Summary
- Google is ending support for Gmailify and “Check mail from other accounts” in January 2026.
- These features are being phased out because they rely on the old, insecure POP3 protocol.
- Web Gmail will lose access to other accounts, so users will be forced to use the mobile app or a third-party email client for a unified inbox.
Google has a long tradition of killing off useful apps and features, and that trend is showing no signs of slowing down. Two useful Gmail features are next on the chopping block: Gmailify and “Check mail from other accounts.” According to a Help Center article by the tech giant, support for these features will end this month (January 2026).
What are Gmailify and “Check mail from other accounts”?
Highly useful features for a select group
Gmailify and “Check mail from other accounts” are features that enable Gmail users to access emails from non-Google accounts right in Gmail on the desktop. In Gmailify’s case, it also adds Gmail-specific features to those accounts:
- Spam protection
- Better notifications on mobile devices
- Inbox categories
- Improved search
On the desktop, these features allow you to access your non-Gmail emails directly inside the Gmail app. In fact, they’re the only way to do this, outside of forwarding those emails to your Gmail address.
Why is Google dropping support for these features?
Times are changing
The ultimate reason for these changes is that the technology behind them (POP3) is old. POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol 3 and is an email protocol that’s been around in one form or another since 1988. The current POP3 specification was released in 1996 (yes, that’s 30 years ago).
It’s not just about the fact that newer technologies exist, though — POP3 lacks the security measures of newer protocols, and that makes it vulnerable to unauthorized access. For that reason, companies like Google and Microsoft are dropping the tech and leaning into newer alternatives — namely, IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol).
What you can do
Gmail will continue support IMAP on its mobile apps, so you can still access all your accounts in one place that way. However, you won’t be able to use Gmail features on non-Gmail accounts anymore, which is a bummer.
Unfortunately, the web version of Gmail doesn’t support accessing other accounts via IMAP, so you’re out of luck on that front. Desktop users looking to unify all their inboxes will need to use a third-party email client or forward their email to their Gmail account. There are some excellent email clients available, like the open-source, cross-platform Thunderbird, which recently got support for Microsoft Exchange. Unfortunately, they lack the convenience of webmail.
And don’t worry — Gmail itself isn’t going anywhere. In fact, the app is still being updated with useful new features, like the ability to manage subscriptions.
