Change your Google password on any device in under five minutes

You can change your Google password from a computer, phone, or tablet by going to your Google Account settings and selecting the password option. The process is the same whether you use Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, or any other Google service — they all share one account. Google will ask you to enter your current password first, then type your new one twice to confirm it matches. After you save the change, you will be signed out of Google on all your devices, and you will need to sign back in with the new password.

The entire process takes about three minutes if you already know your current password. If you have forgotten your current password, Google can send you a recovery code to your backup email or phone number, which adds another five to ten minutes.

Key Takeaways

  • Go to myaccount.google.com, click Security on the left side, then click Password under the "How you sign in to Google" section.
  • Type your current password when Google asks for it, then enter your new password twice.
  • You will be signed out of Google on all devices after you change your password and must sign back in with the new one.
  • If you forget your current password, use the "Forgot password?" link on the Google sign-in page to recover your account first.
  • A strong password contains at least 12 characters and mixes uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Steps to change your password on a computer

Open a web browser and go to myaccount.google.com. If you are not already signed in, click "Sign in" and enter your email address and current password. Once you are signed in, look at the left side of the page and click Security.

Scroll down until you see a section called "How you sign in to Google." Under that section, click Password. Google will ask you to enter your current password again for security. Type it in and click Next. Now you will see two blank fields: one for your new password and one to confirm it. Type your new password in the first field. Make sure it is at least 12 characters long and includes uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols — for example, BlueMoon#2024Spring is stronger than password123. Type the same password in the second field to confirm it matches. Click Change password when you are done.

Google will show you a confirmation message. You are now signed out of Google on all your devices. The next time you open Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, or any other Google service, you will need to sign in again with your new password.

Steps to change your password on a phone or tablet

Open the Google app or go to myaccount.google.com in your phone's web browser. If you are not signed in, tap "Sign in" and enter your email and current password. Once you are signed in, tap the profile picture or initial in the top right corner, then tap Manage your Google Account.

Tap the Security tab at the top of the screen. Scroll down to "How you sign in to Google" and tap Password. Enter your current password when prompted and tap Next. Type your new password in the first field, then type it again in the second field to confirm. Tap Change password. You will be signed out of Google on your phone and all other devices. Sign back in with your new password the next time you use a Google service.

What to do if you have forgotten your current password

If you cannot remember your current password, you cannot change it through the normal steps above. Instead, go to the Google sign-in page at accounts.google.com and click Forgot password? below the password field. Enter the email address or phone number associated with your Google Account.

Google will ask you to enter the last password you remember. If you cannot remember any password, click Try another way. Google will send a code to your backup email address or phone number — whichever one you set up when you created your account. Check that email or text message, enter the code, and then create a new password. Once you have reset your password this way, you can change it again using the normal steps in the sections above.

Why you should change your password regularly

Changing your Google password every few months makes it harder for someone who may have seen or guessed your old password to access your account. If you use the same password on multiple websites, changing your Google password is especially important — if one website gets hacked, someone could try that password on your Google Account and gain access to your email, photos, documents, and payment information.

You should change your password right away if you think someone else knows it, if you used it on a website that was hacked, or if you shared it with someone who no longer needs access. You should also change it if you have not changed it in more than a year.

What happens after you change your password

Google will sign you out of your account on every device — your computer, phone, tablet, and any other device where you were signed in. This includes devices you may have forgotten about, like an old tablet in a drawer or a computer at work. The next time you try to use Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, or any other Google service on any device, you will see a sign-in screen asking for your email and password. Enter your new password and you will be signed back in.

If you have a device that you no longer use and cannot sign back into, that is fine — it will straightforward stay signed out. If you have a device that you do use and want to stay signed in, you will need to sign back in once with your new password. After that, you can choose to stay signed in so you do not have to enter your password every time.

Creating a password that is hard to guess

A strong password is at least 12 characters long and contains a mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Avoid passwords that use your name, birthday, or common words that appear in the dictionary. Do not use passwords like Password123 or Google2024 — these are straightforward to guess because they follow common patterns.

Instead, think of a phrase you will remember and use the first letter of each word, then add numbers and symbols. For example, "My dog ate three socks on Tuesday" becomes MdAt3SoT!. You can also use a random combination of words, like Purple-Elephant-Kitchen-47, which is long, straightforward to remember, and hard to guess. Write your new password down on paper and store it in a safe place like a locked drawer — do not email it to yourself or save it in a document on your computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will changing my Google password affect my other accounts like Facebook or Microsoft?

No. Your Google password only controls access to Google services like Gmail, YouTube, and Google Drive. Other companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon have their own separate passwords. If you want to change those passwords too, you will need to go to each company's website and change them separately.

What if I change my password and then forget the new one?

Go to the Google sign-in page and click "Forgot password?" You will need to answer security questions or enter a recovery code sent to your backup email or phone number. Once you verify your identity, you can create a new password. This is why it is important to keep your backup email and phone number up to date in your Google Account settings.

Do I need to change my password on each device separately?

No. When you change your password in Google Account settings, the change applies to your entire Google Account across all devices. However, you will need to sign back in on each device with your new password. You only change the password once, in one place.

Can I use the same new password I used before?

Google will not let you reuse a password you have used on this account in the past. This is a security feature to prevent you from cycling back to an old password that someone might have discovered. You must create a password that is different from any password you have used on this account before.

What should I do if I think someone else has access to my Google Account?

Change your password right away using the steps above. Then go to myaccount.google.com, click Security, and scroll down to "Your devices." Review the list of devices signed into your account. If you see a device you do not recognize, click it and select "Sign out." You can also click "Manage all devices" to see more details about each one and remove any that should not be there.