Tech giant Google (GOOGL) has quietly introduced a long-requested feature that could be a welcome surprise for Gmail users who are still stuck with outdated or embarrassing email addresses. According to an update found on Google’s account help page, users can now change their existing @gmail.com address while keeping all of their data and services in place. In other words, people don’t need to abandon their entire account anymore just to get a cleaner or more professional email name.
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That said, the rollout appears to be gradual. For now, the updated instructions appear only on the Hindi version of Google’s support page, which suggests that the feature may be launching first in India or Hindi-speaking regions. In fact, the English-language help page still says that Gmail addresses “usually cannot be changed.” Google has not formally announced the update, but the support page notes that the feature will eventually roll out to all users.
Importantly, under the new policy, users who change their Gmail address will keep their original address as an alias. This means that emails sent to the old address will still arrive in the same inbox. The original address will also continue to work for signing into Google services like Drive, Maps, and YouTube, and no existing data, such as emails, photos, or messages, will be lost. However, users cannot change their Gmail address again for 12 months and cannot delete the newly chosen address.
Is GOOGL Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOGL stock based on 27 Buys and seven Holds assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average GOOGL price target of $327.42 per share implies 4.4% upside potential.
