BIMI: Adoption, example logos and provider support
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BIMI (Brand Identifiers for Message Identification) is a really interesting protocol. It allows a domain owner to publish a logo, meant to be displayed alongside emails from that domain, in various email clients. It works in close conjunction with email authentication and DMARC, requiring that a domain have a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject in place before a logo can be shown. And with a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC), a domain owner is able to assert that the logo displayed is valid, associated with the domain owner, and trademarked.
BIMI is a good thing to help show off that you're properly authenticating your mail, that you're protecting your email domain, and that you're going that extra step to show off your brand logo in valuable email client real estate. (And, while there hasn't been much public test data shared beyond Yahoo's trials in 2020, anecdotally, I've heard from multiple sources and senders that BIMI tends to boost engagement.)
Adoption: BIMI adoption is clearly growing. In June 2023, 14,305 of the top ten million domains published a BIMI record. By the end of June 2024, that number had jumped to 21,222. Over on Wombatmail, I’ve put together a new page that graphs BIMI’s growth month-by-month. This will be updated every month or two.
Keep in mind that I’m looking at the top ten million domains (as measured by Host.io) as my list of domains to monitor. Many other domain owners have also implemented a sender logo – one does not need to be a “top domain” to implement BIMI – this is just my way of trying to find something analogous to a sampling of the biggest brands or companies. If you monitor a different data set, you might see different results.
Sample Logos: I thought it would be fun to highlight examples of how many of the biggest and most well known brands have implemented BIM. The new BIMI section on Wombatmail highlights a large sampling of BIMI logos published by well-known entities. If you publish a BIMI logo, you’re in good company – I see well known banks, social media sites, retailers, news and entertainment platforms, and more! If you’re wondering “who else uses BIMI,” then this might be a good place to start.
Considering BIMI: Atmail, BT, Comcast, Qualitia, Seznam.cz, GMX, Yahoo Japan
Does not support BIMI: Microsoft
Currently, Apple and Google require that a BIMI logo be linked with a Verified Mark Certificate. Other providers are likely to follow suit (and Gmail and Apple are very large in their webmail and mobile app platforms already), suggesting that any “future proof” BIMI logo implementation needs to include a VMC.
Note that Microsoft has not indicated any plans to support BIMI logos. They had a similar system called “Brand Cards” that seems to have been retired as of a few years ago.
BIMI (Brand Identifiers for Message Identification) is a really interesting protocol. It allows a domain owner to publish a logo, meant to be displayed alongside emails from that domain, in various email clients. It works in close conjunction with email authentication and DMARC, requiring that a domain have a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject in place before a logo can be shown. And with a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC), a domain owner is able to assert that the logo displayed is valid, associated with the domain owner, and trademarked.
Adoption: BIMI adoption is clearly growing. In June 2023, 14,305 of the top ten million domains published a BIMI record. By the end of June 2024, that number had jumped to 21,222. Over on Wombatmail, I’ve put together a new page that graphs BIMI’s growth month-by-month. This will be updated every month or two.
Keep in mind that I’m looking at the top ten million domains (as measured by Host.io) as my list of domains to monitor. Many other domain owners have also implemented a sender logo – one does not need to be a “top domain” to implement BIMI – this is just my way of trying to find something analogous to a sampling of the biggest brands or companies. If you monitor a different data set, you might see different results.
Sample Logos: I thought it would be fun to highlight examples of how many of the biggest and most well known brands have implemented BIM. The new BIMI section on Wombatmail highlights a large sampling of BIMI logos published by well-known entities. If you publish a BIMI logo, you’re in good company – I see well known banks, social media sites, retailers, news and entertainment platforms, and more! If you’re wondering “who else uses BIMI,” then this might be a good place to start.
Mailbox Provider Support: Here’s where BIMI support lands with mailbox providers as of July, 2024.
- Supports BIMI: Apple, AU.com, Cloudmark, Fastmail, Google, La Poste, ONet Poczta, Yahoo, Zone, Zoner
- Considering BIMI: Atmail, BT, Comcast, Qualitia, Seznam.cz, GMX, Yahoo Japan
- Does not support BIMI: Microsoft
Currently, Apple and Google require that a BIMI logo be linked with a Verified Mark Certificate. Other providers are likely to follow suit (and Gmail and Apple are very large in their webmail and mobile app platforms already), suggesting that any “future proof” BIMI logo implementation needs to include a VMC.Note that Microsoft has not indicated any plans to support BIMI logos. They had a similar system called “Brand Cards” that seems to have been retired as of a few years ago.
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