NAIROBI, Kenya- Millions of Gmail users around the world could soon face a quieter—but riskier—change in their inboxes after Google confirmed it will shut down key features that helped protect emails from other providers like Yahoo, AOL, and Outlook.
Starting January 2026, Google will discontinue Gmailify, a feature that allowed third-party email accounts to benefit from Gmail’s industry-leading spam filters and security systems.
At the same time, the tech giant will also end support for POP3 email fetching, a long-standing tool that automatically pulled emails from other accounts into Gmail.
The result? Gmail will no longer function as a secure “one-stop inbox” for older or external email services—potentially weakening email protection for users who rely on it as their digital safety net.
Why This Matters for Everyday Users
Gmail has built its reputation on aggressively blocking spam, phishing attempts, and malicious links before they ever reach users. Gmailify extended those protections to external email addresses, allowing people to keep legacy accounts while enjoying modern security.
Once the feature is switched off, emails originating from services like Yahoo or Outlook will no longer receive Gmail’s full suite of safeguards.
The risk is subtle. Many users may not notice anything at first—until spam starts sneaking through, phishing emails appear more frequently, or legitimate messages fail to arrive.
“You won’t be able to get specific features in Gmail applied to your third-party account,” Google said in a statement, confirming that the familiar “check mail from other accounts” option will disappear from Gmail’s desktop settings
Older Emails, New Threats
Cybersecurity experts have long warned that older email accounts are prime targets for scammers. Many lack modern detection tools, making them fertile ground for phishing scams, fake login alerts, and malware links.
Without Gmail acting as a protective filter, users could see a rise in identity theft attempts and fraudulent messages—especially those who still rely on legacy addresses for banking, subscriptions, or work.
Features users will lose include advanced spam filtering, inbox categorisation, smarter notifications, and faster search across accounts.
What Google Wants Users to Do Next
To soften the blow, Google is urging users to act before the January 2026 deadline. The company recommends setting up email forwarding directly from third-party accounts to Gmail.
With forwarding enabled, services like Yahoo or Outlook will send messages straight to Gmail, where they can still be scanned for threats—even though Gmail no longer manages the account itself.
The catch? It’s manual. Users must log into each external email account and adjust settings individually. For those juggling multiple addresses, that setup could be time-consuming.
As the deadline approaches, Google is encouraging users to review their email setups early, enable forwarding, or consider migrating fully to a Gmail address to avoid future disruptions.
