Google just unveiled a long-requested feature that finally lets Gmail users replace their existing, maybe embarrassing, @gmail.com address with a new one while keeping all their account data and services intact, as per CNBC. This is a massive win for anyone still saddled with a ridiculous email address they created back in high school or college.
For years, if you wanted to ditch an email address, you were stuck. The prior guidance on Google’s English support page always stated that Gmail addresses “usually cannot be changed.” If you really wanted a new identity, you had to go through a complicated and frankly fraught process. That process required you to create an entirely new Google account and then manually transfer all your data over.
No one wants to deal with that hassle, especially since manually moving data often disrupts integrations with important third-party apps you rely on every day. Now, the process is streamlined, offering a huge quality-of-life upgrade for millions of users. Existing data, including all your photos, emails, and messages, remains completely unchanged after you update your address.
You can finally get rid of that high school mistake without losing access to your digital life
But here’s the interesting part, and it’s a bit of a twist: Google isn’t deleting the old address entirely. Under this new policy, your original address automatically stays active as a permanent alias. This means that emails sent to the old address will continue to arrive in your main inbox, ensuring you don’t miss anything important.
The original address also continues to work perfectly for signing into all your critical Google services like Drive, Maps, and YouTube. I think this is actually a fantastic compromise because it ensures you don’t lose access to crucial accounts, but it’s a little strange knowing that the embarrassing name is still a bizarre ghost haunting your inbox forever. You can also reuse the old Google account email address at any time if you ever need to revert or use it for something else.
If you are eager to make the switch right now, you might have to wait a little while. The updated guidance regarding this email address change currently appears only in the Hindi version of Google’s account help page. This strongly suggests that the initial rollout will begin in India or Hindi-speaking markets first. We can expect full global adoption, since the support page indicated that the feature is gradually rolling out to all users, but it could take some time to reach everyone.
If you check the English-language support page right now, it still shows the prior guidance. Google hasn’t even issued a formal press release or announcement about this yet, which is a pretty low-key way to drop such a major feature. It was reportedly first spotted by users within tech communities and forums.
There are a couple of important restrictions you need to be aware of once you decide to make the jump. Users who change their Gmail address won’t be able to create another new Gmail address for the next 12 months. This is a substantial lock-in period, so you need to be absolutely sure about your new choice. Furthermore, once you pick your new address, you cannot delete it.
After Google Translate’s revolutionary update, this is another banger from Google. It finally solves the problem of those cringe-worthy email addresses without forcing users to abandon their accumulated data and service history. The new AI tool that sends you a daily summary email every morning, however, is not getting the same warm reception.
Published: Dec 26, 2025 02:00 pm