Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google.[5] Users may access Gmail as secure webmail,[6] as well as via POP3 or IMAP4 protocols.[7][8] Gmail initially started as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004[9] and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though still in beta status at that time.[10] The service was upgraded from beta status on July 7, 2009, along with the rest of the Google Apps suite.[11][12]