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Google is expected to roll out a long-awaited feature that could change how millions of people use Gmail and manage their Gmail address. For the first time, select users are now being allowed to change their including the primary Gmail linked to Google Drive, YouTube and Play Store without having to abandon their existing inbox, contacts, subscriptions, and years of stored emails.
According to multiple tech reports, this update is being tested through Google Account settings and is designed to preserve security history, recovery options, and two-step verification data. The move addresses one of the most common frustrations among Gmail users who have been stuck with outdated, embarrassing, or unprofessional Gmail address IDs created years ago.
Since Gmail’s launch in 2004, users have had no official way to change their primary email address. Anyone who wanted a new ID had to create a brand-new account, manually move contacts, and slowly migrate subscriptions and logins. Over the years, this became a major pain point, especially as people entered the workforce with casual or outdated usernames.
Google’s new feature finally tackles this issue by introducing an internal system that allows eligible users to modify their Gmail address while keeping the same account, Google Drive files, YouTube history, purchases, and security settings intact.
Under the new policy, the original Gmail address is automatically kept as an alias, meaning emails sent to the old address will still arrive in the inbox and the same Gmail will continue to work for signing in to Google services like Drive, Maps, and YouTube.
- Not all Gmail accounts can change addresses yet
- Business and Workspace accounts may receive the feature first
- Old email addresses can be forwarded to the new one
- Some usernames may be permanently unavailable
- Google may limit how often changes can be made
Google has not provided a public timeline for global availability, but insiders suggest a wider rollout is expected in the coming months.
For millions of users who created Gmail accounts years ago with playful, random, or outdated usernames, this new feature is a major quality-of-life improvement that directly modernizes their Gmail address. It allows people to maintain a more professional online identity for job applications, banking, subscriptions, and official communication without losing access to years of emails, purchases, contacts, and digital history tied to their original Google Account.
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