According to Thurrott.com, Google may be testing the ability for Gmail users to change their primary @gmail.com email address, a feature detailed in a recently updated Hindi-language support page. The page states that if your account email ends with @gmail.com, you can change it to another address that also ends with @gmail.com. The company clarified that the old address becomes an alias, so you’ll still receive emails sent to it and can use it to log in. However, you cannot create another new @gmail.com address for your account for 12 months after the change, and new addresses can’t be deleted. The feature is reportedly “being rolled out gradually” but doesn’t appear to be live yet for most users.
Gmail Finally Catches Up
Here’s the thing: this is a feature Gmail has bizarrely lacked forever. Microsoft’s Outlook.com has allowed users to add aliases and change their primary address with relative ease for years. So Google playing catch-up here feels long overdue. It’s a basic piece of flexibility that users, especially those who picked an embarrassing or outdated address in 2004, have been begging for. The fact that the support page popped up in Hindi first is interesting, too. Maybe they’re testing it in specific markets? Or maybe, as often happens, someone just published the documentation a bit too early.
The Fine Print Is Key
Now, let’s talk about those restrictions. The 12-month cooldown on creating another new @gmail.com address is a big one. It basically means you can’t treat this like a disposable email generator. You have to be sure. And not being able to delete the new address? That’s a permanent decision. But honestly, the alias system seems smart. Your old contacts aren’t suddenly cut off, and your login history isn’t wrecked. It’s a cautious, Google-y way to implement a powerful change. They’re giving you flexibility but walling it off to prevent abuse of their system. Can’t really blame them, I suppose.
Why Now and What’s Next?
So why roll this out now? Competition is probably a factor. Making your core services more sticky and user-friendly is always a good move. But I also think it’s about account hygiene and security. Letting people clean up an old, compromised, or just silly address without abandoning their entire Google life—Photos, Drive, Play purchases—is a net positive. It reduces the urge to create a whole new account and fragment your digital life. Will this make people switch *to* Gmail? Probably not. But it might stop a few longtime users from ever considering leaving. And in the saturated email market, that’s a win.
