Gmail discontinued its built-in POP3 and IMAP fetching feature in 2024. Pop3Fetch is the closest direct replacement — automatic, header-preserving, and works with all the same providers.
| Pop3Fetch | Gmail Fetcher (discontinued) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | ✓ Available now | ✗ Discontinued 2024 |
| How it works | Direct Gmail API import | Direct Gmail API import |
| Email headers | ✓ Preserved exactly | ✓ Preserved exactly |
| POP3 support | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes (when available) |
| IMAP support | ✓ Yes | ✗ POP3 only |
| Sync speed | Every 5 min (Basic) or 1 min (Pro) | Every 30–60 minutes |
| Multiple accounts | ✓ Up to 10 + add-on packs | Limited |
| Gmail labels per account | ✓ Pro plan | ✗ Not available |
| Post-import actions | ✓ Mark read, leave, or delete | Mark read only |
| Connection alerts | ✓ Email alert on failure | ✗ Silent failures |
| Manual sync | ✓ Pro plan | ✗ Not available |
Gmail's built-in fetcher let you connect external email accounts under Settings → Accounts and Import → Check mail from other accounts. It polled your external inbox every 30–60 minutes and imported new emails directly into Gmail using the same API method Pop3Fetch uses.
Pop3Fetch works the same way — but faster, with more features, and with support for both POP3 and IMAP (Gmail's fetcher only supported POP3).
If your Gmail fetcher accounts stopped working when Google discontinued the feature, migrating to Pop3Fetch takes about 2 minutes:
Start your 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8.
Start Free Trial →