Happy Holidays and a Prosperous 2026
Merry Christmas!
From January 2026, Google is introducing several changes to Gmail, especially for those who manage their business email (e.g. info@domain.gr) through Gmail.
Tessera considers it its duty to inform both its partners and the wider public that follows it in a timely manner about changes that affect their everyday digital communication.
The first major change is the discontinuation of Gmailify. This is the feature that allows you to connect external accounts (Yahoo, Outlook, or corporate email) to Gmail, providing additional functionality such as Gmail’s powerful spam filter, inbox categorization, and more efficient search. As of 2026, these capabilities will no longer apply to third-party accounts that were connected through the Gmailify.
The second change concerns the traditional way in which Gmail could retrieve email from other accounts via POP. The “Check mail from other accounts” feature, found in Gmail settings (Accounts and Import), will no longer be supported. As a results, the synchronization of business accounts via POP will be permanently discontinued.
Despite these significant changes, several features will remain as they are. Emails that have already been synced to Gmail will not be lost. At the same time, Google Workspace accounts are not affected, since their mail server operates entirely through Google. In addition, the “Send mail as” feature will continue to be available, allowing you to send email via SMTP using a different sender address.
One of the most reliable solutions is to use an independent email client on your computer. Applications, such as Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, or the built-in-Mail app on Windows and macOS connect directly to the provider’s mail server via IMAP and SMTP. Most providers offer detailed guides with the necessary configuration settings.
A second option is to use Gmail exclusively as a mobile app. Google still allows you to connect external accounts in the Gmail app for Android and iOS via IMAP, making it possible to manage both your personal @gmail.com account and out business accounts. However, on the desktop environment this type of synchronization will no longer be supported.
Google is changing Gmail and will no longer use it as a tool for collecting emails from other providers on the web. For professionals, this means they need to immediately review whether they rely on POP of Gmailify features and, where necessary, proceed with migrating to IMAP or to an independent email client.
