Gmail Adds Badges to Verify Emails and Fight Scams

Gmail Adds Badges to Verify Emails and Fight Scams

To combat phishing attempts, Gmail has introduced blue badges for verified businesses.

As phishing schemes grow more sophisticated, tech companies are finding innovative ways to protect users from cybercriminals. Gmail's introduction of blue verification badges for businesses is one such strategy, now expanding to both Android and iOS users.

These badges, visible next to a verified sender's name, help users quickly identify legitimate companies and differentiate them from potential scammers. This feature is part of Google's ongoing effort to boost email security and make phishing attempts easier to spot.

Account verification has become a standard feature across various platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Meta's Facebook and Instagram. These platforms use blue checkmarks to confirm the reliability of users, driven by the rise in identity theft and fake news.

In May 2023, Gmail followed suit by introducing blue badges on its web version to verify email senders, helping users detect phishing attempts, like fake emails from internet service providers or health insurance companies. Now, this feature is rolling out on mobile apps for Android and iOS, ensuring wider protection against scams.

© Gmail

How Gmail Badges Work

When users receive an email from a verified account, the company's logo replaces the usual avatar, confirming the email's legitimacy. Google added the blue checkmark feature in 2023, showing a message like "this email sender is verified" when users hover over the badge. This simple visual clue helps distinguish legitimate companies from scammers.

To get verified, businesses must enroll in Gmail's Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) program, which has been available since 2021. Businesses already in the program automatically receive the blue badge. The verification badge is accessible to both Google Workspace subscribers and individual Gmail users.

As phishing tactics evolve, these badges represent just one of many steps that Google and other tech companies are taking to protect users. This feature ensures greater security for Gmail users, making it easier to identify phishing attempts at a glance.