Are you missing the option “enable IMAP” in your Gmail account settings? Don’t worry if you don’t get the IMAP option in the settings. This is intended by Gmail since 2025.

➡️ In the following article, we’ll explain how Google restricted IMAP access and what this means for your Gmail or Google Workspace account.

How toEnable IMAP in Gmail

Since Januar 2025, it’s not necessary to enable IMAP for your Gmail account, as IMAP access is enabled by default for all Gmail accounts.

This also means that you cannot disable IMAP for your account. Gmail has removed the option completely from the Gmail settings and IMAP access cannot get disabled anymore.

You can, however, enable / disable MAP for individual labels.

What does this mean when using an email client?

If you wish to add your Gmail account to your email client (e.g. Thunderbird or Apple Mail), you can simply add your account using IMAP. Since IMAP is enabled by default, you don’t need to change any Gmail settings. This also applies if you have already added your Gmail account to your email client: No changes are required.

How toEnable IMAP for Google Workspace Accounts

Since Mai 2025, Google Workspace does not allow access to user accounts using IMAP authentication via username and password or app password anymore. The option formally called “less secure app access” is no longer available and your software or email client needs to support OAuth to access Google Workspace accounts.

What does this mean for my email client / email software?

This means that you need to add your email account to your software using the “sign in with Google” option. IMAP authentication via app password or user credentials does no longer work. Unfortunately, this also means that you cannot use email clients or apps that don’t support OAuth.

The good news is that most popular email clients have adapted to this changes and implemented OAuth login for Google Workspace account. For mobile device usage, Google recommends using its own Gmail app.

✅ MailJerry has implemented OAuth authentication so you can securely migrate your emails from or to Gmail or Google Workspace!

How toEnable / Disable IMAP for Individual Labels

Sometimes, it can be handy to enable or disable IMAP for individual Gmail labels. Fortunately, this option is still available in the Gmail settings. For example, you might want to disable certain labels so that they are not included in an email migration from Gmail to another provider.

Here’s how you to enable or disable IMAP for individual labels:

1. Open your Gmail account and click on “Manage labels” in the left sidebar.

2. On the label settings page, enable or disable “Show in IMAP” for individual labels.

How toChange Gmail IMAP Settings

Even though you can’t disable IMAP for your account, Gmail allows you to mange a few IMAP settings.

Here’s how to change the default Gmail IMAP settings:

1. Go to your Gmail account and click on the gear icon in the upper right corner.

2. Click on “See all settings”.

3. On the settings page, select the tab “Forwarding and POP/IMAP”.

4. Scroll down to the section “IMAP access” and change the settings according yo your preferences.

Available IMAP Options and What They Do:

Auto-Expunge Settings:

This option controls the time at which deleted emails are permanently removed from the Gmail servers: Either instantly when you delete the message (“Auto-Expunge on”) or later when your email client syncs changes with your Gmail account. (Auto-Expunge off).

Final Deletion Action:

With this setting, you can control what happens after an email is fully deleted. It can be moved to the archive, sent to the trash, or get permanently removed from the server right away.

IMAP Folder Max. Message Size

Manage how many emails can be stored in a folder: You can either limit the messages per folder ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 messages or alternatively don’t limit the messages per folder (default).

Frequent Questions
Enable IMAP in Gmail / Google Workspace

How do I add or remove specific labels from a Gmail migration using MailJerry?

You can control which labels are included in your Gmail migration by enabling or disabling IMAP access for individual labels in your Gmail settings (“Show in IMAP”).

Why are some labels missing in my Gmail migration?

MailJerry only migrates labels that are visible via IMAP. Check your Gmail label settings and make sure that “Show in IMAP” is enabled for all labels you wish to migrate.

If you have already performed your Gmail migration and noticed that some labels were not visible via IMAP, simply change the settings in your Gmail account and perform a sync by clicking on the “Sync Now” button on your migration’s details page.

MailJerry did not migrate all messages / there are messages missing for some labels!

In this case, it’s very likely that the number of messages per label that are visible via IMAP is restricted in Gmail. To change this, set the folder size limit in the „Forwarding and POP/IMAP“ settings of your Gmail account to „do not limit the number of messages in an IMAP folder“.

➡️ If you have already performed your migration, you can migrate the missing messages by enabling the auto sync or clicking on the „Sync Now“ button on your migrations detail page.

Do I still need to enable IMAP in Gmail in 2026?

No, IMAP is enabled by default for all Gmail accounts and can no longer be turned off.

Why can’t I find the IMAP setting in Gmail anymore?

Google removed the option in 2025, so IMAP is always active and no longer appears as a toggle in the Gmail settings.

Can I still use my email client with Gmail?

Yes, you can connect your Gmail account via IMAP without changing any settings, as it’s already enabled by default. For Google Workspace accounts, you need to use OAuth (“sign in with Google”) instead of IMAP.

Why doesn’t my email client work with Google Workspace anymore?

Google Workspace now requires OAuth login. Older email clients that only support username and password (basic authentication) are no longer supported.

For modern email clients that support OAuth, simply remove your Gmail account and re-add it using the option “sign in with Google”.

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