To explain how email clients like Thunderbird work in terms of accessing accounts with full access, we need to understand the concepts of IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) and POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3).
IMAP vs POP3
IMAP and POP3 are two protocols used by email clients to access email accounts.
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IMAP: It keeps all your emails on the server, and the email client only downloads headers and flags (like read/unread status) by default. This means you can access your emails from multiple devices and they will all show the same emails and statuses.
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POP3: It downloads emails from the server to your computer. Once an email is downloaded, it is removed from the server, unless you configure it to leave a copy on the server. This means if you check your email on one device and then on another, the second device will not see the emails that were already downloaded on the first device.
Full Access to Email Accounts
When we talk about "full access" to an email account, it generally means having the ability to manage all aspects of the account, including sending emails, reading emails, deleting emails, organizing emails, and adjusting account settings.
In the context of email clients like Thunderbird, "full access" usually refers to the ability to access and manage the email account using the email client, rather than just through a web interface. This requires the email client to authenticate with the email server using the correct username and password.