What does mail to sync mean

"Mail to sync" is a term commonly used in the context of email clients, particularly those that use the IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) protocol to connect to email servers.

When you set up an email account on an email client, you can choose to "sync" your email account, which means that the client will regularly check the email server for new messages and download them to your device. This ensures that your email client has the latest messages and allows you to access them even when you're offline.

"Mail to sync" is a specific setting that controls how often your email client checks the email server for new messages. When you enable "mail to sync," your email client will:

  1. Check the email server for new messages at regular intervals (e.g., every 15 minutes, every hour, etc.).
  2. Download any new messages to your device.
  3. Update the email client's local copy of your email account to reflect the latest messages.

The purpose of "mail to sync" is to keep your email client up-to-date and ensure that you receive new messages in a timely manner. This setting is usually enabled by default, but you can adjust the frequency of syncing to suit your needs.

For example, if you're using a mobile device with a limited data plan, you might want to set the "mail to sync" interval to a longer period, such as every 2 hours, to conserve data usage. On the other hand, if you're using a desktop computer with a fast internet connection, you might want to set the interval to a shorter period, such as every 5 minutes, to ensure that you receive new messages quickly.