By carefully observing Gmail in the coming weeks, you may be among the first users to notice a useful addition from Google . The Mountain View company announced on Monday that the security function relating to the verified badges for emails from Gmail will be released “during next weeks“. The function is enabled by the Brand Indicators for Message Identification standard ( BIMI ), of which Google joined the working group in 2019 .
Basically, an organization logo will appear in your inbox when they send you an email authenticated using the DMARC standard . This factor will help users reduce the likelihood that they will open and act on an email by mistaking it for one from a legitimate source . For comparison, these Google-authenticated brands will function like the various “verified” badges found on the social networks that tell you that an account is actually owned and operated by the entity it claims to represent.
Google explained how this mechanism should work behind the scenes:
“Organizations that authenticate their emails using Sender Policy Framework (SPF) or Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) and distribute DMARC can provide their branded logos validated to Google via a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC). BIMI leverages Mark Verifying Authorities, such as Certification Authorities, to verify logo ownership and provide proof of verification in a VMC. Once these authenticated emails pass our other abuse checks, Gmail will start displaying the logo in the existing avatar slot. “
