How does BIMI logo display differ between promotional and personal emails across different email providers?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 18 Apr 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
7 min read
Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) has emerged as a powerful tool for email senders to enhance their brand presence directly within the recipient's inbox. By allowing your official, verified brand logo to appear next to your email's subject line, BIMI offers an immediate visual cue that helps recipients identify and trust your messages. This goes beyond traditional email authentication by adding a clear visual signal that your emails are legitimate.
A common question that arises when considering BIMI implementation is how this logo display behaves across different email providers and for various types of emails, specifically promotional versus personal communications. The display logic isn't universally uniform; it largely depends on the mailbox provider's policies and how they interpret a BIMI record in conjunction with their own internal algorithms for classifying email traffic.
What is BIMI and how it works?
At its core, BIMI is an email specification that enables the display of a brand's logo in the inbox. However, it's not a standalone protocol. It builds upon existing email authentication standards, most notably DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance). For a BIMI logo to be displayed, the sending domain must have a DMARC policy enforced, typically set to quarantine or reject, ensuring that emails are properly authenticated by SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail).
Beyond DMARC, a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is often required by participating mailbox providers. A VMC is a digital certificate that verifies the authenticity of your brand logo, confirming that the logo is indeed a registered trademark owned by your organization. This extra layer of verification adds significant credibility and helps prevent impersonation. You can learn more about the benefits and requirements of BIMI for your email strategy.
The primary advantage of implementing BIMI is the enhanced brand recognition and trust it fosters. When recipients see a familiar logo, they are more likely to open the email, reducing the chances of it being marked as spam or overlooked. This visual authentication serves as a powerful signal, distinguishing legitimate communications from phishing attempts or other malicious emails.
Display logic: promotional versus personal emails
The crucial distinction in BIMI logo display often comes down to the individual policies of various mailbox providers. While the BIMI standard provides the framework, each provider decides how and when to apply the displayed logo. This is particularly relevant when differentiating between high-volume, promotional emails and lower-volume, personal (one-to-one) communications.
For example, Yahoo Mail has explicitly stated that they primarily display BIMI brand logos for bulk mailings. This means that if you're sending a large newsletter or marketing campaign, your BIMI logo is likely to appear. However, for personal, one-to-one emails sent from an employee's account within the same domain, Yahoo may not display the BIMI logo, opting instead for a traditional profile picture or no image at all. You can find more details on their specific guidelines for BIMI on the Yahoo Sender Hub.
In contrast, Gmail (and Google Workspace accounts) tends to display the BIMI logo for authenticated emails regardless of whether they are promotional or personal, provided all BIMI requirements are met. This means that an employee sending a one-to-one business email from a BIMI-enabled domain might see the corporate logo displayed instead of their personal Google profile picture. This behavior often leads to questions like why BIMI logos aren't showing in Gmail if not everything is configured correctly.
Here's a quick comparison of how some major providers handle this:
Mailbox Provider
Promotional/Bulk Emails
Personal/One-to-One Emails
Gmail / Google Workspace
Generally displays BIMI logo for authenticated emails.
Will typically display BIMI logo, overriding personal profile pictures.
Yahoo Mail / AOL Mail
Primarily displays BIMI logo for bulk mailings.
Typically does not display BIMI logo, may show profile picture or nothing.
Apple Mail (iOS 16+)
Supports Brand Indicators for Message Identification.
Supports BIMI for verified senders.
It's worth noting that while Microsoft Outlook has made strides in email security, full BIMI support, particularly for VMC-authenticated logos, is still evolving. You can investigate whether Microsoft Outlook supports BIMI for displaying logos.
Strategic domain usage for BIMI
Given the varying display logic across providers, a best practice often recommended is to separate your email traffic by (sub)domains. This means using a dedicated domain or subdomain for your bulk, promotional emails (e.g., marketing.yourbrand.com) and reserving your primary domain (e.g., yourbrand.com) for personal, corporate communications. This separation offers several benefits.
Firstly, it helps manage your domain reputation more effectively. If your promotional emails, which are typically sent in high volumes, encounter deliverability issues or land on a blocklist (or blacklist), it won't directly impact the reputation of your primary corporate domain. This protects your critical one-to-one communications from potential disruptions.
Secondly, it provides clearer signals to mailbox providers about the nature of your email traffic. They can then apply their respective display rules more accurately. If you choose to enable BIMI on both domains, your bulk emails will show the BIMI logo where supported for promotional mail, while your personal emails from the main domain might show it where supported for corporate mail, or default to a profile picture if the provider prioritizes that for one-to-one correspondence.
Ensuring BIMI compliance and visibility
Implementing BIMI requires careful attention to detail, from ensuring your DMARC policy is correctly configured to obtaining a VMC for your trademarked logo. The BIMI Group website offers comprehensive FAQs for senders and ESPs. Consistent adherence to these requirements is key to maximizing your logo's visibility across various inbox providers. Regular monitoring of your DMARC reports is also vital, as these provide insights into your email authentication status and potential issues that could hinder BIMI display. For example, knowing where the BIMI logo appears can help you troubleshoot display issues.
While some providers might show a generic profile picture or an initial if BIMI is not implemented or fails, having a verified BIMI logo provides a distinct advantage in building brand trust and recognition. It’s a proactive step in a world where email security and brand identity are increasingly intertwined, ultimately contributing to better email deliverability and recipient engagement. Understanding how to implement BIMI for Gmail and Yahoo Mail is a crucial step.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always ensure your DMARC policy is set to quarantine or reject, as this is a fundamental requirement for BIMI to function correctly across most providers.
Obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) for your brand logo to ensure it is displayed by providers like Google and Apple Mail, which require this extra layer of verification.
Consider using separate (sub)domains for bulk marketing emails and corporate one-to-one communications to better manage domain reputation and align with provider display policies.
Common pitfalls
Failing to meet DMARC alignment requirements, which will prevent your BIMI logo from displaying, even if you have a VMC.
Using a non-trademarked logo where a VMC is required, leading to non-display or the incorrect logo showing up.
Not separating bulk and transactional email traffic, which can lead to reputation issues for your main corporate domain if marketing emails face deliverability problems.
Expert tips
Regularly monitor BIMI compliance and logo display across various email clients using email testing tools to catch and rectify issues quickly.
If you have a Google Workspace account, ensure your Google profile picture doesn't conflict with your desired BIMI logo display; BIMI should take precedence.
Keep an eye on updates from the BIMI Group and major mailbox providers, as policies and requirements can evolve over time.
Marketer view
A marketer from Email Geeks says that having a picture uploaded to a Google profile makes it visible to all recipients at Gmail and business emails hosted on Google. They asked if the advantage of BIMI is broader logo display beyond just Google. The answer confirmed this understanding is correct, as BIMI extends logo visibility to all supporting mailboxes.
2022-06-23 - Email Geeks
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks says that the decision of whether a BIMI logo is displayed for promotional or personal emails rests with the individual mailbox provider or email app developer. They also advised that separating traffic by subdomains is generally recommended, as bulk traffic should ideally not originate from the main corporate email domain.
2022-06-23 - Email Geeks
Key takeaways for a consistent BIMI display
The display of your BIMI logo in email inboxes is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. While the core purpose of BIMI is to provide a verified brand logo, how and when that logo appears can differ significantly between promotional and personal emails, and critically, across various email providers.
By understanding these nuances and adopting strategic practices like domain separation and consistent adherence to BIMI requirements, businesses can maximize their brand visibility and build greater trust with their recipients, regardless of the email type or receiving platform. For specific troubleshooting, consider how to fix the wrong BIMI logo appearing in your emails.
Yahoo Mail has explicitly stated that they primarily display BIMI brand logos for bulk mailings. This means that if you're sending a large newsletter or marketing campaign, your BIMI logo is likely to appear. However, for personal, one-to-one emails sent from an employee's account within the same domain, Yahoo may not display the BIMI logo, opting instead for a traditional profile picture or no image at all. You can find more details on their specific guidelines for BIMI on the Yahoo Sender Hub.
Gmail (and 
Google Workspace accounts) tends to display the BIMI logo for authenticated emails regardless of whether they are promotional or personal, provided all BIMI requirements are met. This means that an employee sending a one-to-one business email from a BIMI-enabled domain might see the corporate logo displayed instead of their personal Google profile picture. This behavior often leads to questions like why BIMI logos aren't showing in Gmail if not everything is configured correctly.
Apple Mail (iOS 16+)
Microsoft Outlook has made strides in email security, full BIMI support, particularly for VMC-authenticated logos, is still evolving. You can investigate whether Microsoft Outlook supports BIMI for displaying logos.
