A Google Account gives you access to many Google products. With a Google Account, you can do things like:

- Send and receive email using Gmail
- Find your new favorite video on YouTube
- Download apps from Google Play

## Step 1: Choose a Google Account type

**Important:** When you create a Google Account for your business, you can turn business personalization on. A business account also makes it easier to set up Google Business Profile, which helps improve your business visibility and manage your online information.

When you create a Google Account, we ask for some personal info. By providing accurate info, you can help keep your account secure and make our services more useful.

- Go to the Google Account sign in page.
- Click
**Create account**.- From the drop down, select if this account is for your:
- Personal use
- Child
- Business


- From the drop down, select if this account is for your:
- Enter your name.
- You’ll be asked to add your birthday and gender.

- In the "Username" field, enter a username.
- Enter and confirm your password.
**Tip:**When you enter your password on mobile, the first letter isn't case sensitive.

- Click
**Next**.- Optional: Add and verify a phone number for your account.

- Click
**Next**.

### Is a Gmail account the same as a Google Account?

Your Gmail and Google Accounts are separate. A Gmail account is one of several Google services you can use and save data with if you have a Google Account. Other services you can use with your Google Account include:

- YouTube
- Google Drive
- Calendar
- Google Play

### Use an existing email address

You don't need to have a Gmail address to create a Google Account. You can also use a non-Gmail email address to create one instead.

To use an existing email address instead of a new Gmail address:

- Go to the Google Account Sign In page.
- Click
**Create account**.- From the drop down, select
**For my personal use**.

- From the drop down, select
- Enter your basic info.
- Click
**Use your email address**. - Enter your current email address.
- Click
**Next**. - Verify your email address with the code sent to your existing email.
- Click
**Verify**.

## Step 2: Protect your account with recovery info

If you forget your password or someone is using your account without your permission, updated recovery info makes it much more likely you’ll get your account back.

## Fix issues

Check if you already have a Google AccountIf you signed in to any Google product before, such as Gmail, Maps, or YouTube, you already have a Google Account. You can use the same username and password you created to sign in to any other Google products.

If you can't remember that you signed in and would like to check if you have an account, enter your email address. You'll find a message if there isn't a Google Account associated with your email address.

By default, account related notifications are sent to your new Gmail address, or to your non-Google email if you signed up with a different email address.

To change where you get notifications, edit your contact email.

**Tip: **You can also create a Google Account with a non-Google email you already own.

You can't choose this email address for a new account. If this email address is yours, it's possible that:

- You’ve already signed up for a Google Account. Learn how to recover your Google Account.
- You collaborated with a Google Workspace user with a visitor session linked with this email address. Learn how to delete your visitor session.

You can't create a Google Account if the username you requested is:

- Already in use.
- Very close in structure to an existing username.
**Tip:**If example@gmail.com already exists, you can't use examp1e@gmail.com.

- A username that someone used in the past and then deleted.
- Reserved by Google to prevent spam or abuse.