Google has announced that it will be introducing a blue verified badge to business accounts in Gmail. The aim is to prevent criminals from impersonating brands and thus contain email fraud. The blue checkmark will help users identify legitimate messages from impersonators, as companies that have adopted the “Brand Indicators for Message Identification” (BIMI) will automatically receive the badge. This feature is exclusive to businesses and will help regular users (recipients) to identify whether a message on the Google service was sent by a legitimate brand.
Introduction
In recent years, email fraud has become a growing problem that has left individuals and companies vulnerable to various types of scams. Criminals have become increasingly skilled at impersonating brands and sending fraudulent emails that are difficult to distinguish from legitimate ones. To help prevent this, Google has announced the introduction of a blue verified badge that will be added to business accounts in Gmail.
What is the Blue Verified Badge?
The blue verified badge is a seal that appears next to the company name in the upper left corner of an email. It indicates that the sender of the email has confirmed that they are the owner of the company domain and the logo in their profile picture. The badge will only be available to businesses that have adopted BIMI.
How Does BIMI Work?
BIMI is a service that requires companies to authenticate their logos, confirming ownership of the brand being displayed in the email. Once a company has registered in BIMI, it will automatically receive the blue verified badge. The feature is exclusive to businesses, so regular users will not have access to the badge. The blue checkmark is free at the moment and will be available to all Google Workspace customers, legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and personal Google account users.
Why Is the Blue Verified Badge Important?
The blue verified badge is Google’s way of providing users with an extra layer of protection against scammers and fraudsters. It will allow users to have more confidence in the messages they receive, which is crucial in today’s digital age. As more and more companies adopt BIMI, the blue checkmark will become an increasingly common sight in users’ inboxes.
The Benefits of Strong Email Authentication
Strong email authentication helps users and email security systems identify and stop spam. It also enables senders to leverage their brand trust, increasing confidence in email sources and giving readers an immersive experience, creating a better email ecosystem for everyone. The blue checkmark is an important tool in this process, helping to identify legitimate messages from impersonators.
Other Platforms Offering Verification Options
In contrast to Google’s free blue verified badge, other social media platforms are testing paid verification options. For example, Meta is testing paid verification for Instagram and Facebook, which includes a verified badge, increased visibility on the platforms, prioritized customer support, and more. The feature was rolled out in Australia and New Zealand in February and will arrive in more countries soon. Twitter is also offering paid verification options, which have been controversial in some quarters. Elon Musk has removed all legacy blue badges on Twitter and now charges individual users and organizations for blue and gold ticks.
