Everything you need to know about email backups
Whether you're considering transferring your hosting service to us, or just concerned about security or compliance, it's important to know how to back up your emails.
Before you can make an effective plan, you'll need to understand a few important points about email hosting. This guide will take you step by step through the process of identifying how your email accounts are set up, creating your first local backup, configuring your mail client (email program) to use the best settings for your needs, and setting up secure encrypted cloud backups.
By the end of this guide, you will know:
- The most important aspect of managing your mail: Understanding the difference between POP3 and IMAP, the two options for for how your mail is set up .
- What a mail client is, and Which version of which mail client you're using.
- Where your emails are stored on your device.
- What a 3-2-1 backup strategy is
- How to set up your mail client.
- How to safely and securely backup up your email for:
- transfers
- safety, disaster recovery, and compliance
To make this guide as useful as possible, you can use the table of contents below to skip to the pasrts that apply top you.
Contents
Mail clients
A mail client is the program you use to send and receive emails.
The most popular choices are Microsoft's Outlook, and Mozilla's Thunderbird.
Account settings are very similar in all mail clients, but the exact phrasing or name of each setting might differ between different programs, or between different versions of the same program.
POP3 vs IMAP
Understanding the differences between POP3 and IMAP is the most important step toward taking control of your mail and performing a complete and safe backup.
| POP3 | IMAP |
|---|---|
| Emails are downloaded | Emails are synced |
| Downloaded emails can be left on the server or removed from the server | Emails are left on the server until you delete them |
| When you delete an email in your mail client, that email may or may not be deleted from the server as well. | When you delete an email in your mail client, that email may be removed from the server, or or may be moved into the deleted items folder on the server. |
| Sent mail is not stored on the server | Sent mail **may or may not** be stored on the server |
| If you've sorted your email into folders, these folders exist on your device, not on the server | Your custom folders **may or may not** exist on the server |
The backup process
Your emails are stored in your mail client as a database or a collection of files. Different mail clients and different versions of each mail client might store mail differently.
Check your mail client version
The first step in backing up your emails is determining which version of which mail client you're using.
Outlook
Take a look at Which version of Outlook am I using to determine which Version of Outlook you're using.
Thunderbird
Click the main menu button, then go to the Help menu and choose Troubleshooting Information. In the new tab that opens, look for the version number under Application Basics.
Apple Mail
Open the Mail app, and click the Mail menu. Choose About Mail to see the version you're using.
Current account configuration
Your mail account could be configured as POP3 or IMAP, and this will determine how you'll need to proceed.
To find out which you're using, you'll need to check your email account settings.
In Outlook
- In Outlook 2010 or 2013, go to File, then Account Settings. Accounts are on the Email tab.
- In Outlook 2016or 2019 click File, then Account Settings and then click the new Account settings option that appears. You'll see a list of your email accounts with Name and Type.
- In Outlook 2021 and 365 click select File, then Account Settings and then Manage Profiles. Click Emial accounts
For all versions of Outlook, take note of the Type of your email account, which will be listed as IMAP/SMTP or POP3/SMTP.
In Thunderbird
- Click on the main Menu button.
- Go to Options and select Account Settings.
- Click Server Settings
- Take note of Server Type which will be listed as IMAP Mail Server or POP3 Mail Server.
Apple mail
MacOS 13
Open the Mail app, and then click Mail.
Click Settings then click Accounts.
Select your account on the left, and then click Server Settings on the right.
MacOS 12 and earlier
Open the mail app and click Mail.
Click Preferences, and then click Accounts.
Click Server Settings.
Incoming server
In all versions of MacOS the incoming server will be listed at the top of the server settings tab like Incoming Server (IMAP) or Incoming Server (POP3).
