Inbox icons

Adding your brand logo or personal photo to emails increases recognition, trust, and open rates. Research shows visual identifiers in the inbox can lift open rates by up to 21%.

Why inbox icons matter

Brand recognition

Visual identifiers help your emails stand out in crowded inboxes, recognition kicks in before recipients open the message.

Higher open rates

Recognizable logos can lift open rates by up to 21%.

Trust

A familiar logo or face reduces phishing concerns and builds confidence in your brand.

Consistency

A unified visual identity across email clients reinforces a polished brand experience.

Two ways to set this up

Email client setup (easy)
BIMI (advanced)

Add icons to individual email providers via your account profile. Supports both company logos and personal photos.

Pros:

Personal photos and company logos
No additional cost beyond the basic accounts
Simple, no technical skill required

Cons:

Set up separately for each provider
Limited to supported clients
No verification badge

Gmail

Sign in to the Google account associated with your sending address
Click your profile icon in the top right
Click “Manage your Google Account”
Open Personal info in the left menu
Under Profile, click your profile picture
Upload your logo or photo
Set as profile photo

Gmail displays icons in the mobile app (including push notifications) and inside opened emails on desktop, but not in the inbox list view on desktop.

Apple Mail

Apple Branded Mail lets you display your logo as an avatar in Apple Mail inboxes on supported devices (iOS, iPadOS, macOS).

Apple Branded Mail only works in Apple Mail on recent iOS, iPadOS, and macOS versions. It won’t show in other clients or older Apple Mail versions.

Prerequisites

Create an Apple Business Connect account (sign up)
Make sure your DNS records are set up. Apple Branded Mail requires DMARC, which you’ve already configured if you completed Brew onboarding
Have a company identification number for Apple to verify your business

Configure DMARC at enforcement

You may need to update your DMARC policy to p=quarantine; or p=reject; and pct=100
Example: v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; pct=100; rua=mailto:dmarcreports@example.com

Test your deliverability before tightening DMARC to make sure existing sends still authenticate cleanly.

Add your company and brand details

Enter your company address, name, and required details in Business Connect
Select Branded Mail in the sidebar
Add your brand name and website

Upload your logo

Apple requires a logo at least 1024 × 1024 px in .png, .heif, or .jpeg

Add your domain(s)

Specify the domains or addresses where your logo should appear
You can register your logo for the root domain or a subdomain, if you don’t set a specific subdomain logo, the root one is used
See domain verification for guidance on choosing root vs subdomain

Verify your company

Provide your company identification number (e.g., Federal Taxpayer ID in the US)
Apple will ask you to add a DNS record to verify domain ownership

Apple review and activation

Review takes up to seven business days
Once approved, your logo appears in Apple Mail for supported recipients

Apple Branded Mail works only with commercial domains (not gmail.com, etc.) and requires the DNS records you set up in domain verification.

Best results come from setting up Apple Branded Mail, BIMI, and per-client profiles together.

Outlook

Sign in to your Outlook account
Click your profile icon in the top right
Select My profile or View account
Click Edit profile
Upload your logo or photo
Save

Outlook primarily displays icons in the mobile app and inside opened emails on desktop.

Yahoo

Sign in to your Yahoo account
Click your profile icon
Select Account info
Open Personal info
Click your profile image
Upload your logo or photo
Save

Yahoo Mail shows icons in both the message list and message view.

Gravatar

Gravatar is used by clients like Thunderbird, Airmail, and Postbox.

Go to Gravatar.com
Create an account or sign in
Add your brand logo or photo
Verify the email addresses you send from
Your icon now displays in clients that use Gravatar

A standardized way to display your company logo across multiple clients with one setup. More technical setup, sometimes a certificate cost.

Pros:

Works across multiple clients with one setup
Provides verification and trust indicators
Consistent brand presentation

Cons:

Company logos only (no personal photos)
Requires DNS configuration
Often requires a certificate ( $800–$ 1,500/year)

What is BIMI?

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is an email standard that lets your logo appear automatically in compatible inbox clients. It works on top of the DNS records you’ve already configured with Brew.What BIMI does

Displays your logo in supporting clients
Works across multiple platforms with a single setup
Adds a verification layer that builds recipient trust
Some providers add a verification checkmark next to your logo

Supported clients

Gmail and Google Workspace
Apple Mail (macOS Ventura 13+, iOS 16+, iPadOS 16+)
Yahoo Mail
Fastmail, AOL, Netscape, Pobox

Not supported by: Outlook and other Microsoft clients

How BIMI works

Authentication check. When you send an email, the recipient’s provider verifies your DMARC, DKIM, and SPF records (already set up via domain verification)
Logo retrieval. If authentication passes, the provider reads your BIMI record and displays your logo
Trust verification. With a VMC, your logo’s ownership is verified, adding extra trust signals

Certificate options

Verified Mark Certificate (VMC):

Requires a registered trademark for your logo
~$1,500/year
Works with all BIMI-supporting clients
Adds a blue verification checkmark in Gmail

Common Mark Certificate (CMC):

For businesses without a trademark
Requires proof you’ve used your logo consistently for at least one year
~$800/year
Currently only works with Gmail
No verification checkmark

No certificate:

Works only with Yahoo Mail
No verification checkmark
Free, but limited coverage

If most of your audience uses Gmail, a CMC may be enough. For broader coverage including Apple Mail, get a VMC.

BIMI setup with Brew

If you completed domain verification, you’ve already set up the DMARC foundation BIMI needs. To finish:1. Authenticate at enforcement

DMARC policy must be p=quarantine or p=reject (not p=none)
pct=100 (anything less is not accepted)
Apply to both domain and subdomains (sp=quarantine or sp=reject)

2. Prepare your logo

Square SVG in Tiny PS format
Max 32KB
Hosted with HTTPS
Validate with the BIMI Generator

3. Obtain a certificate (recommended)

Buy a VMC or CMC from Entrust or DigiCert
VMC requires a registered trademark
CMC requires demonstrated logo use over time
Self-asserted BIMI (no certificate) has limited support

4. Add the BIMI DNS record

Name: default._bimi
Type: TXT
Value: v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/certificate.pem;

l= points to your hosted logo (HTTPS required)
a= points to your certificate (include for VMC/CMC, optional otherwise)

5. VerifyUse the BIMI Generator to validate everything is configured correctly.

For complete details, see the official BIMI implementation guide.

DNS changes can take 24–48 hours to propagate. Providers may take additional time to display your logo.

BIMI requirements evolve. Each provider sets its own criteria. Check the BIMI Group website for current standards.

Need Help?

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Emails

Audience

Brand

Analytics

Reference

Why inbox icons matter

Brand recognition

Higher open rates

Trust

Consistency

Two ways to set this up

What is BIMI?

How BIMI works

Certificate options

BIMI setup with Brew

Need Help?

Search Documentation

ChatGPT/Claude Integration

Schedule a Call

Call Us Directly

Slack Channel

Email Support

Get started

Emails

Audience

Brand

Analytics

Reference

Documentation Index

​Why inbox icons matter

Brand recognition

Higher open rates

Trust

Consistency

​Two ways to set this up

What is BIMI?

How BIMI works

Certificate options

BIMI setup with Brew

​Need Help?

Search Documentation

ChatGPT/Claude Integration

Schedule a Call

Call Us Directly

Slack Channel

Email Support

Why inbox icons matter

Two ways to set this up

Need Help?