There is an option for “avp” in the proposed spec now (as of a few months ago). This allows the sending domain to give a preference to the user-based avatar vs the domain-based BIMI. There is also another new piece that allows the “selector by local-part”, so there could be some ability there to change the displayed iconography based on an individual sending local-part. However, this setting relies on being explicitly noted in the BIMI DNS record for the sending domain.
However, neither of these are specifically a “Personal VMC” as I suspect the OP is asking for. -- Alex Brotman Sr. Engineer, Anti-Abuse & Messaging Policy Comcast From: mailop <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Laura Atkins via mailop Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2025 5:32 AM To: Mailing List <[email protected]> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [mailop] VMC/BIMI - Getting a personal VMC certificate? On 19 Nov 2025, at 16:30, Todd Herr via mailop <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: On Wed, Nov 19, 2025 at 11:25 AM Al Iverson via mailop <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: And separately, I'll put this on the wish list of stuff that I'll bring up in discussions with others in the BIMI Group. I love the idea of a "personal mark certificate," though I don't know how feasible it is. I'm in the same boat as you, in that I'm not really a company, but I'd love to implement BIMI as broadly as possible. Personally, I shudder to think what my face might look like when rendered in SVG Tiny PS format. YMMV… BIMI is operated at the domain level. The number of single user domains is negligible - probably most easily measured as ppm or ppb. While many of us here on this list ARE in that group, we represent probably a high fraction of the applicable users. Additionally, at least some of those users are going to object to uploading sensitive personal data to a third party verification service. Data collectors seem to have challenges keeping data secure. Fun to speculate about but BIMI seems the wrong protocol to put avatars in email. laura -- The Delivery Expert Laura Atkins Word to the Wise [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Delivery hints and commentary: http://www.wordtothewise.com/blog<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.wordtothewise.com/blog__;!!CQl3mcHX2A!E2SZO-Yzw-qP0l0OviexhfFL7enFi-xpvWYlJ27hsb8dh1HtBASpCfRUMRN6kYWtAd6Pga20Gbz4lQOc-KY$>
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