If you’ve been stuck with a regrettable Gmail username you picked years ago, you might finally have a way out. Starting Tuesday, Gmail users in the US can change the portion of their email address before “@gmail.com,” as reported by Android Authority. After changing your Gmail username, your old email address will remain connected to your account as an alternate address so any messages sent to it will continue reaching your inbox. Choose carefully, though — you can only create one new email address every 12 months. You also won’t be able to use whatever new username you pick for a separate Google Account in the future.
The option to change your Gmail address started rolling out last year, but is now available to all Google Account users in the US. Besides replacing embarrassing email addresses, it could also be useful for updating your email address after a name change. Keep in mind, after changing your Gmail username, you may need to manually update your email address in your login info for any apps and websites you use it to sign into.
To try out the feature, open the Gmail app and tap your profile icon. Select “Manage your Google Account” to go to your account settings then tap “Personal info” and choose the “Email” option in that menu. You should see an arrow button beside your email address, which shows the option to “Change Google Account email” if you tap it. If you already changed your username recently, this option might not show up.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
