How to Recall an Email in Microsoft Outlook or GMAIL.
In this tutorial, you'll learn how to recall an email message you send from Microsoft Outlook and Google Mail (aka "Gmail").
If you have sent an email and then you realized immediately that it contains a mistake, or the attachment is missing, or that you sent it to the wrong person, you may be wondering if there is a way to recall the email you send.
Fortunately, both Microsoft Outlook desktop app and Gmail offers the feature to unsend an email message and to replace it with a new one.
How to Recall an Email in Outlook.
Microsoft Outlook desktop app has the option to recall a mail message you send, if both you and the recipient have a Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Exchange email account in the same organization. This means, that a message sent to or from a Hotmail, live.com or other POP3 or IMAP accounts can't be recalled.
To recall an unread email message* in MS Outlook follow the steps below:
* Important: Only an unread message can be recalled, so make sure to follow the below steps quickly once the email has been sent.
1. Open Outlook and click on the Sent Items folder from the left-side pane.
2. Double-click on the email you want to recall to open it in a new window.
3. On the Message tab, click on the Actions button and from the dropdown menu, choose the Recall This Message option.
4. At this Recall This Message window choose the preferred action for the message you sent and click OK:*
- Delete unread copies of this message.
- Delete unread copies and replace with a new message.
* Notes:
1. If you want to get notified about the result, select the Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient checkbox.
2. If you have selected the second option (Delete unread copies and replace with a new message) click OK to Edit the email and then click on Send. After sending the new edited message the original email message will be deleted from the recipient’s mailbox and replaced with the newly edited one.
How to Unsend an Email in Gmail.
Unfortunately, the email recall process in Gmail is much more limited because you can recall a message only after pressing the SEND button, and for a limited period of time (5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds)
1. To recall an email message in Google Mail, immediately press the UNDO option after pressing the SEND button in the notification that appears in the bottom left corner.*
* Notes:
1. If you do not click on the 'Undo' within five (5) seconds (default period), the message will be sent permanently to the recipient.
2. To increase the amount of time available for the message recall, continue reading below.
2. A pop-up will display the Sending undone to confirm the action performed.
* Note: To increase the default send cancelation period of 5 seconds in order to have more time to recall a message, do the following:
1. On GMAIL click the cogwheel icon 
to open Quick Settings and then click All Settings.
2. At the General tab navigate to the Undo Send section and from the dropdown menu, select the number of seconds for the Send Cancelation period (e.g. 10, 20 or 30 seconds).
3. Next, scroll down and hit the Save Changes button. From now on you'll have more time to unsend any email you sent.
Final Thoughts:
If you have not been able to recall an email because it has already been read by the recipient or because time has passed since you sent it, then you can correct your mistake with a new email message to the recipient.
Sending an apology email always helps if you accidentally send an email that contains something unfortunate or inappropriate for the recipient. While this won't undo what has been done, it's still a great way to start fixing the damage.
That's it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
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