Google Permits Users to Change Gmail Usernames, Keep Old IDs: Here's How

Google has permitted its users to get rid of their embarrassing Gmail usernames in its recent update. In a post on March 31, the tech giant said that it has been working on the update since last year to ‘help your account grow with you’, and the feature is now available to all users in the US.

Writing about the feature in a post on X, Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai stated, “2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn't need to be stuck in it.”

“To say goodbye to v0t3f0rp3dr02004@gmail.com or mrbrightside416@gmail.com (or whatever you were into at the time), go to your Google Account settings and choose any name available. You'll keep your old username and you can sign in with both,” Pichai added.

Details of Latest Update

Google has permitted its users to change their Gmail username, which is the part before @gmail.com, after the latest update. According to the update, Google says that users can take any available @gmail.com address in place of their current id while maintaining their entire account history intact.

In addition, the company also shared that changing the username will not impact the account holder’s photos, messages and emails linked to the account. Google says that the previous email will automatically become an alternative email address, meaning you will continue to receive messages directed to both your old and new addresses in the same inbox.

Google says users can sign in to Google services like Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Google Play or Drive using either their old or new email addresses.

However, the caveat is that Google permits users to change their email address only once a year and only three times in total. Google further allows its users to switch back to their previous email address at any time.

How to Change Gmail Username

Users can open the Google Account settings and select the “Personal info” tab to change Gmail username. Click on “Email” and then select “Google Account email”. In case the account is eligible for the update, the user will see the “Change Google Account email” option. By clicking on this option, the user can enter a preferred new username that is unique and isn’t being used by any other Google account.

While Google says that the process does not result in any data loss, the tech company still recommends backing up data to ensure protection against any accidental data loss.