What does "sync" do on on android phones?

[Cool]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3. There is a sync feature on my phone. If i disable it will i still get facebook notifications, other app notifications like snapchat, instagram, etc. Also if someone sends me an email will i get it, if sync is turned off? If i enable sync what does it sync? Do i have to sync all my contacts manually if i dont have it turned on?

[jdeg]

The sync toggle should turn off all automatic syncing. There may be apps that will still sync when you open them, and email may update because it is pushed to the device in some cases. Contacts would need to be synced manually if the sync toggle is turned off.