Hate your Gmail address? Google will finally let you swap your old one with a new one — here’s how
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After 22 years, Google will finally let you change your Gmail address, which is incredibly useful if you made yours back in 2007 when the service first became available to the general public.
First spotted in a Google support page last year, the search giant is now rolling out this new feature to Gmail users in the U.S. While the company has always allowed users to change aliases in their emails, up until now, they weren't able to change the name that appears before @gmail.com in their email address.
If you're tired of having to use a different email address than your Gmail one for whatever reason — maybe it was inappropriate or just feels outdated now — here's how you can swap that old Gmail address for a brand new one without losing your emails and everything else tied to your Google Account.
How to change your Gmail address and username
To let Gmail users know that they can now change their Google Account username or the name before @gmail.com, Google put out a blog post which includes a YouTube short. However, the video is only 30 seconds long and the steps to change your Gmail address are a bit hard to follow, especially if you don't want to have to pause it and press play multiple times.
For that reason, I went through the process myself and took screenshots along the way to make things easier for you.
Changing your Gmail address on mobile
1. Open your Google Account settings
On your iPhone or Android smartphone, open the Google app, tap on your profile picturein the top right corner and from there, select Manage your Google Account. Tap on Personal infoon the very top and then tap on Email. Under Google Account email, tap on your email address to proceed to the next step.
2. Changing your Google Account email
Within the Google Account email menu, tap on Change Google Account email. This brings up an FAQ explaining exactly what will happen when you change your Gmail address. Scroll all the way to the bottomand there, you'll be able to enter your new Gmail username. Once you enter in your new Gmail username, tap on Change emailat the very bottom to complete the process.
Changing your Gmail address on desktop
If you'd rather use your laptop or desktop to change your Gmail address, you can do that too and the process is quite similar to how you do so on mobile. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do just that.
1. Open your Google Account
Open a new Chrome browser windowor head to Google.comif you're signed in on another browser. Then click on your profile picturein the top right corner. Select Manage your Google Accountunderneath your name.
2. Find your email
In the menu on the left side of the page, select Personal info. Then select Emailtowards the top. It's worth noting that you will need to login to your Google Accountagain to proceed to the next step.
3. Access your Google Account email
Within the Email menu, select Google Account emailat the very top.
4. Changing your Google Account email
On the Google Account email page, select Change Google Account emailunderneath your current Gmail address. If you don't see this option, this feature isn't available yet and you will need to try again later.
5. Enter your new Gmail address
Once you click on Change Google Account email, an FAQ will show up that explains what happens when you change your Gmail address. Scroll all the way to the bottom, enter your new Gmail addressin the box and click Change emailto finalize your new Google username.
