Google Follows In Twitter’s Footsteps With Its Own Blue Checkmarks On Gmail

While users on Twitter are still coming to terms with the disappearance of the platform’s blue checkmarks, it seems Google has stepped in to adopt the iconic symbol—this time, for its email service, Gmail.

This new feature will help users identify if a sender is genuine or could be a fraud. Starting now, emails sent from companies with verified identities will have a blue tick next to the sender’s name as part of the brand’s Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) project.

According to Engadget, the technology giant started rolling out BIMI in 2020, first enabling verified brands to add authenticated logos to messages. That’s recently morphed into a blue checkmark, which might be a more eye-catching indicator for users at a glance.

Upon hovering over the blue tick, a pop-up message will read: “The sender of this email has verified that they own [the domain] and the logo in the profile image.” Users can then click on a link to access more information.

“Strong email authentication helps users and email security systems identify and stop spam, and also enables senders to leverage brand trust. This increases confidence in email sources and gives readers an immersive experience, creating a better email ecosystem for everyone,” Google explained.

The feature will be available to all users with personal Google accounts, Google Workspace customers, as well as Legacy G Suite and Business customers.

[via Engadget and TechCrunch, images via Google]