This could help with e-mail spam and phishing attacks.
Apple will apparently be incorporating the Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) standard in its Apple Mail program for iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura.
“[This] is an emerging email specification that enables the use of brand-controlled logos within support email clients,” says the AuthIndicators Working Group on its BIMI website. “BIMI leverages the work an organization has put into deploying DMARC protection, by bringing brand logos to the customer’s inbox.”
“For the brand’s logo to be displayed,” it continues, “the email must pass DMARC authentication checks, ensuring that the organization’s domain has not been impersonated.”
Google introduced the BIMI feature for Gmail in 2020, and the standard pushes for a company’s logo to be in a specific place in an email, which helps ensure that the message is genuine.
Any spam company can copy a logo, but it won’t get displayed unless the email passes a series of authentication tests called DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance).”
As noted by Twitter user Charlie Fish, a recent iOS 16 beta displays the logo in the same spot a regular user’s photo or initials appear.
BIMI requires support from the makers of email clients such as Apple with its Mail app. However, it also depends on the company sending the emails to have also gone through authentication processes.
The presence of BIMI support in Apple Mail, though, is likely to encourage more companies to take part.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and @char_fish