There are blue checkmarks in Gmail that are meaningful

 

What you need to know

• Gmail will display a check mark icon next to “legitimate email senders”.
• It uses Google’s Brand Indicators Message Identification System (BIMI) to authenticate senders and prevent “impersonators”.
• All personal, Google Workspace, or legacy G Suite Gmail accounts will be able to see check marks, but only owners of the official domain name can receive check mark authentication.

Despite all the notoriety surrounding “blue flags” thanks to Twitter Blue, account verification is a useful way to prevent scams, and more and more companies are using it. First came Meta Verified on Facebook and Instagram, and now Gmail will verify that the emails you receive come from “real” sources.

In a Google Workspace blog post on Wednesday (Opens in a new tab)the company explained how it will use the check mark as well as the Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) system — which was first adopted in 2021 — to determine the legitimacy of a sender.

BIMI ensures that only companies that have validated their domain name and proven that they own the brand logo will be able to show that logo in the avatar slot next to the email. Now, in addition, senders who are BIMI-verified will also have a checkmark next to their name, further confirming that Google says they can be trusted.

In the example below, you can see how, when you hover your mouse pointer over the blue checkmark next to the Google name and logo, a box appears saying, “The sender of this email has verified ownership of google.com and the logo in the profile photo.”

In other words, You You won’t be getting a blue checkmark to verify your identity any time soon. But if you send emails on behalf of your business, you can set up BIMI (Opens in a new tab) Through this Google Support link, and rest assured your customers know your messages are legitimate.

The feature rollout begins May 3rd and will take 1-3 days, so by Saturday, May 6th, anyone with a personal or business Gmail account will be able to see the checkmarks. If you receive an email with an “official” banner but no check mark, and asking you to click a link or share information, it is likely a phishing attempt.

Compared to Google’s recent move in Gmail — integrating Bard AI into Gmail to help you “write” emails faster — this Gmail security update is less glamorous but ultimately more significant.

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