Google’s long-awaited username change feature allows you to swap your old Gmail ID without losing a single Google message, file or service link.
Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Seton Hall. When Tyler isn’t asking questions or researching his next mission, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey relaxing with a bagel and watching an action movie or playing a new video game. When Tyler isn’t asking questions or researching his next mission, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey relaxing with a bagel and watching an action movie or playing a new video game. You can reach him at tgraham@cnet.com.
Skill Video games, computer hardware, laptops, home energy, home internet
For more than two decades, the Gmail address you created — whether at age 14 with an anime reference or at age 22 with a username that made sense at the time — was essentially permanent. You could add aliases, link other addresses, and work around this in a dozen ways, but the actual username before the @ sign was untouchable. That changed in late March 2026, when Google began rolling out a feature that lets personal Gmail users change their primary address while keeping every Google message, file, and service link exactly where it was. The old address does not disappear, but becomes a permanent alias. But the one you actually want to use may ultimately be the one people see.
This feature was long overdue, and we knew it was in the works for months now. Now, according to Google, anyone using a Google account in the United States should soon have the ability to change their username – and you may be able to do so right now.
If you want to change your email address, there are a few things you need to know. Most of your Google data and features will be preserved, but there may be a few hiccups along the way.
When you change your Gmail account, the old username is added as an alternate address. This should ensure that even if your account shows the new username, you will still receive all emails sent to the previous address.
The data saved in your Google account will also not be affected by the new Gmail username. You will have uninterrupted access to emails, photos and messages sent to you as well as anything saved on your Google Drive. You can also use the new email address to continue signing in to Google services such as Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Google Play, or Google Drive.
Although most of the issues have been resolved before launch, you may still encounter some issues when changing your Google username.
If you are a Chromebook user, you will need to follow special steps. Because your Gmail is tied to your device login, third-party logins that use their Google account will still only recognize the account’s old username, and Chrome Remote Desktop logins may not work immediately with a new Gmail address.
A Google representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
How to change your Google account username
The first thing you will need to do is access the Personal information in your Google account settings. From here you will find an Email button: This button can be used to access your Google account email settings.
After going through these menus, you should see a bright blue “Change Google Account Email Address” button. You can choose a new username directly after clicking this button – just make sure it’s a good one, as you can only change your username once a year.
If you follow Google’s instructions but see a message that the option to change your username is not available for your account, don’t panic. The tech giant has made it clear that this feature will be rolled out gradually, so you’ll just have to wait a little longer.
As someone who carried my childhood username into early adulthood, I’m excited to get out of this mess without having to move my login information to a new email address.
Enter a new era of Gmail, where our email addresses grow and mature alongside us.
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Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Seton Hall. When Tyler isn’t asking questions or researching his next mission, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey relaxing with a bagel and watching an action movie or playing a new video game. When Tyler isn’t asking questions or researching his next mission, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey relaxing with a bagel and watching an action movie or playing a new video game. You can reach him at tgraham@cnet.com. See full bio
