How to Take Back a Sent Email in Outlook

We've all been there: hitting send on an email that, moments later, we regret. Whether it went to the wrong person, was sent in a moment or rage, or just contains an embarrassing typo, wouldn't it be great if you could recall an email? Well, under the right circumstances, you can.

In Outlook for desktop, you can unsend an email if you act quickly. We're going to show you how to recall an email in Outlook, explain the requirements that must be met, and offer some alternative approaches.

How to Recall a Message in Outlook

It's simple to request a recall on an Outlook message. Whether that request will complete successfully is another matter, which we'll cover in the next section.

To recall an Outlook email:

1. In Outlook, go to the Sent Items folder from the left-hand pane.
2. Find the message that you want to recall and double click it to open it in a new window.
3. From the top menu, click File.
4. Click Resend or Recall > Recall This Message.
5. Click Delete unread copies of this message to remove the email from the recipient's inbox entirely. Alternatively, select Delete unread copies and replace with a new message if you want to send a different email in place of the original.
6. Optionally, check Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient. This will email you the result of every recall attempt. Once you receive these, you'll see a Tracking icon in the ribbon, which you can click for a summary of the results.
7. When complete, click OK to recall the message. This will then send a request to the recipient's address, asking the email client to delete the original email.

What Are the Requirements to Recall an Email in Outlook?

You can only recall an email if both you and the recipient use a Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 account on the same server or organization.

To check what type of email account you have:

1. In Outlook, click File on the top menu.
2. Click Account Settings > Account Settings.
3. On the Email tab, the Type column shows what type of account you're using.

With that limitation in mind, recalling won't work on emails you've sent outside your organization to, for example, a Gmail or Yahoo account. This is because once an email has left your internal server, you have no control over it. There's no universal rule that an email server should abide by a recall request; in fact, it won't even be processed.

Even if you and your recipient are on the same Exchange server, that still doesn't mean guaranteed recall success.

Most importantly, the recipient must open the recall request before they open the original message. If they read the original message first, whether that's before you request a recall or after, the original message will remain in their inbox. While they will still receive the recall request, informing them that you want to delete the original message, it's their prerogative on whether to follow through.

However, if the recipient has Automatically process meeting requests and responses to meeting requests and polls enabled in their Outlook settings, the recall will happen automatically in the background and your original email will be deleted. This setting can be found through File > Options > Mail > Tracking. Again, though, this only applies if the recipient hasn't opened your original email. If they have, it'll remain in their inbox regardless of this setting.

Also, if the recipient has a rule that moves your original email from the inbox to another folder, the recall request will fail. Furthermore, if the email is sent to a public inbox and the recall request is read by someone other than the intended individual recipient, the recall won't work.

Finally, recall requests can't be processed if the recipient is viewing their emails outside the Outlook desktop program, like through the Outlook web app or their mobile device.

To summarize, for a successful email recall, all of these conditions must be met:

• Both you and the recipient must be on the same Exchange server.
• The recipient must open the recall request before they read the original email.
• The recipient must open the recall request through Outlook on desktop.
• The recipient must not have any rules that modify or move your original email.

As you can see, there are a very specific set of requirements that must be met for your email recall to be successful. For the best chance of success, request the recall quickly, but the process isn't fool-proof. Rely on it as a last resort.

How to Delay Sending an Email Rather Than Recalling

If you often find yourself needing to recall emails, it might be best to take an alternative approach.

One method to do this is to set a rule in Outlook to delay the sending of your messages. With this you're not technically recalling an email, but it gives you a short window in which to cancel the outgoing email.

To create such a rule:

1. Navigate to the File tab.
2. Select Manage Rules & Alerts.
3. In the Email Rules tab, click New Rule.
4. Select Apply rule on messages I send.
5. Select any conditions you like. For example, whether to ignore the rule if sending to a specific person.
6. Click Next.
7. Select any actions you like. You must check defer delivery by a number of minute s.
8. In the lower pane, click a number of to set how many minutes you wish to defer sending by, from 1 to 120.
9. Click Next to follow the wizard through to set any exceptions and give your rule a name.
10. When done, click Finish.

How to Delay Sending an Email in Gmail

Do you use Gmail and want a similar feature? You're in luck. Here's how to delay sending in Gmail:

1. Navigate to your inbox and click the cog icon in the upper right.
2. Click See all settings.
3. On the General tab, navigate to the Undo Send section.
4. Use the dropdown to set a time interval (up to 30 seconds) of how long you want to delay email sending. This gives you a window in which to retract.
5. Then, when you send a message, click Undo in the bottom-left.

Don't Rely on Email Recall in Outlook

As you've seen, it's a simple procedure to retract an email in Outlook. However, whether the recall will be successful is an entirely different matter because it depends on so many factors. In a world where people can access their emails from anywhere at any time, you shouldn't rely on recall.

Instead, if you're often sending something in error, consider using an alternative method to delay sending your email. It means it won't get sent instantly and also ensures you won't be left red-faced from a mistake!

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About The Author

Joe Keeley (774 Articles Published)

Joe was born with a keyboard in his hands and immediately started writing about technology. He has a BA (Hons) in Business and is now a full-time freelance writer who enjoys making tech simple for everyone.

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How to Take Back a Sent Email in Outlook

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