Similar to an Exchange server, an IMAP mailbox is a direct reflection of your mailbox on the server. The advantage to this is your e-mail will always be stored in a central location, so if your computer goes down you don’t have to worry about losing your e-mail.

 

The downside is that if you lose access to the e-mail account (for example, after you have graduated from university), or if the company providing your e-mail account goes out of business, your e-mail is lost. You can, however, drag and drop e-mail messages from your IMAP account to your personal folders, which is stored on your computer.