Gmail Is Removing Gmailify and POP Support in 2027: What Users Need to Know

Google is making a significant change to the way Gmail handles third-party email accounts.

Starting in January 2027, Gmail will begin removing two features that have allowed users to manage non-Google email accounts directly from the Gmail website: Gmailify and “Check mail from other accounts,” which uses POP to retrieve messages.

For users who have spent years managing Yahoo, Outlook, custom-domain, or other email addresses from a single Gmail inbox, the change could be inconvenient. However, it does not mean that Gmail is abandoning support for third-party email accounts altogether.

Google says existing users can continue using the affected features until January 2027. After that, users will need to rely on alternatives such as automatic email forwarding, the Gmail mobile app, or a traditional email client using IMAP.

Here is what is changing, who is affected, and what you should do before the deadline.

What Is Google Changing in Gmail?

Google is discontinuing two separate features for third-party email accounts:

• Gmailify
• Check mail from other accounts using POP

These features were designed to turn Gmail into a central hub for email accounts hosted outside Google.

Gmailify went a step further by applying Gmail’s features to another provider’s mailbox. Depending on the account, users could get Gmail’s spam protection, inbox categories, enhanced notifications, and advanced search capabilities.

The POP feature worked differently. Instead of synchronizing an outside mailbox through a modern two-way connection, Gmail periodically connected to the external server and downloaded new messages into the Gmail inbox.

Google has confirmed that both features are being phased out.

Gmailify Is Going Away

Gmailify has been particularly useful for people who wanted to manage a Yahoo, AOL, Outlook, Hotmail, or other supported email address through Gmail.

Once an account was connected through Gmailify, messages from that account could appear in Gmail while benefiting from features such as spam filtering, inbox organization, improved mobile notifications, and advanced search.

That integration is coming to an end.

Google says Gmailify will no longer be available for these third-party accounts. Existing users can continue using the feature until January 2027, giving them time to move to another setup.

After the shutdown, your outside email account will continue to exist normally. What disappears is Gmail’s ability to apply its Gmail-specific features to that external mailbox through Gmailify.

Gmail Is Also Ending POP Mail Fetching

The second major change affects Gmail’s “Check mail from other accounts” feature.

This option allowed users to enter the credentials and POP server information for another email account. Gmail would then periodically retrieve new messages from that account and place them in the Gmail inbox.

For example, someone could have:

• A personal Gmail address
• A Yahoo Mail account
• A business address using a custom domain
• An older email account from another provider

Instead of checking each inbox separately, Gmail could retrieve messages from the other accounts.

That functionality is being discontinued on the Gmail website.

Google says the “Check mail from other accounts” option will no longer be available on desktop Gmail once the change takes effect.

What Happens to Emails Already Imported?

There is some good news for existing users.

Messages that were already synchronized into Gmail will not be deleted.

Google explicitly says that emails imported before the deprecation will remain available in Gmail. The change affects future retrieval rather than previously imported messages.

In other words, Google is not wiping out your old mail. Gmail simply will no longer continuously fetch new messages from that external account through POP.

The Timeline for Gmail’s Changes

Google’s current timeline is relatively straightforward.

After the first quarter of 2026, new users can no longer set up the affected functionality. Existing users can continue using it until January 2027.

If you already depend on these features, it is better to migrate before Google switches them off rather than waiting until the last minute.

What About “Send Mail As” in Gmail?

This is where some reports about the Gmail changes have become confusing.

Google has not announced that the “Send mail as” feature is being discontinued as part of this change.

The feature is still documented by Google and allows users to send messages from another email address they own. This can include a Yahoo address, an Outlook address, a business or school domain, another Gmail address, or a custom email address.

This distinction is important.

The removal of POP mail fetching does not automatically remove the ability to send mail from another address.

For example, you may currently use Gmail to retrieve messages from [email protected] through POP and also use Gmail’s Send mail as feature to reply from that same address.

Those are separate functions.

The POP component is being retired. The “Send mail as” feature remains documented by Google.

That means users should not assume that losing POP automatically means they will be forced to send every message from their @gmail.com address.

Custom Business Email Addresses Are Also Affected

The change could be especially noticeable for freelancers, small businesses, and anyone using a custom domain.

Imagine that you have an address such as:

[email protected]

but use Gmail as your central inbox.

If Gmail currently retrieves incoming messages from your hosting provider through POP, that incoming mail workflow will eventually stop working.

You may therefore need to move the receiving side of your setup to your email provider.

A common alternative is automatic forwarding.

Instead of Gmail periodically fetching messages from the external mailbox, the external provider forwards new messages directly to your Gmail inbox.

Google specifically recommends automatic forwarding as one possible replacement for POP fetching.

How to Keep Receiving Emails in Gmail

If you want new messages from another provider to continue appearing in Gmail, automatic forwarding is probably the simplest replacement.

The general setup works like this:

1. Sign in to your non-Gmail email account.
2. Open its forwarding settings.
3. Enter your Gmail address as the forwarding destination.
4. Complete any verification required by the provider.
5. Send a test message to the external address.
6. Confirm that it arrives in Gmail.

The exact steps depend on your email provider.

One important consideration is email authentication. Forwarding can affect how receiving servers evaluate messages, so properly configured SPF and DKIM records are important for domains that send or forward mail. Google also recommends following best practices for forwarded email to improve delivery reliability.

You Can Still Use Other Email Accounts in the Gmail App

The Gmail website is not the only way to manage email.

Google says users can continue adding third-party accounts to the Gmail app on Android, iPhone, and iPad. The mobile app uses a standard IMAP connection for supported external accounts.

This means the Gmail mobile app can remain useful if you want to manage multiple inboxes from one application.

However, this is not the same thing as the old Gmailify system.

Your external account remains an external mailbox, and Gmail is simply acting as the email application used to access it.

What About Outlook, Thunderbird, and Other Email Clients?

You can also use a traditional desktop email client.

Applications such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Apple Mail can connect to email accounts using modern authentication and IMAP where supported.

Google confirms that Gmail itself continues to support connections from third-party email clients through POP or IMAP.

For someone who manages several professional email addresses, this may actually be a better long-term solution than trying to make one Gmail inbox handle every account.

Can You Still Import Old Emails Into Gmail?

Yes.

Google says users can still perform a one-time import of emails and contacts from another account through Gmail on the web.

The important difference is that this is not continuous synchronization.

Your existing messages can be imported into Gmail, but Gmail will not continue checking the external mailbox for new messages through the discontinued POP system.

For people moving from an old provider to Gmail permanently, this can still be useful.

What Happens to Google Workspace Accounts?

Businesses and schools have a different set of options.

Google says administrators of work or school accounts can use Google’s data migration service to help move email data into Google Workspace.

This is particularly important for organizations that have historically relied on multiple mail systems or older email workflows.

Personal Gmail users do not have an administrator who can handle the migration for them, so they will need to configure forwarding, use a mail client, or move their email infrastructure themselves.

What Gmail Users Should Do Before January 2027

If you currently use Gmailify or POP to manage another mailbox, don’t wait until the feature disappears.

First, identify which accounts are connected to Gmail.

Go to Gmail on your computer and check Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import.

Look for the section related to checking mail from other accounts.

If you see an external mailbox there, determine how that account receives and sends mail today.

Then choose your replacement.

Option 1: Automatic forwarding

This is probably the easiest option if your main goal is to keep receiving new messages in Gmail.

Your external provider receives the email and forwards a copy to Gmail.

Option 2: Use the Gmail mobile app

If you frequently check multiple accounts from your phone, add the external mailbox directly to the Gmail app.

Google says third-party accounts can continue to be used through the Gmail app on Android and iOS.

Option 3: Use an email client

For desktop users with several accounts, Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, or another IMAP-compatible application may provide a cleaner solution.

Option 4: Move the mailbox to Google Workspace

Businesses that want Gmail to remain the primary platform can consider moving their custom-domain email to Google Workspace instead of maintaining a separate provider.

Gmail’s Change Is More Limited Than It First Appears

The announcement may sound like Google is removing support for external email accounts entirely, but that is not what is happening.

Gmail is specifically retiring Gmailify and POP-based mail fetching on the web.

You can still:

• Send mail from other addresses using “Send mail as.”
• Add supported third-party accounts to the Gmail mobile app.
• Use IMAP with compatible email clients.
• Forward messages from another provider to Gmail.
• Perform one-time email imports.
• Continue using Gmail normally with other Gmail accounts.

Google is therefore changing how Gmail integrates with outside mailboxes, rather than eliminating third-party email altogether. (Centre d’aide Google)

Final Thoughts

Google’s decision to retire Gmailify and POP mail fetching will definitely disrupt some long-established Gmail setups, especially for users who have consolidated several personal or business addresses into one inbox.

The biggest impact will be felt by people who rely on Gmail’s web interface to automatically retrieve messages from external providers.

Fortunately, there are still several alternatives. Automatic forwarding is the closest replacement for POP-based fetching, while the Gmail mobile app and IMAP-compatible email clients offer other ways to manage multiple accounts.

Most importantly, don’t confuse the end of Gmailify and POP fetching with the end of Gmail’s “Send mail as” feature. Google continues to document that functionality separately.

If you depend on Gmail to manage a non-Google mailbox, now is a good time to review your setup. The January 2027 deadline may seem far away, but moving email infrastructure is much easier when you have time to test the new configuration before the old one stops working.