Google announced this week in a blog post that the Gmail address change feature is now available for all Google Account users in the United States, following a quiet rollout in India that began late last year. There were no details on when the change would be available to users in other countries, leaving its global expansion timeline uncertain. According to Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, the update will be welcomed by people who want to keep their accounts but have outgrown the awkward, embarrassing or nonsensical Gmail handles they created after the service launched 22 years ago. The company updated a help page to reflect the new policy, formalizing the change for users.
The procedure to change a Gmail address is fairly easy to follow, according to multiple reports. If you don't see the option to change your Google Account email, you might not have the option yet, indicating a gradual rollout. Google says addresses can't be identical to any existing address or one that was used by someone in the past and then deleted, ensuring uniqueness. If you don't like the new Gmail address you've created, Google won't let you create another Gmail address for your account until 12 months have passed, and you can only change your Gmail address three times in total, imposing limits on frequent alterations.
2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn't need to be stuck in it.
After the change, the old address will remain as an alternate email address and messages sent to either your old or new Google Account addresses will appear in your Gmail inbox. To find out which address an email was sent to, check the 'to' field, as Google advises. You can switch back to the old address by changing the settings in your Google account, providing flexibility for users who reconsider.
Gmail addresses are also used to sign in to other Google services like YouTube, Google Docs as well as third-party websites and apps, making the change potentially impactful across platforms. Google warns that some non-Google apps and services might not recognize you if you're using a new email to sign in, and the company provided some troubleshooting tips on a help page for issues with non-Google apps and services, though specific details on these tips remain unclear.
Say goodbye to v0t3f0rp3dr02004@gmail.com or mrbrightside416@gmail.com (or whatever you were into at the time).
Google says Chromebook users might encounter problems, though many issues will go away after a few hours, according to the company. Google advises users to check a troubleshoot page for Chromebook issues, offering guidance for those affected.