What is the story about?
Google has announced a major update that could finally put an end to awkward, outdated email IDs. For the first time in two decades, Gmail users will be able to change their email addresses without losing any data.
People will be able to change the part of their email address that appears before ‘@gmail.com’ without creating a completely new account.
"2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn't need to be stuck in it," said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on X.
People who signed up years ago with quirky or embarrassing usernames will no longer have to abandon their inbox history, contacts, and stored data just to get a more professional-looking email ID.
"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," he added.
Until now, changing a Gmail address meant starting from scratch by creating a new account and manually transferring emails, files, and contacts. The new update removes that hassle which allows users to simply edit their existing address while keeping everything intact.
When you pick a new name on Gmail, your old email becomes an alternative address. If someone sends an email to your old ID, it will still land in your inbox. You can also use either your old or new email ID to log in to other Google services like YouTube, Google Drive or Google Maps.
How to change Gmail address?
Go to your Google account settings page on your device.
At the top left, click ‘Personal info’ and then select Google account email.
Open email settings, click on ‘Change Google Account email.’
Choose a new username which must be unique and cannot be a name that has not been used by someone else.
Confirm the update and save.
Your email gets a new name, but it's still the same account. All your old emails, photos, and files stay safe and you can log in using both old and new email IDs.
Google is also adding smart AI features to Gmail to make your inbox easier to manage. ‘AI Inbox’ is a new feature powered by Gemini that helps organise your emails automatically so you don’t have to scroll through everything.
Gmail will highlight important emails like bills, deadlines, or urgent messages and these emails will appear in bold with due dates. So instead of opening multiple emails, you see everything related to one topic together such as travel bookings and hotel details.
This feature is only available to some users in the US for now and will likely roll out soon for other users.
People will be able to change the part of their email address that appears before ‘@gmail.com’ without creating a completely new account.
"2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn't need to be stuck in it," said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on X.
People who signed up years ago with quirky or embarrassing usernames will no longer have to abandon their inbox history, contacts, and stored data just to get a more professional-looking email ID.
"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," he added.
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…
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) March 31, 2026
Until now, changing a Gmail address meant starting from scratch by creating a new account and manually transferring emails, files, and contacts. The new update removes that hassle which allows users to simply edit their existing address while keeping everything intact.
When you pick a new name on Gmail, your old email becomes an alternative address. If someone sends an email to your old ID, it will still land in your inbox. You can also use either your old or new email ID to log in to other Google services like YouTube, Google Drive or Google Maps.
How to change Gmail address?
Go to your Google account settings page on your device.
At the top left, click ‘Personal info’ and then select Google account email.
Open email settings, click on ‘Change Google Account email.’
Choose a new username which must be unique and cannot be a name that has not been used by someone else.
Confirm the update and save.
Your email gets a new name, but it's still the same account. All your old emails, photos, and files stay safe and you can log in using both old and new email IDs.
Google is also adding smart AI features to Gmail to make your inbox easier to manage. ‘AI Inbox’ is a new feature powered by Gemini that helps organise your emails automatically so you don’t have to scroll through everything.
Gmail will highlight important emails like bills, deadlines, or urgent messages and these emails will appear in bold with due dates. So instead of opening multiple emails, you see everything related to one topic together such as travel bookings and hotel details.
This feature is only available to some users in the US for now and will likely roll out soon for other users.
