Google has announced a new feature for Gmail that will display blue checkmarks next to select senders’ names to verify their identity, enhancing email security and user experience. The blue checkmarks will appear automatically next to companies that have adopted Gmail’s existing Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) feature.
Introduced in 2021, the BIMI feature requires senders to use strong authentication and verify their brand logo to display a brand logo as an avatar in emails. Users will now see a checkmark icon for senders that have adopted the BIMI feature. This was intended to counter brand identity theft and spam emails. BIMI was further updated in 2021 with even stronger security measures.
“Strong email authentication helps users and email security systems identify and stop spam, and also enables senders to leverage their brand trust,” the tech giant wrote in a blog post. “This increases confidence in email sources and gives readers an immersive experience, creating a better email ecosystem for everyone.”
When users hover over the blue checkmark next to a sender’s name, they will see a blurb stating, “the sender of this email has verified” that they own the domain and logo in the profile image. The blue verified checkmarks will roll out starting today across both Workspace accounts and personal Google accounts, so users can expect to see them soon.
Blue checkmarks have been a hot topic in recent months, particularly due to the controversy surrounding Twitter’s verification process.
For most end users, this update will be visible soon. Admins can visit the official Google Workspace Admin blog to learn how to verify their businesses with BIMI. The new feature will be available to personal Google account users, Workspace customers, and legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.
