Google is improving the VMC display in Gmail

29 Jun 2023 | Jindřich Zechmeister

Gmail has decided to add a second trust symbol - the blue checkmark - to the VMC/BIMI symbols. It will help message readers to better distinguish messages from trusted senders using VMC certificates. Let's take a look at what the new symbol looks like and recap the state of VMC/BIMI usage by major service providers.

Gmail drives VMC use forward

Google is definitely the most active promoter of VMC. It was the first of the big IT corporations to start displaying VMC certificate logos in their mail service. Since the sender logos (avatars) are rather lost in Gmail, I am thrilled that they decided to add a blue whistle to the sender's name.

Compare for yourself what the default avatar looks like for a sender without VMC versus how it looks for an email sent with VMC.

This really doesn't look very credible. Banks in particular should use VMC/BIMI...

This sender definitely looks more trustworthy. Users are used to this symbol from Twitter and will easily understand that the sender has been somehow verified and that they can trust the message. The sender has not been spoofed.

VMC admission status

VMC is supported by major postal service providers, led by the aforementioned Google. Apple supports BIMI on its devices and displays the logo from members‘ VMC certificates. Their graphic below clearly shows the current status.

The last major player not to support VMC/BIMI in their services was Microsoft. However, the situation has changed here as well, and Microsoft already supports VMC in at least the Dynamics 365 Marketing service. I believe that Microsoft is already working hard to fully integrate VMC/BIMI into services and applications.

How to get a VMC certificate

You can get a VMC certificate easily - just order it via SSLmarket and meet the necessary prerequisites. The certificate is issued for a specific logo, on which you need to have a trademark and DMARC set for the sender's domain. You can find more information in the article What do I have to do to get a VMC certificate? When you get the VMC certificate, we will be happy to help you with deployment.

Sources:

Expanding upon Gmail security with BIMI. Available at: Google Workspace Blog.

BIMI Support. Available at: Dynamics 365 Marketing.