Cleanup Policy

As part of Zoho CRM’s email cleanup and data retention policies, IMAP or POP3 sync will be paused and any email configuration data stored in Zoho CRM’s systems will be deleted in the following cases:

1. When no emails have been sent from Zoho CRM by a user for at least three months, and also the user has not clicked, opened, or engaged with any incoming emails sent to the user’s configured email address from within Zoho CRM, for at least 6 months.
   
2. At least one month has passed since the user’s paid Zoho CRM license has expired.
   
3. At least one month has passed since the user’s free Zoho CRM trial has expired.
   

Note: All deleted email data can be retrieved once users re-configure their email inbox connection.

IMAP is an email protocol via which your email account is configured in Zoho CRM. It provides various benefits, the best of which is that it enables multiple device sync. That is, your email activity syncs across your PC, laptop, mobile phone, tablet etc. Zoho CRM lets you choose among popular IMAP integrations or configure custom email integration.

Permission Required
Users who have the permission to integrate emails can setup IMAP integration.

Set up IMAP Account

To add one of the IMAP accounts

1. In Zoho CRM, Go to Setup > Channels > Email > Email Configuration.
   
2. In the Email tab, choose one from the Popular Email Services.
   
   
3. Click IMAP.
   
4. In the Sign-in pop-up, Enter the  Email Address and click  Next.
   
   Click  Create Account, if you do not have an account.
   
   
   
5. Enter the Password and click Allow, to allow Zoho to access your account.
   In case you have enabled Two-Factor Authentication for your email account, you must enter the App-specific password for IMAP configuration and not your regular email password.
   
6. Click Continue.
   
7. Click the Add link to add more From Addresses, if required.
   
8. Click Server Details to view the incoming and outgoing server settings.
   The Server Details are automatically populated on selecting one of the popular IMAP Integrations.
9. Choose the Email Sharing Settings. See also Setting up Email Sharing
   

Note

• After configuring the IMAP account, you will get a confirmation email when the existing emails are synchronized.
  
• If your SMTP server doesn't support keeping a copy of the sent emails, you can check the "Store sent messages on the server" option which will store the copy of sent emails in your mailbox.
  
  

Generate an App-specific Password

Two-factor authentication (TFA), a service provided by all major email clients, offers an additional layer of security to one's mailbox. When TFA is enabled for an email account, gaining access to the account requires more than just the username and password - a unique passcode that is sent to the registered mobile number of the email account holder. This makes it harder for someone to gain unauthorized access to an email account.

If the email account you wish to configure in Zoho CRM has the two-factor authentication service enabled for it, then you must enter the email account's app specific password for IMAP configuration and NOT your regular email account password. Following are the instructions to generate the app-specific password for various popular email clients.

For a Zoho Mail Account

If you wish to configure your Zoho Mail account via IMAP in Zoho CRM, and you have the TFA service enabled for it, follow the instructions below to generate the app-specific password for your Zoho Mail account.

1. Sign in to your Zoho account.
   
2. Go to Security > App Passwords.
   
3. Click Generate New Password.
   
   
4. In the Application-Specific Passwords pop-up, enter the App Name and click Generate.
   
   
5. Copy the Application-Specific Password. 
   The password will not be displayed again.
   
   
6. You may Delete any password, if you no longer use the app or to remove access to the application.
   

For a Gmail Account

If you wish to configure your Gmail account via IMAP in Zoho CRM, and you have the TFA service enabled for it, follow the instructions below to generate the app-specific password for your Gmail account.

1. Sign into your Google Account
   
2. Visit the Apps passwords page.
   
3. From the Select App dropdown list, select Other.
   
4. Enter the customized name, for example, IMAP for Zoho CRM. 
   
5. Click Generate.
   
6. Copy and paste the unique app-specific password generated into the Password text box for IMAP configuration in Zoho CRM.You may revoke any password, if you no longer use the device or to remove access to the application.
   

For an Outlook Account

If you wish to configure your Outlook account via IMAP in Zoho CRM, and you have the TFA service enabled for it, follow the instructions below to generate the app-specific password for your Outlook account.

1. Sign into your Outlook account using this link.
   
2. Under App passwords, click Create a new app password. 
   
3. Copy and paste the unique app-specific password generated into the Password text box for IMAP configuration in Zoho CRM.
   

For an Office 365 Account

If you wish to configure your Office 365 account via IMAP in Zoho CRM, and you have the Multi-factor authentication service enabled for it, follow the instructions below to generate the app-specific password for your Office 365 account.

Note

• In order to be able to generate an app-specific password for your Office 365 account, your admin must have enabled your user account for Multi-factor authentication.
  See also: How to set up multi-factor authentication for Office 365
• The very first time you generate app specific password, you will prompted to enter your phone number for verification. The subsequent instances of generating app-specific password for Office 365 do not require phone number verification.
  

To generate app-specific password for Office 365

1. Sign in to your Office 365 account.
   
2. Go to Settings > Additional security verification.
   
3. Click the sub-section as shown in the image below.
   
4. Click the app passwords option.
   
5. In the Create app password popup, enter id for the password.
   This is for you to remember why you created it.
   
6. Click next.
   
7. Your app password is displayed.
   
   Copy and paste the unique app-specific password generated into the Password text box for IMAP configuration in Zoho CRM.

For a Yahoo Mail Account

If you wish to configure your Yahoo account via IMAP in Zoho CRM, and you have the TFA service enabled for it, follow the instructions below to generate the app-specific password for your Yahoo account.

1. Sign into your Yahoo Mail account.
   
2. Go to Settings > Account info.
   
3. In the Account Info page, select Account security.
   
4. Under Two-step Verification, click Generate app password. 
   
   In order to generate app-specific password, the Two-step verification must be switched on.
5. From the Select App dropdown list, select Other and enter the name of the app. For example, IMAP for Zoho CRM.
   
6. Click Generate.
   
7. Copy and paste the unique app-specific password generated into the Password text box for IMAP configuration in Zoho CRM.
   

Set up Custom IMAP Account

To add custom IMAP accounts

1. In Zoho CRM, go to Setup > Channels  > Email > Email Configuration and click Other Mail.
   
2. In the Other Mail page, click IMAP under Custom Email Integrations.
   
   
3. In the  IMAP Integration page, provide the required details.
   
   • Enter the Incoming Server Name, Port, EmailAddress and Password.
     
   • Enter the OutgoingServerName, Port, Email Address and Password.
     
   • Click Continue.
     
4. If both are the same, select the Use the same credentials for outgoing server checkbox.
   
5. Click the Add link to add more From Addresses, if required.
   
6. Click Server Details to view the incoming and outgoing server settings.
   The Server Details are automatically populated on selecting one of the popular IMAP Integrations.
7. Select the Email Sharing Permissions.
   

View Emails

When the IMAP account is set up, your sent and received emails will be associated to the leads/contacts in Zoho CRM, under the Emails related list. These include emails sent to the Primary as well as Secondary Email addresses of leads/contacts. Emails in this related list can be sorted based on users who have shared their email account while setting up their IMAP account. You can either select All from the drop-down list or the specific user to view the email. Note that the option to view All emails is supported only in IMAP configuration.

When IMAP is configured, emails sent or received from the configured email address will be synced and stored in your Zoho CRM account. All these emails will be deleted on IMAP deactivation except the emails in MS Outlook and email servers (these emails will be retained).

To view emails of leads/contacts

1. Go to the Leads/Contacts module.
   
2. Click on a record in the module.
   
3. In the Emails related list, select the desired IMAP shared user from the picklist field.
   The emails sent via IMAP are displayed.