Gmail Now Shows Blue Checkmarks on Emails from Verified Brands

Google is adding blue checkmarks in Gmail for emails sent by organizations that have adopted its Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) initiative. These blue checkmarks are now rolling out to all Google Workspace customers as well as Gmail users with personal Google accounts.

Google launched Brand Indicators for Message Identification in Gmail back in 2021. Until now, the feature allowed organizations that accepted to use strong authentication and verify their brand logo to show that logo as their avatar on Gmail.

“Building upon that feature, users will now see a checkmark icon for senders that have adopted BIMI. This will help users identify messages from legitimate senders versus impersonators,” the Google Workspace team emphasized.

These blue checkmarks in Gmail come after Twitter pretty much ruined the value of the same checkmark on the social platform: Blue checkmarks on Twitter used to indicate that a profile has been authentified through manual verification. As of today, everyone who pays for a Twitter Blue subscription will get a blue checkmark on their profile, with no verification required.

To set up Brand Indicators for Message Identification and have a blue checkmark show up next to their logo in Gmail, organizations need to turn on the emerging standard at their domain provider. They also need to get a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) to verify the ownership of their brand logo and implement Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC). The process is quite technical, and you can find more information about how to set up BIMI on this support page.