Gmail Users to Soon Change Email Addresses, Check Google's Warning

Human activities are increasingly conducted in the digital space. While convenient, numerous online scams require vigilance. One of the most common internet scams is ‘phishing’, which can enter through various channels, from messaging apps to emails. Recently, Google stated it has blocked over 99.9% of phishing emails containing malware in Gmail. Nevertheless, scams spread rapidly and multiply easily, leaving 2.5 million Gmail users vulnerable to proliferating fraud methods. “With over 2.5 million Gmail users, we are currently deploying an AI model to strengthen security defences in Gmail, including a new large language model (LLM) trained to eliminate phishing, malware, and spam,” Google said, quoted from Forbes, at the end of 2025. Email Address Alias The best solution to avoid scams is to hide your email address from malicious actors. However, this is somewhat challenging, as many things require an email for verification. Apple has sought to secure users by launching the ‘Hide My Email’ feature, which allows users’ email addresses to be hidden or set to private. “To keep your personal email address confidential, you can create a unique and random email address that forwards to your personal email account, so you don’t need to share your real email address when filling out forms or signing up for web newsletters, or when sending emails,” states Apple’s description of Hide My Email. In November 2025, Google also developed a similar feature for Gmail. This was detected by Android Authority through dissection of a new APK. The feature, named ‘Shielded Email’, includes a system that creates email aliases for single-use or limited-use purposes. Messages sent to the alias address are then forwarded to the user’s main email. This feature is starting to become available for some users when logging into Gmail. There is a ‘Shielded Gmail’ option that allows users to create an email alias when accessing Gmail. Thus, users need to create an alias email to share for verification needs, and that alias will forward to the main email without needing to share the primary address publicly. Change Gmail Address Recently, 9to5Google also reported changes to Gmail. Users are now allowed to change their @gmail.com email addresses. According to the 9to5Google report, this change was first discovered in the Google Pixel Hub Telegram group. It then appeared on a support page available only in Hindi. “The email address associated with your Google Account is the address used to sign in to Google services. This email helps you and others identify the account. If you wish, you can change the Google Account email address ending in gmail.com to a new one ending in gmail.com,” the notice states, quoted from 9to5Google. With this new feature, the old email will be set as an alias. Reports indicate no significant impact from this change, such as messages still arriving at the original email as with the new one. Login access remains unchanged. Stored data like photos, messages, and emails are also unaffected. Users can access Google services such as Gmail, Maps, and YouTube with either the old or new email address. Note that users cannot change the address again for the next 12 months. Another policy is that the new email address cannot be deleted. Google also only allows changing the Gmail address up to three times. Thus, each user can have a total of four different email addresses. It is not specified when the feature will be available to users. It is only mentioned that the feature will be released gradually to all users. Previously, this change did not apply to users with @gmail.com addresses, but only to those using third-party email addresses. How to Change Gmail Address On the ‘Google Account Help’ page, it is stated that the ability to change the Google Account email is being rolled out gradually to all users. So, if you cannot do it yet, the option may not be available to you. To detect whether you can change your Gmail account address or not, here are the steps, quoted from CNBC Indonesia, Thursday (5/2/2026): Step 1: Check if you can change your Google Account email On your Android device, open myaccount.google.com/google-account-email. You may be prompted to log in. At the top, tap “Personal info”. Tap Email > Google Account Email. In the “Google Account Email” section, tap Change Google Account email. If you do not have this option, you may not be able to change your Google Account email. If you have this option, proceed to Step 2. Step 2: Review potential issues There may be some issues related to Google services and features if you change your @gmail.com Google Account email to a new @gmail.com address. Therefore, it is advisable to back up your data as a precaution. Additionally, some of your app settings may be reset. This is similar to logging in on a new device. Note that you can revert to using your old Gmail address at any time. Your new Gmail address will not be deleted. Step 3: Change your Gmail account email Enter the new username you want to use. You must choose a username that has not been used by another Google Account or one that was previously used by someone and then deleted. Tap Change email > Yes, change email. Follow the on-screen steps. Once completed, you will have a new Google Account email, and your old email will be displayed as an alternate email.