 protocol.
• Gmailify: This service, which applied Gmail-specific features like spam protection and category tabs to external accounts, is also being retired.

What Stays the Same?

• Gmail Mobile App: You can still add third-party accounts (Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) to the Gmail app on Android and iOS. These apps use the modern IMAP protocol, which is not being phased out.
• External Access to Gmail: If you use a third-party app like Outlook or Thunderbird to read your Gmail messages, that will continue to work (provided you use OAuth for security).
• "Send Mail As": You can generally still configure Gmail to send emails using an external address via SMTP, though you will no longer be able to receive them in the same way.

Why the Change?

Google cites security and modernization as the primary drivers. POP3 is an aging protocol that often lacks modern encryption and does not support two-factor authentication (2FA). By removing these "pull" features, Google is pushing users toward more secure, real-time sync methods like IMAP or direct API integrations.

How to Prepare

If you rely on Gmail as your central hub for multiple email addresses, you have a few options:

1. Email Forwarding: Set up "Automatic Forwarding" on your external email provider (e.g., your work or custom domain host) to push emails to your Gmail address.
2. Switch to the Mobile App: Use the Gmail app on your phone to manage multiple accounts separately via IMAP.
3. Use a Desktop Client: Switch to a dedicated email client like Thunderbird, Apple Mail, or Outlook for desktop, which can handle multiple accounts simultaneously without needing to "fetch" them into one another.