What is Email?
An email is an electronic medium of exchanging and transmitting digital files and messages through the internet- by using various electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops, etc. A user can operate Email across the Internet. Thus, a majority of devices that have computing power also come with email systems by default. A user can activate this system by connecting any of the email service platforms. It comes with a basic user interface and a text editor that helps in creating/composing new emails/messages. Most of the editors can edit these messages. Some systems also provide basic formatting.
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Along with this, you can write emails on any basic text editor then copy them into the email composer. A majority of the editors allow the users to format the composed Email accordingly. A sender can direct their messages to a recipient by specifying their address. For this, both the sender as well as receiver need to have an email address for sending and receiving emails. It means that an email address stays unique to each of its users.
What is Gmail?
Gmail is a widely used, most popular email service that Google offers. It is one of the various Email-services that is web-based that helps a user exchange digital information/messages/files over the Internet. It works on several platforms like Windows, Androids, etc. Gmail has many unique features- one of the best being its ability to store many GB (gigabytes) of data. It generates profits by advertising to a targeted user base. Although user targeting may raise some privacy issues, it still safeguards user information and does not display target ads. Unlike the normal Email, Gmail functions to provide security with every Email that travels through its servers.
Gmail deploys different protocols- IMAP and POP being the most important among all of them. The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is present for enabling Gmail users to check their emails and access them from different devices, like phones, tablets, computers, etc. On the other hand, the Post Office Protocol (POP) lets the users download emails along with attachments. Once an email gets delivered to its recipient, it also gets deleted from the server. These deleted emails stay in the trash folder for some time to let the users restore any important email whenever in need.
Difference Between Email and Gmail
| Parameter | Gmail | |
| Definition | Email is a technique used for exchanging digital data over a network of communication like the Internet. It is a type of electronic communication that contains data in the form of media files, graphics, texts, and documents. | Google developed the Gmail platform. It is an Email client that allows its users to receive and send Emails. It is also free to use and has limited support for data. |
| Full-Form | Email is an abbreviation for Electronic Mail. | Gmail is an abbreviation for Google Mail. |
| Dependency | An email can never work without an Email client or an established platform, like Yahoo mail, Gmail, Hotmail, Mail.ru, etc. | Gmail is one of the Email service providers that lets its users create a Google account that has a unique Email ID associated with it. All the Gmail IDs end with @gmail.com. |
| Security | As compared to Gmail, Email is very less secure. | Gmail is more secure when compared to Email because it provides spam filtering, virus protection, and more. |
| Advertisements | The Email has no advertisements involved with it. | Gmail is involved with advertisements. Advertisers pay it to show their ads to a targeted set of audiences. |
| Scheduling | No scheduling option is available in the Email. | Gmail lets its users schedule their Emails for any specified time. |
| Email Syncing | The Email includes a regular sync time of every four hours every single day. | Gmail provides support for a maximum sync time of every hour every day. |
| Peak Sync Time | The Email allows its users to configure their peak sync time. They can select weeks or days for it. | Gmail provides no extensive support for peak sync time. |
| Ease of Use | It is very difficult for any user to configure or use Emails without a client. | It is very easy to use Gmail. A user can feasibly create a free account to start using it without any hassle. |
| Tap-able Links | All of the URLs in the Email appear in the form of tap-able links. | Gmail does not support the feature of tap-able links for the URLs that he receives. |
| Support for Extensions | The Email does not support any extensions to it. | Gmail supports various extensions. One can use many third-party extensions with Gmail for performing or adding any special purpose, like scheduling emails, tracking their delivery status, and more. |
| Customization | The Email has no customization features, such as color management, themes, background wallpapers, and more. | Gmail provides various customization options for its user interface (UI) using many features like themes and colors. |
| Protocols | The RFC 5322 Request for Comments document specified in the IMF (Internet Message Format) defines the current format of the Email messages. | Gmail is a free service that is web-based. It allows its users to receive and send electronic messages by using either the web or the third-party apps through IMAP or POP protocols. |
| Features | Email is only a general term that describes electronic mail. It is only a means of transmitting digital messages over a communication network like the internet. It comes with manual sync as well as auto-sync features. | Gmail is one of the most popular Email clients. It comes packed with various features like Email filtering, syncing, spam filtering, Email reminder, inbuilt virus protection, scheduling, recurring Emails, and more. |
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