Gmail users may soon get a feature they have been waiting for for many years. Google appears to be working on an update that could allow users to change their Gmail email address itself. Until now, once someone created a Gmail ID ending with “@gmail.com”, it usually could not be changed. Many users were stuck with the email address they chose years ago. This situation may finally change.

Hints about this new feature have been found on a Google support page. The page explains a new option that would allow Gmail users to change their email address, even if it ends with “@gmail.com”. This is a big shift from Google’s earlier rule, which clearly said that Gmail addresses cannot be changed once created.

Interestingly, the support page explaining this feature  is currently available only in Hindi. This has led to speculation that India could be one of the first countries where Google plans to roll out the feature, or at least where it is being tested or documented first.

According to the support page, changing a Gmail address will not affect the user’s data. When a user switches to a new Gmail address, the old address will not disappear. Instead, it will become an alias. This means emails sent to both the old and new addresses will arrive in the same inbox. All existing data, such as emails, photos, contacts, messages, and other Google account information, will remain exactly the same.

Google explains that the email address linked to a Google account is used to sign in to services and helps others identify the account. Under the new system, users will finally be able to change a Gmail address ending with “@gmail.com”, which was not possible earlier.

However, there are some limits. After changing a Gmail address, users will not be allowed to change or delete the new address for 12 months. The old Gmail address cannot be used to create a new account during this time, although it remains reserved for the original user. Google is also limiting how many times this change can be made. Each account can change its Gmail address up to three times.

Google has also noted that the old email address may still appear in some places for a while. For example, older calendar events or saved information may still show the previous Gmail ID. Users will also be able to send emails using their old address.

The support page was first spotted by users in a Google Pixel-related Telegram group. Although the feature is not live yet, the detailed information strongly suggests that Google is close to launching it. If released, this update could be a major relief for many users who created their Gmail IDs long ago without knowing how important they would become.