Email service
Email services enable account holders to send, receive and review email. Example services are Microsoft's Outlook and Google's Gmail.
Messages can usually stay on the provider's server (in the cloud) or be downloaded to a computer.
Most providers also offer contact management, spam filter, the ability to send and receive attachments, and the ability to forward your mail to a different service.
Today, almost all email services are Webmail services meaning that they offer the ability to use a web browser such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge to access your mail.
To use the webmail interface, you point your browser to the provider's website URL (such as gmail.com) and sign in with your email account and password.
Email forwarding service
An email forwarding service automatically redirects all email sent to your address at the service to another email address that you specify.
Messages are normally passed on instantly to their final destination.
Email forwarding services don't store your email.
You can use an email forwarding service to have an address that remains stable even if/when you change the email service that you are using: you simply "point" the forwarding service to the email service of your choice.
ASU's Electronic Post Office (EPO) is an email forwarding service that has a domain of @asu.edu.
Even if you use a forwarding service you can optionally tell your contacts your direct email address and they can send mail directly to it, bypassing the forwarding service.
Email account
An email account gives you access to services at a particular email service.
Your account with an email service is very often also your primary email address on that service, but can be something different.
An email account has an associated password.
Email address
An email address uniquely identifies both the email service or email forwarding service that you are using and your mailbox or forwarding instructions as provided by that service.
When email is sent to your email address, it's collected by your email service and placed in an inbox, which you access through your email account.
Email addresses are always of the form: name@domain.
- The domain part is what is used to route email to your service and often matches the name of the service, such as @gmail.com or @outook.com.
- After the email arrives at the service, the name part of the address is used to see which account and associated mailbox should receive it.
An email app may also be called an email program or an email client, particularly when it is installed on a computer rather than on a hand-held device.
You can use an email app that you install or that has been installed on your computer, tablet, or phone to access email on your email service.
An email app must be configured with your email account and password in order to access your email.
Some email apps are offered by email service companies and thus have the same name as the service, e.g. Gmail or Outlook.
Others, such as Apple Mail, are not associated with a particular email service.
Apps are not restricted to accessing mail from the same-named email service. For example, you can access a Gmail account from an Outlook app.
Email services use email protocols to communicate with each other and with your device. You will run into these terms when you are setting up an email app to work with your email service.
- SMTP (Simple Mail Transaction Protocol) is used for sending email.
- IMAP (Internet Message Access Profile) is used for receiving email. When this protocol is used, messages stay on a mail server.
- POP (Post Office Protocol) is also used for receiving email. When this protocol is used, messages are transferred to your computer and do not stay on a mail server.
- Exchange/MAPI (Message Application Programming Interface) is Microsoft's protocol that allows email apps to communicate with a Microsoft Exchange Server.