New capability appears first on Hindi support pages, global rollout expected
Google is preparing a major update for Gmail users: the ability to replace an existing @gmail.com address with a new one while keeping all data and access to services, CNBC reports. Updated guidelines have appeared on the Hindi-language version of Google’s support pages, indicating the rollout may begin in India or other Hindi-speaking regions.
Google states the feature is rolling out gradually to all users.
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The English support page still carries older instructions saying @gmail.com addresses “usually can’t be changed,” suggesting full global adoption is still in progress.
Under the new policy, users who change their address will keep the original as an alias. Emails sent to the old account will still arrive in the inbox, and the original address will remain valid for logging into Google services such as Drive, Maps, YouTube and Photos. Previously, users needed to create a brand-new account and migrate their data manually — often a cumbersome process.
According to Google’s translated documentation, all existing data — including emails, messages and photos — will stay intact after the update. There are, however, limitations: after changing their Gmail address, users cannot create another new address for 12 months and cannot delete the newly selected address. Google has not issued an official press release or confirmed which regions will receive the feature first.
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