In May last year, Google began rolling out the blue verification checkmarks feature for its email service, Gmail, on the web browser.
The search giant has now extended this feature to Gmail apps on Android and iOS for personal Google and Workspace accounts.
For those unaware, the blue verification checkmarks feature, which is a part of the Gmail standard called BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification), helps users identify emails from legitimate senders versus impersonators.
The blue verified checkmark is shown for those senders who have adopted BIMI and validated their logo with a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) issued by a Certification Authority (CA).
A VMC is a digital certificate for businesses with a registered trademark that includes both the brand’s logo and a blue checkmark.
The Gmail platform displays a “blue verified checkmark” next to the sender’s name and logo associated with an email in the inbox, confirming that the brand has passed Google’s verification process and providing extra trust.
Google says, “BIMI promotes one other layer of safety to Gmail by requiring robust authentication and verification of logos earlier than they’re displayed in Gmail as avatars.”
Those businesses that do not have a registered trademark can use a new type of BIMI certificate issued by CA called Common Mark Certificates (CMC).
This certificate allows a broader range of senders to utilize BIMI, who might not have the registered trademark required for a VMC.
This means that brands can display their logo without the Gmail verified checkmark that is displayed for VMCs.
The blue checkmark feature for Gmail apps on Android and iOS will be rolling out to all personal Google and Workspace accounts “over the next few weeks”, according to Google, which also confirmed that “Apple Mail or other mail applications are not supported.”
