Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Google gives, and Google takes it away. Two old features are removed from Gmailboth of which relate to how you access messages from parties other than Google Email Accounts through the Gmail interface.
The features we’re talking about are Gmailify and POP access, and if you’re relying on them to consolidate multiple email accounts into your Gmail inbox, you’ll have to find a different way. Although Google hasn’t given any reasons for these changes, it likely wants to simplify Gmail, as well as encourage users to spend more time checking their inbox on Google rather than everyone else’s.
According to GoogleThese features will be closed to new users starting Q1 2026. For existing users, the functionality will remain until “later 2026.”
Here’s what you need to know, and what you can do next.
Gmailify
Gmailify is a service provided by Google It was introduced in February 2016 Which lets you import messages from Outlook or Yahoo accounts, and then adds some additional Gmail-specific features on top. It adds spam filtering using Google algorithms, and adds Gmail inbox organization rules, so email is automatically organized into tabs like Social and Updates.
This feature uses a form of IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) technology to fetch emails from other accounts and allow you to interact with them. IMAP is a standard way to sync emails — what modern desktop email clients use — but Google has implemented some special tricks to make it work through Gmail on the web and the Gmail mobile apps.
After shutting down, the privileges that Gmailify brought with it will disappear, so you won’t be able to sort spam and sort categories for emails you brought in from other accounts. You can still access third-party accounts through Gmail and IMAP, but without the extra Gmail magic, and only on mobile. For many technical reasons, IMAP is difficult to implement on the web, something Google probably doesn’t think is worth investing in.
Access to other accounts in Gmail on Android or iOS was available before Gmailify arrived, and will continue to be available. From the app, tap your profile avatar (top right), then… Add another account. Although Gmailify only works with Outlook and Yahoo accounts, Google’s standard IMAP app should work with almost all third-party email platforms.
When you use IMAP, emails from your other accounts will appear in the Gmail interface, and can be read and replied to from there. However, it will not actually be stored in your Gmail account or counted against your Google storage. Everything syncs instantly, too. So, for example, deleting a Yahoo email in Gmail for Android will also delete it from your Yahoo email inbox.
Access via POP
POP (Post Office Protocol) is an old standard for accessing emails which has actually been replaced by IMAP now. Given its age, it’s not really surprising that Google has discontinued this feature in Gmail. However, POP has been a reliable, easy, and efficient way to deliver messages from third-party accounts to Gmail over the years.