Do you still have an embarrassing old Gmail address? Don’t worry, because after years of waiting a feature is coming that lets you change the email address linked to your Google account: in this way you can make the change without losing any data, while the old name will continue to exist as an ‘alternative’ (so you can continue receiving and sending emails). The news starts from the USA and could soon become a reality for us as well!
Google now allows you to change your Gmail address: the feature starts in the USA (and it’s good news)
As of writing, the feature is not active in Italy: for now Google has implemented the option to change the Gmail address only in the United States. However the support pages already provide the guide on how to perform the procedure, so this means the feature is on its way (even though it’s hard to define the timings).
Regarding the procedure, it is fully documented on the dedicated support page. It consists of a handful of very simple steps:
- On your computer, visit the email account page. You may be asked to sign in;
- In the upper left, click on Personal info;
- Click on Email and then on Google Account Email;
- In the Google Account Email section, click on Change the email of your Google Account.
If this option isn’t available (as in our case), for now it’s not possible to modify the Google account’s email address. Anyway, if the procedure goes through, the old address will remain available as an alternate email address. Also note that users can change the address once every 12 months, with a maximum limit of three changes.
As already mentioned, for now the function is arriving only in the USA: the testing phase has just ended and now Google has given the go-ahead for large-scale rollout. However it’s very likely that in the coming months it could also appear here with us.
