- The option to switch to another @gmail.com is currently rolling out
- It appears to be limited by region at the moment
- You can always keep your existing email address
For as long as Gmail has existed – now over 20 years – the primary email address you enter when you first open the account is the one you should stick with. Now it appears that is changing.
As spotted by the Google Pixel Hub group on Telegram (via 9to5Google), the corresponding support page in the official Google Accounts help documentation has been modified, indicating that it is possible to set a new @gmail.com email address.
There are a few caveats, however: first, the updated help instructions only appear in Hindi at the moment. Second, the page states that the new feature is “gradually rolling out to all users, so this option may not be available at this time.”
With these two caveats in mind, and no further official comment at this time, it appears that Google is not currently fully committed to this move. However, it looks like there’s a good chance you’ll soon be able to get a new Gmail address without having to create a whole new Google account at the same time.
The fine print
As per the support document, if you change one @gmail.com address to another, the old email address will remain as an alias. You will still be able to send and receive emails from the old address, and you will still be able to sign in to associated apps and sites (such as Google Maps or YouTube) with your old or new address.
You can even revert to your old address as your account’s primary address, if you wish. However, once a new @gmail.com address is set as your primary address, you will not be able to reach another for 12 months.
The primary @gmail.com for each Google account can be changed a total of three times – this would leave you with four @gmail.com addresses and aliases in total – so it’s worth putting some time and thought into any new address you set.
If you set a new email address, the old one cannot be used by anyone else and will still appear in certain places (like old Google Calendar events). Your email address can be changed through your Google Account page, but it’s not showing up for me yet.
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