How to change your Gmail address without losing emails: a step-by-step guide

Google has rolled out a long-awaited feature that allows users to change their Gmail address without creating a new account or losing years of emails, files or subscriptions, according to details shared by the company. The update retains the old Gmail address as an alias, ensuring that all incoming emails continue to reach the same account even after the address is changed.

The feature is being introduced in phases and may not be available to all users immediately.

What stays the same

The update does not affect access to core Google services. Users retain their Gmail messages, Google Drive files, Google Photos content, YouTube subscriptions, Maps data, Play Store purchases, contacts, account history and paid subscriptions.

How to change your Gmail address: step by step

If the feature is available for your account, the process can be completed as follows:

Step 1: Log in to your Google Account Visit myaccount.google.com and sign in.

Step 2: Go to Personal info Select the Personal info tab from the menu.

Step 3: Open email settings Scroll to the Contact info section and select Email.

Step 4: Check eligibility Look for the option labelled Google Account email. If the option is greyed out or unavailable, the feature may not yet be enabled for the account or may be restricted for certain account types such as work or school accounts.

Step 5: Edit your Gmail address If eligible, select the edit option and enter the new Gmail ID.

Step 6: Verify the change Google may request additional verification through a phone number or backup email before confirming the update.

Rules and limitations

The new feature comes with several restrictions:

The Gmail ID can be changed only up to three times, allowing a maximum of four addresses in total

The address can be changed only once every 12 months

The old email address cannot be deleted and will continue to receive messages as an alias

Google handles the data transition automatically, but users are advised to update their email address on third-party apps and websites where it is used as a login, change their Gmail signature to reflect the new ID, and inform important contacts such as colleagues, banks and service providers about the update.

Users can continue signing in to their Google account using both the old and the new Gmail address.