• by Ray Schultz , July 30, 2019

BIMI (Brand indicators for Message Identification) has taken another step forward with the announcement by Valimail that is offering the standard through its Amplify product.

This follows by days the news that Google is planning a BIMI pilot test for next year and has joined the AuthIndicators Working Group, the group overseeing BIMI development 

BIMI is a security standard that allows brands with DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Receiving & Conformance) protection to display their logos in email subject lines. The presence of the logo assures the recipient that the message is from a trusted sender, advocates say.

Amplify allows DMARC-enforced senders to display their logos in the email clients of BIMI-supporting vendors, Valimail says.

The service dovetails with “Google's forthcoming BIMI pilot, as well as the Yahoo Mail BIMI trial and Microsoft Business Profile for Outlook.com,” states William Stephens, vice president of product for Valimail.

Stephens add “Working together, our goal is to provide incentives, standards, and products that will make email more effective and trustworthy for everyone." 

Valimail Amplify also supports Microsoft Business Profile on Outlook.com, the company says.

BIMI was initially supported by the working group that included Google, Agari, Valimail, Comcast and Microsoft. The public members also include LinkedIn, Return Path from Validity and Verizon Media. Yahoo Mail was the first email service provider to test the standard in 2018.

To quality for BIMI, the domain owner must have specified a DMARC policy of enforcement at quarantine or reject.

In addition, the brand logo also must be validated by a third party, issued a Verified Mark Certificate.