Google Plans to Allow Gmail Address Changes via New Feature

Google appears to be preparing a feature that will allow users to change their @gmail.com email addresses without losing access to their existing account data. The functionality was discovered on a Google support page that appeared in Hindi, though the company has not officially announced the rollout.

The documentation indicates users will be able to change their Gmail address to a new @gmail.com address with a different username while maintaining full access to their account history, stored data, and service integrations. This represents a significant departure from the current policy that prevents users with Gmail addresses from changing their primary email identifier.

According to the support page, when a user changes their Gmail address, the original email will automatically become an alias. Both the old and new addresses will deliver mail to the same inbox, and either address can be used to sign in to Google services including YouTube, Drive, Maps, and Google Play. All existing data such as photos, messages, and emails sent to the previous address will remain intact and accessible.

The feature includes several restrictions. Each account can only change its Gmail address up to three times, resulting in a maximum of four different addresses throughout the account’s lifetime. After making a change, users must wait 12 months before modifying or deleting the new email address. The original address cannot be used to create a new separate Google account during this period, though it remains permanently tied to the user’s account and cannot be claimed by others.

The old Gmail address will continue to appear in certain legacy situations. Calendar events created before the address change and other historical records may still display the previous email. Users retain the ability to send emails from their old address even after switching to the new one.

The documentation states the feature is gradually rolling out to all users, though Google has not provided a specific timeline or confirmed the launch publicly. The English-language support pages have not been updated to reflect this change. When available, users will access the address change option through the My Account settings page.

This potential update would address a limitation that has existed since Gmail’s launch. Currently, Google only permits email address changes for accounts using third-party domains, leaving users unable to update addresses they created years earlier without abandoning their accounts entirely.