Google May Soon Let You Change That Old, Silly Gmail Address

After announcing a new year discount on Google One cloud storage plans and the new Google CC AI assistant, Google has yet another good news that some long-time Gmail users may be waiting for. The company will supposedly let Gmail users change their older email IDs to ones that are more formal than what they picked long ago. According to 9to5Google, the support for email address changes will be rolling out gradually. An official Google page in Hindi provides some details about the process.

If you've been using an old Gmail ID as your primary one for years, it's not easy to get rid of the silly email address you chose when you were younger. You may have years of data synced to the idea, so creating a new Google account wouldn't help cover up the embarrassment. Additionally, you may be using the same Gmail ID to log in to several other apps and services, including Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, etc. Thankfully, that might change soon.

Along with several Gmail tips and tricks, users can change their IDs even right now. But the feature isn't available to addresses ending in @gmail.com. A Google support document notes that "you usually can't change" those email addresses. However, the Hindi version mentions the new feature that Google is about to roll out. Here's what a machine-translated version of the document reads: "If the last part of your Google Account email address is gmail.com, you can replace that email address with an email address that ends with @gmail.com." Later in the same document, Google explains that the original Gmail handle you used for the account will remain yours, but both @gmail.com addresses will point to the same account. You'll still receive emails at the old address, so you won't have to worry about changing all your logins you may have created with it.

Instead, you can use the new Gmail address for more official communications, where the Gmail address may matter. The best part about the process is that users won't have to worry about moving any data from the old account to the new account. The data will not be affected by the Gmail name change, whether it's photos, emails, or messages. Google also explains that both email addresses can be used to log into your account since the original ID won't be discontinued. That said, Google will only let you create up to three other email addresses linked to your existing Gmail account. Importantly, you can add a new email address every 12 months. You'll have to wait a year before you change it again. At this point, though, it's unclear when Google will officially announce the Gmail name change feature.