How to recall an email in Outlook and Gmail (and when it fails)
If you need to know how to recall an email right now, here is the honest version. Outlook can pull a message back, but only when you and the recipient are in the same work or school organisation. Gmail, Apple Mail and others can't recall anything; they hold your message for a few seconds so you can cancel it. Once an email has reached somebody else's mail server, nobody can take it back.
How to recall an email in Outlook
New Outlook and Outlook on the web
- Open the Sent Items folder.
- Double-click the message so it opens in its own window.
- Click Recall Message in the toolbar and confirm.
Classic Outlook for Windows
- Open Sent Items and double-click the message.
- Go to File > Info > Resend or Recall > Recall This Message. (With the classic ribbon it is under Message > Actions.)
- Choose whether to delete unread copies or replace them with a corrected message, then click OK.
A few minutes later you receive a Message Recall Report telling you, per recipient, whether it worked.
When an Outlook recall works and when it doesn't
| Situation | Recall result |
|---|---|
| Both of you use Microsoft 365 or Exchange in the same organisation | Usually works, often even if the message was already read |
| The recipient is at another company | Fails |
| The recipient uses Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud or a personal Outlook.com address | Fails |
| You have a personal Outlook.com, Hotmail or Live account | No recall option at all |
| The message was forwarded or moved by a rule | May fail |
Microsoft 365 now handles recalls in the cloud, which made them far more reliable inside a company than the old version that depended on the recipient's Outlook being open. Your IT administrator decides whether already-read messages can be recalled. In some setups the recipient is also told that you recalled a message, so a recall isn't always invisible.
How to recall an email in Gmail
Gmail calls this Undo Send. It delays sending for a short time; it does not reach into the other person's inbox.
- After you press Send, a bar appears at the bottom-left: "Message sent · Undo".
- Click Undo. The email reopens as a draft.
The default window is only 5 seconds. Change it now, before you need it:
- Click the gear icon > See all settings.
- On the General tab, find Undo Send and choose 30 seconds.
- Scroll down and click Save Changes.
The setting applies to the Gmail app on your phone as well, where Undo appears at the bottom of the screen.
How to unsend an email on iPhone and Mac
Apple Mail has the same kind of delay. After sending, tap Undo Send at the bottom of the mailbox list. The default is 10 seconds; on iPhone, change it in Settings > Apps > Mail > Undo Send Delay (up to 30 seconds). On a Mac it is in Mail > Settings > Composing.
Can you recall an email in Yahoo Mail?
No. Yahoo Mail has no recall and no built-in undo delay on the web. Once you press Send, the message is gone.
What to do when it is too late
- Wrong attachment or a typo: reply to your own message with a short correction. "Please use the attached version instead" is enough. A long apology draws more attention than the mistake.
- Wrong recipient: ask them plainly to delete the message, and tell whoever is affected. At work, if the email held personal or confidential data, report it to your manager or privacy team straight away; many companies have a legal deadline for this.
- A shared file: if you sent a link to Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox and not the file itself, remove the recipient's access. The link in their inbox stops working.
- A password or card number: change the password or freeze the card. Treat it as exposed.
- An email sent in anger: a recall attempt is itself a notification in many offices. A direct follow-up usually lands better.
How to avoid needing a recall
- Set the undo window to 30 seconds in Gmail and Apple Mail.
- In classic Outlook, add a rule that delays all sent mail by one or two minutes (Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts > "Apply rule on messages I send" > "defer delivery").
- Fill in the "To" line last. An email with no recipient can't be sent by accident.
- Share sensitive files as links you can switch off, not as attachments.
- Check the autocompleted name. Most wrong-recipient mistakes are two contacts with the same first name.
Common questions
Can you recall an email after an hour?
Only in Outlook within the same organisation. In Gmail and Apple Mail the chance ends after 30 seconds at most.
Does the recipient know I recalled an email?
In Outlook they may, depending on how the organisation has set it up, and they will if they already read it. Gmail's Undo Send leaves no trace, because the message never left.
Does deleting a sent email unsend it?
No. Deleting it from your Sent folder removes only your copy. It is one of the more common email myths.
Can Gmail's confidential mode take back an email?
Partly. If you sent the message in confidential mode, you can open it in Sent and choose "Remove access". It doesn't stop someone who has already read it or taken a screenshot.