Gmail Blue Checkmark for Android and iOS

 Gmail introduces blue verification sender checkmark to Android and iOS

It's been a year since Google introduced blue-coloured verification checkmarks for its email service, Gmail. Now, the company is taking the safety feature a couple of notches further and adding it to Gmail apps for Android and iOS. The blue checkmarks which Gmail introduced to verify senders last year are now coming to the Android and iOS app. For the unversed, the blue checkmark helps users verify that the email they received is from a trusted source, not some scamster trying to prey on unsuspecting people on the web. The checkmark is displayed in an email on the right side of the sender's name. The Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) standard shows brand logos in the “avatar slot” next to a sender’s name and address. For example, you see the Apple logo instead of a generic “A” in the circle.

Gmail shows the blue verified checkmark for senders who have adopted BIMI with a registered trademark (VMC). Google says “BIMI promotes another layer of security to Gmail by requiring strong authentication and verification of logos before they’re displayed in Gmail as avatars.” It's part of a Gmail feature called BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification). BIMI also allows senders with a registered trademark to verify their brand logo through a third party before displaying it as a Gmail avatar. After launching on the web last year, it’s now rolling out to Gmail for Android and iOS. On mobile, it appears between the sender name and date. Tapping will show the following prompt: “This sender of this email has verified that they own [example.com] and the logo in the profile image.”

Currently, Gmail on the web will display a verified checkmark for senders who have adopted BIMI with a registered trademark (VMC). Over the next few weeks, users will also see those verified checkmark icons while using the Gmail application on Android and iOS (Apple Mail or other mail applications are not supported). Note that this update is applicable for VMCs only. Some senders may not have a registered trademark but want to prove their legitimacy to the receiver. For those cases, Gmail now supports a new type of BIMI certificate called Common Mark Certificate (CMC). The certificate allows "a broader range of senders to utilize BIMI, who might not have the registered trademark required for a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)." These blue checkmarks in Gmail for Android and iOS are rolling out “over the next few weeks” to personal Google and Workspace accounts.

Meanwhile, Gmail is supporting a “new type of BIMI certificate being issued by Certificate Authorities (CA) that allows for a “broader range of senders to utilize BIMI, who might not have the registered trademark required for a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC).”  Senders can have their brand avatars displayed in Gmail with a CMC, but it won't carry a blue checkmark like VMC, the search giant added. The blue checkmark has started rolling out for Android and iOS devices and will take about two weeks to reach all users. It will be available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts in the near future. With a CMC, the sender’s brand avatar will be displayed without the Gmail verified checkmark that’s displayed for VMCs.