Email Profile Photos

Profile photos that appear next to emails are not part of the email protocol itself but are handled by the recipient's email client. This guide explains how to set up profile photos that might appear when you send emails.

Understanding Email Profile Photos

Important facts to understand:

• Email protocols (SMTP/IMAP/POP3) do not include profile photo capabilities
• Whether your photo appears depends entirely on the recipient's email client
• MXroute has no direct control over how your profile photo displays

How to Set Up Profile Photos

There are two main approaches:

1. Gravatar

Gravatar (Globally Recognized Avatar) is a service that associates profile images with email addresses.

Setup Steps:

1. Visit gravatar.com and create an account
2. Upload your desired profile photo
3. Associate it with your MXroute email address

Advantages:

• Widely supported by many email clients
• Same image appears across various websites and services
• Free to use

2. BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification)

BIMI is a newer standard designed for organizations to display brand logos in email clients.

Requirements:

• Properly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (with enforced policy)
• SVG logo in proper BIMI format
• In some cases, a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)

Best For:

• Business or organizational email domains
• Companies with established brand identities
• Those willing to invest time and resources into email authentication

Important Limitations

• Recipients who have saved you as a contact with a photo will see that photo regardless of your setup
• First-time recipients may not see any photo
• Some email clients don't display profile photos at all
• Corporate email systems often block external image/photo requests

For most users, Gravatar provides the simplest solution, though there's no guarantee your photo will appear for all recipients.