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Gmail is sending email using your YouTube username: a fix

Has Gmail suddenly started sending messages using your YouTube username, rather than your personal or business name? If you recently created a Google+ Profile from your YouTube channel, that is likely the cause. And fortunately there is a fix!

You have a couple of options:
  • Change the "Sent from" name in your Gmail account
  • Change your Google+ Profile name back to your real name
  • Delete your Google+ Profile entirely

The Problem: Using your YouTube name on Google

Imagine the following situation: you have been using Gmail for years, sending email using your personal name, let's say "Jane Doe".  You also have a YouTube channel, which has a YouTube channel username that's different from your personal name, something like "crazyspacemansue".  You have no Google+ account.

You sign into your YouTube account and a popup tells you there are new choices for your channel name.  You choose to use your YouTube name on Google.


YouTube will create a Google+ Profile with the name you choose. If you choose to "use your YouTube name on Google", the Google+ Profile will use your YouTube username.  

But what you may not have realized is that using the "same name on YouTube and Google" will also affect the name that you use for Gmail.   If you choose to use your YouTube name on Google,  instead of sending emails as Jane Doe, you are now sending emails as crazyspacemansue. 

That may be a problem if your YouTube username is unknown to your email contacts, is perhaps not as professional as you'd like to present yourself, or if you are trying to keep your YouTube identity and Gmail identities separate. 

How can you fix this problem?

You have a couple of options for fixing this issue. The first is to keep your new Google+ Profile, but change the "from" name in your Gmail settings. The second is to change your Google+ identity.

Option 1: Change the name that people see on your Gmail messages

If you would like to keep your Google+ Profile in the identity of your YouTube channel, you can change the change the name that Gmail uses when it sends your mail.

To change that: 

1. Sign into your Gmail account (mail.google.com) and click the gear icon in the upper right corner.

Select "Settings" from the drop-down menu. That will take you to your Gmail account settings.



2. In your Gmail settings click the Accounts tab. 

You should see settings for "Send mail as:".  Click "edit info".



3. A window will pop up that lets you change the name that appears on the email you send.



Once you have saved the changes, your emails will start using your preferred name.

There is a limitation however: any of your mail recipients who also use Gmail will be able to see the Google+ Profile that is linked to your Gmail account. If you don't want people to associate your YouTube channel username with your Gmail account, you may not want that to happen.

Related information: 

If you don't want your YouTube channel username to be associated with your Gmail address or Google+ Profile, you can change your Google+ Profile name to your real name.

1. If you do not want to use your real name on YouTube, you must first unlink your YouTube channel from your Google+ Profile

Go to your YouTube account settings (www.youtube.com/account) and select the option to disconnect your channel from your Google+ profile.

You can later link your YouTube channel to a Google+ Page, which won't affect your Gmail name.

2. To change your name on both Google+ and Gmail,  go to your Google+ Profile (plus.google.com/me) and click on your name at the top
of the page to edit it.

• Remember your name must comply with the Google+ Profile name policy. You cannot change the name on your Google+ Profile to a business or brand name.

Related information:

YouTube Help: Switch back to your old YouTube username
Google+ Help: Google+ Profiles Name Policy

Option 3: Delete your Google+ Profile


If you do not want to have a Google+ Profile, and you have unlinked your YouTube channel from Google+, you can choose to delete your Google+ Profile instead of renaming it.

• Be sure to unlink your YouTube channel from Google+ before deleting your Google+ Profile!

1. Go to your Google+ Profile settings (www.google.com/settings/plus)

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and choose the option to "Disable Google+"


3. You will be given two options, deleting your Google+ content or deleting your Google+ Profile.
Choose the option to delete your entire Google Profile.


Note that if your YouTube channel is still linked to your Google+ Profile, it should clearly indicate that in your Google+ downgrade options.  If it says your YouTube channel will be deleted, you must first go back to YouTube and unlink your channel from Google+.

What you don't want to see:

Be sure to read all the information that Google+ provides on the next screen about deleting your Google+ Profile.

• This will delete all content you have on Google+ along with your Profile, but should not affect any Google+ Pages you own or manage.

Once your Google+ Profile is deleted, you can either use Gmail and YouTube without a Google+ Profile or create a new one.

How to prevent this from happening again

If you have unlinked your YouTube channel from its Google+ Profile, and you have not linked your channel to a Google+ Page instead, you will continue to be shown prompts asking you to link your YouTube channel to Google+.

To dismiss the prompt, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of the popup.


And when you are given the option to link your YouTube channel to a Google+ Profile again, click the link indicating you want to use a different name on YouTube and the rest of Google.

If you do that, future prompts will ask you to link to a Google+ Page, rather than a Google+ Profile.

(Last update: March 2019)

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