Google’s Christmas gift to its Gmail users who have addresses that date back years and that perhaps they would like to change. According to an update to the Google account support page, account holders can now replace their existing @gmail.com address with a new one, while retaining all data and services.
First launch in India
However, the updated guidelines on changing email addresses only appear on the Hindi version of Google’s support page, suggesting that the rollout could begin in India or Hindi-speaking markets. The support page states that the feature will gradually roll out to all users, suggesting that full global adoption is imminent, but may take some time. The English-language page maintains previous guidance that @gmail.com addresses “usually cannot be changed.” Under the new policy, users who change their address will automatically keep their original address as an alias. Emails sent to the old address will continue to arrive in your inbox, and the original address will still work for accessing Google services like Drive, Maps, and YouTube.
Without losing data
Previously, users who wanted a new Gmail address had to create a new account and manually transfer their data through a complicated and laborious process that could break integration with third-party apps. Google said existing data, including photos, messages and emails, will remain unchanged after the address update. Users can also reuse their old Google Account email address at any time, according to a Google translation of the Hindi support page. However, accounts that change their Gmail address will not be able to create another new Gmail address for the next 12 months and will not be able to delete the new address they chose. Google has not issued any official press release or announcement regarding the change, which was reportedly first discovered in user forums and tech communities.