What is BIMI?

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is a standard that lets your logo appear next to your emails in supporting inboxes like Gmail and Apple Mail — a small trust signal that the message genuinely came from you. Here is why it belongs in a security discussion rather than a branding one:

• Enforcing DMARC is the prerequisite — BIMI only works once your domain has an enforcing DMARC policy (p=quarantine or p=reject). You cannot display the logo until you have shut the door on spoofing first.
• Order is the insight — for a small business, BIMI is not a starting point, it is the reward for finishing email authentication.
• A Verified Mark Certificate may be required — some inboxes additionally require a paid Verified Mark Certificate before they will show the logo.

Treat BIMI as the carrot at the end of email authentication: get SPF, DKIM and an enforcing DMARC policy done, and the logo becomes available as a bonus.