How to change your Gmail address as Google finally allows users to create a new alias
Google is finally letting users change their Gmail address without deleting their account or starting over.
There are plenty of reasons someone might want a new email address. For example, fixing a username that made sense years ago but definitely doesn’t anymore - whether its because of changing your name or simply an embarrasing address you made as a teenager.
Until now, anyone with an “@gmail.com” address was stuck with it for life. The only way to change it was to delete the account entirely or create a brand-new one.
This limitation never affected users who signed up for a Google Account using a third-party email, but for Gmail users, there was no workaround.
But that is now all going to change. Late last year, Google quietly began rolling out the ability to change a Gmail address directly. The feature appeared first on non-English support pages and has gradually expanded. As of this week, it’s now live on Google’s main English support page.
When you change your Gmail address, Google says your old address won’t disappear. Instead, it becomes an alias tied to the same account. Emails sent to either address will land in the same inbox, so nothing gets lost in the transition.
There are limits, though. Google allows address changes only once every 12 months, and no more than three times total.
Google hasn’t confirmed exactly how widely this feature is available yet. Right now, it appears to be live in India, but the steps should be the same wherever it launches next.
How to change your Gmail address
Go to myaccount.google.com/google-account-email on desktop or mobile, then select Personal info from the left menu.
Tap the Email section, and under Google Account email, choose Change your Google Account email address.
Enter your new username, select Change email address and confirm.
Once complete, both your old and new addresses will continue to work under the same account.