LOS ANGELES: Worried that 'Horsefarts666' just isn't a professional email handle anymore? Whatever the reason, there often comes a time in life when you need a new email address.
If you're a Gmail user, you can avoid creating an entirely new account, and instead just change your address – an easy and risk-free procedure.
You keep the old, unwanted address in the background as an alternative address, but no longer have to use it for communication. That's what your new address is for, after all.
Here is how it works: Log in at myaccount.google.com, click on "Personal info" in the top left, then click on "Email" in the list on the right. Then click on your current email address at the top, under "Google Account email."
After you enter your password, a window will then open with the option to change your Google account email. Click on this and you'll be taken to a blank form where you can enter the new username for your Gmail address and confirm it by clicking "Change email."
What you need to know about changing your Gmail address
There are a few other useful things to know about making the change:
- Emails will be delivered without any problems to both the old and the new address after the change.
- The change has no effect on the data stored in the account or on emails that were sent to the previous email address.
- Switching back to the previous email address is possible at any time.
- You can only create a new gmail.com address for your Google account once every 12 months.
- New addresses cannot be deleted and will remain active.
- You can log in to Google services such as Gmail, Maps, YouTube or Drive using either the old or the new gmail.com address.
You can find more advice on Google's help pages before making any changes. There you will find a comprehensive entry covering everything related to changing your address. – dpa
