Google To Let You Change Your Gmail Address Without Losing Access To Emails And Files: Check Step-By-Step Guide

Hyderabad: Google is finally allowing users to change their Gmail addresses. This means users will be able to change the part before @gmail.com, without losing access to their Google account, which stores their contacts, Drive files, emails, and photos.

Previously, users were required to create a brand new Gmail account if they wanted to change their email address. In a Hindi version of Google's support page, the tech giant explains the new feature, which also suggests that the rollout may begin in India or Hindi-speaking markets.

Under the new policy, users who change their address will keep their original address as an alias, meaning all the emails sent to the old address will continue to arrive in the inbox, and the original address will still work for signing in to Google services like Drive, Maps, and YouTube.

Google, before this update, allowed users with third-party email addresses to change them. This means that users who had not directly created an email ID in Gmail could change their email address. For instance, if a user’s Google account uses an email like yourname@yahoo.com or yourname@outlook.com, then the @yahoo, @outlook, and others are third-party email addresses. In contrast, the @gmail.com email address users had no option to change them.

How to change Gmail’s address?

Step 1: Open your Google Account

• On your computer, go to your Google Account.
• Sign in if you’re not already.

Step 2: Go to Personal Info

• On the left side menu, click Personal info.

Step 3: Find Email Settings

• Scroll down and click Email.
• Select the Google Account email.
• If you don’t see this option, your email might not be changeable yet.

Step 4: Edit Your Address

• Next to your email, click Edit.
• Type in the new Gmail address you want (it must be unique and not already taken).

Step 5: Save and Confirm

• Follow the on-screen instructions to confirm the change.
• Your old Gmail will still work as an alias, so emails sent there will still arrive.

Things to note

Here are the things that users must keep in mind while changing their Gmail address:

• Users can change their Gmail address once every year.
• Users can change their Gmail address only a maximum of three times (so four Gmail addresses in total per account).
• The Gmail account with a changed email address remains linked with the user, and nobody else can take it.

Some Google services (like Chromebooks, Remote Desktop, or apps that use “Sign in with Google”) may need extra steps after the Gmail change. Google suggest users back up their data, as App settings might get reset.