Gmail will start showing a pretty traditional blue checkmark next to the sender's name to verify their identity. In a blog post, Google explains that this feature should help users identify whether the email they receive is from a legitimate source or from a scammer.
As Twitter seems to want to undermine the integrity of the blue checkmark as a sign of trust, Google is rolling out its own certification system, with Gmail users now seeing new blue checkmarks appear next to their approved brand profiles in their inboxes.
The purpose of this measure is to help users identify messages from impersonators versus messages from legitimate senders. The blue checkmark automatically appears next to companies that have adopted the BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identity) feature, which requires Gmail to use strong authentication and verify the brand logo to display this logo as an avatar in their email messages.
BUSINESSES WILL HAVE BLUE BADGES NEXT TO THEIR NAMES
When you hover the mouse cursor over the blue checkmark next to the sender's name, you'll see a message stating "Confirm that the sender of this email owns the domain and logo in their profile picture".
Currently, if you receive an email from a verified account, the brand logo will appear in the avatar slot instead of their initials. So, if you're going to receive an email from Twitter, you should see the Twitter logo appear next to the sender's name, instead of a simple letter "L" instead of the logo.
The purpose of this new feature is simple: to prevent users from trusting emails sent by malicious sources. This blue tick will make it much easier for users to tell the difference between scammers and companies.
Note that the new feature is available to all Gmail and Google Workspace users starting today. This means that Google Workspace customers, legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal Google accounts will receive the new update within the next few days.