How does Yahoo Mail display a sender's logo without a BIMI record?

Summary

When a BIMI record is not present, Yahoo Mail's system attempts to display a sender's logo using a legacy mechanism that incorporates various data points, including sender reputation, historical data, web scraping, and proprietary algorithms. This process lacks transparency and control, often resulting in unpredictable or inaccurate logo displays. While contacting Yahoo may help with incorrect logos, the consensus is that implementing BIMI offers the most reliable way for brands to manage their logo presentation and ensure consistent brand representation. A DMARC policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' is required for BIMI implementation.

Key findings

  • Legacy System: Yahoo Mail employs a legacy system for displaying logos in the absence of a BIMI record.
  • Unpredictable Display: Logo display without BIMI is often unpredictable and may show outdated or irrelevant images.
  • Various Data Sources: Yahoo's system utilizes sender reputation, historical data, web scraping, and proprietary algorithms to select logos.
  • Lack of Control: Senders have limited or no control over the displayed logo when BIMI is not implemented.
  • BIMI Recommended: Implementing BIMI is the recommended solution for controlling logo display and ensuring accurate brand representation.
  • DMARC Requirement: A DMARC policy of 'quarantine' or 'reject' is required to implement BIMI.

Key considerations

  • Implement BIMI: Consider implementing BIMI to ensure consistent and controlled brand representation in Yahoo Mail.
  • Contact Yahoo: If facing issues with an incorrect logo display, contacting mail-questions@yahooinc.com may be a temporary solution.
  • Monitor Display: Regularly monitor the logo displayed in Yahoo Mail to ensure it aligns with your brand, particularly if not using BIMI.
  • Consistent Branding: Maintain consistent branding across all email communications and website presence to potentially influence Yahoo's logo selection in the absence of BIMI.
  • DMARC Policy: Ensure your domain has a DMARC policy set to 'quarantine' or 'reject' to meet the requirements for BIMI implementation.

What email marketers say
11Marketer opinions

When a BIMI record is absent, Yahoo Mail's logo display relies on a legacy system that is often unpredictable and inconsistent. This system may use cached logos, scrape logos from the sender's website, leverage sender reputation data, or display generic icons. Contacting Yahoo is an option to address incorrect logos. However, implementing BIMI is the recommended approach, requiring a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject. This ensures brands have control over the displayed logo and consistent representation.

Key opinions

  • Legacy System: Yahoo uses a legacy system to display logos when BIMI is absent.
  • Unpredictability: Logo display without BIMI is unpredictable and may show outdated or irrelevant images.
  • Data Sources: Yahoo might use cached logos, scrape the sender's website, or leverage sender reputation data.
  • BIMI Control: Implementing BIMI gives brands control over the displayed logo.
  • DMARC Requirement: BIMI implementation requires a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject.

Key considerations

  • Implement BIMI: Consider implementing BIMI for consistent and controlled brand representation.
  • Contact Yahoo: Contact mail-questions@yahooinc.com if an incorrect logo is displayed without BIMI as a temporary solution.
  • Monitor Display: Monitor Yahoo's logo display to ensure it aligns with your brand, especially if not using BIMI.
  • Consistent Branding: Maintain consistent branding across all email communications to influence Yahoo's logo selection in the absence of BIMI.
  • DMARC Policy: Ensure your domain has a DMARC policy set to 'quarantine' or 'reject' if you plan to implement BIMI.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit mentions that Yahoo might use a cached version of a logo or a logo scraped from the sender's website. They suggest monitoring Yahoo's display and consider implementing BIMI for full control.

November 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sender Authentication Blog explains that if no BIMI record is detected, Yahoo may attempt to pull the logo from the sender's website. Ensuring the logo is easily accessible and prominently displayed on the site can influence Yahoo's selection.

August 2022 - Sender Authentication Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Deliverability Consultant Blog explains that Yahoo's fallback logo system can be erratic. Without BIMI, the displayed logo might be completely unrelated to the sender's brand, which stresses the need to implement BIMI for consistent representation.

December 2022 - Deliverability Consultant Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailToolTester explains that Yahoo Mail uses a legacy logo display mechanism when a BIMI record is absent. This legacy system attempts to show a logo based on information Yahoo has previously gathered about the sender.

November 2023 - EmailToolTester
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks reminds that a criteria is the respective domain must have a dmarc policy of _quarantine or reject_ too.

November 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests that Yahoo may use a combination of sender reputation and domain information to select a logo when BIMI is absent, but the exact process is not transparent.

October 2024 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks clarifies that the only way for a brand to control the logo shown is to update/add a BIMI record. Legacy logos can be turned off, but not updated. The system will pick up the BIMI record automatically, and if not seen after a week, it's fine to reach out.

January 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailGeeks Community notes that Yahoo's logo display without BIMI can be unpredictable, often relying on outdated or irrelevant images. They suggest consistent email branding and monitoring as temporary measures.

October 2024 - EmailGeeks Community
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests contacting mail-questions@yahooinc.com if the logo is incorrect, but preferably using BIMI to display the correct logo, noting that they don't require a VMC.

June 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Stack Overflow shares that Yahoo may display a default logo or a generic icon if no BIMI record is found. They recommend ensuring consistent branding across all email communications to influence Yahoo's logo selection.

June 2021 - Stack Overflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora mentions that Yahoo might use a generic icon or a default image related to the email content when BIMI is not in place, emphasizing the inconsistency senders may face.

November 2024 - Quora

What the experts say
2Expert opinions

When a domain lacks a BIMI record, Yahoo Mail utilizes a legacy logo display mechanism. This system relies on Yahoo's internal heuristics, which may include scraping the sender's website or leveraging historical data, leading to unpredictable results. Experts recommend implementing BIMI to gain control over logo display and contacting Yahoo directly to address issues with the legacy system.

Key opinions

  • Legacy System: Yahoo uses a legacy logo display mechanism for domains lacking BIMI.
  • Unpredictable Display: Without BIMI, Yahoo's logo display is unpredictable and relies on internal heuristics.
  • Data Sources: Yahoo's heuristics may involve scraping the sender's website or using historical data.
  • BIMI Recommended: Experts strongly recommend implementing BIMI for control over logo display.

Key considerations

  • Implement BIMI: Implement BIMI to ensure consistent and controlled logo display.
  • Contact Yahoo: If facing issues with the legacy system, contact Yahoo directly to address concerns.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks confirms that Yahoo has a legacy logo display mechanism for domains lacking BIMI and that contacting Yahoo about it was the right move.

January 2025 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that without a BIMI record, Yahoo's logo display is unpredictable and relies on Yahoo's internal heuristics, which may include scraping the sender's website or using historical data. He strongly recommends implementing BIMI for control.

October 2021 - Spam Resource

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Without a BIMI record, Yahoo Mail uses proprietary algorithms, sender reputation data, historical data, and web scraping to attempt to display a logo based on existing brand recognition. This process is less reliable, lacks transparency, and gives senders no control over the displayed image. Implementing BIMI is recommended to ensure the correct logo is displayed.

Key findings

  • Proprietary Algorithms: Yahoo relies on proprietary algorithms to display logos without BIMI.
  • Data Sources: Yahoo uses sender reputation data, historical data, and web scraping.
  • Lack of Control: Senders have no control over the displayed image without BIMI.
  • Less Reliable: The logo display process without BIMI is less reliable.
  • Importance of BIMI: Implementing BIMI is crucial for reliable branding and correct logo display.

Key considerations

  • Implement BIMI: Implement BIMI to ensure reliable branding and control over logo display.
  • Monitor Display: Monitor logo display in Yahoo Mail to ensure it aligns with your brand if you are not using BIMI.
Technical article

Documentation from Validity details that Yahoo might fallback to using sender reputation data or previously identified logos for senders without BIMI. It highlights the lack of control senders have in this scenario, stressing the benefit of BIMI.

September 2022 - Validity
Technical article

Documentation from Agari elaborates that Yahoo may use a combination of algorithms based on sender reputation and historical data, along with web scraping, to select logos without BIMI. This process lacks transparency and control, hence the necessity of BIMI for reliable branding.

January 2024 - Agari
Technical article

Documentation from Yahoo Help indicates that if a sender doesn't have a BIMI record, Yahoo's systems may attempt to display a logo based on existing brand recognition. It recommends using BIMI to ensure the correct logo is displayed.

September 2023 - Yahoo Help
Technical article

Documentation from BIMI Group explains that without BIMI, Yahoo relies on proprietary algorithms and historical data to display a sender logo. This process is less reliable and gives senders no control over the displayed image, reinforcing the importance of BIMI implementation.

May 2023 - BIMI Group