Stuck with old Gmail address? Google finally offers a way out

Google is rolling out a long-awaited feature that allows users to change their primary @gmail.com email address without losing any data tied to their account, the company said.

According to updates appearing on Google’s official support page, users will be able to switch to a new Gmail address while keeping all existing information intact, including emails, photos, messages and files.

The original Gmail address will continue to function as an alias, which means messages sent to the old address will still be delivered.

“The email address associated with your Google Account is the address you use to sign in to Google services,” Google said on its support website. “This email address helps you and others identify your account. If you’d like, you can change your Google Account email address that ends in gmail.com to a new email address that ends in gmail.com.”

“The old email address in your Google Account that ends with gmail.com will be set as an alias…Data saved in your account, including photos, messages, and emails sent to your old email address, will not be affected,” the website showed.

The company said users will be able to sign in to services such as Gmail, Maps, YouTube and Drive using either the old or the new address after the change.

The feature is being introduced gradually and may not yet be available to all users.

The company added that once a new Gmail address is created, users will not be able to create another new address for 12 months.

However, they can continue using the old address at any time.

Users can check whether the option is available by going to the “Personal information” section of their Google Account settings and reviewing the email address details.

While Google said user data will remain unaffected, it advised backing up information before making the change, noting that some app-specific settings could be reset during the process.