TL;DR: Many Gmail users stuck with outdated or embarrassing usernames have spent years or decades hoping Google would add the ability to change them without losing past emails or other data. The company quietly teased the functionality late last year and has now enabled it for all US users.
Starting Tuesday, Gmail account holders in the US can change the usernames that appear on their email addresses without losing the address itself. The change affects accounts used to log into mail, photos, Google Drive, and other services.
Gmail users could previously only change the name that appeared next to the address. Altering the part preceding "@gmail.com" meant creating a new address from scratch.
The updated system enables new address names to retain old messages, photos, contacts, subscriptions, and Google Drive files. However, users can change their names only once per year and three times overall for a total of four usernames.
To change a username, navigate to the Google website while logged in, select the account icon, and select Account > Personal Info > Email > Google Account email. Then, select the option to change the Google account email if it appears and enter a new username.
Old usernames remain associated with Google accounts, so users can revert to them and even continue logging in with them. However, old names cannot be deleted or used to make new accounts.
To reverse the change, select the previous name and click the option to make it your email. However, usernames cannot be changed again for 30 days. After name changes, the new address will receive messages sent to the old one, but the old name might still appear on some services, such as Google Calendar events made before the name change. See Google's help section for further details.
Google began introducing the new functionality in India late last year and has now enabled it across the US. It remains unclear when username changes will be available in other territories.
In other Google-related news, the Drive desktop app recently introduced a feature that pauses file syncing when it detects ransomware. Users and admins will receive notifications and emails when ransomware detection triggers, and can restore files from the cloud. File restoration is available to all users, while ransomware detection is available to business, education, enterprise, and Frontline users.