Yes just like HTTP, FTP, SMTP, telnet and all the other pre-TLS protocols that we now run over TLS for exactly this reason.
Google, just like every other modern mail client, supports connecting to POP3 servers over SSL:

Yes just like HTTP, FTP, SMTP, telnet and all the other pre-TLS protocols that we now run over TLS for exactly this reason.
Google, just like every other modern mail client, supports connecting to POP3 servers over SSL:
