Google Starts Blue Verified Checkmark for Gmail Users

Treading the path of Twitter, Google has announced to display of a Blue checkmark next to a Gmail sender’s name to verify their identity and minimize scams. This service has been started for free.

Google first introduced Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) in Gmail in 2021. That feature required senders to use strong authentication and verify their brand logo in order to display the brand logo as an avatar in emails.

“Building upon that feature, users will now see a checkmark icon for senders that have adopted BIMI. This will help users identify messages from legitimate senders versus impersonators,” the company said in a statement. Companies that have adopted BIMI will automatically receive the checkmark.

The Blue checkmark comes to Google after Elon Musk removed all legacy Blue badges on the platform, and now charges Rs 900 a month (Rs 9,400 a year) from individual users for Blue ticks and $1,000 from organizations for Gold ticks.

Meta is also testing paid verification for Instagram and Facebook. The feature was rolled out to Australia and New Zealand in February and will be introduced in other countries soon.