How to recall email in Outlook, mail.com Premium and iPhone
We’ve all had regrets about an email – an embarrassing typo, misspelled name, or missing attachment can have us looking for an unsend button. Or the worst case: An angry email that you wish you could take back after cooling down. But does that magic email recall function even exist?
Today we explain when and how you can unsend an email.
by Alyssa SchmittIf you send an email within your organization, you may be able to recall it.
Why it’s difficult to recall emails
Although we are sure you have good reasons for wanting to get your email back, we have bad news for you – in most cases, you are out of luck. Once the email leaves your mailbox, you give up control over it. When the email is sent, your email program sends a copy to the email server used by your recipient’s email program. After this happens, your email program has no way to reach into another email server and delete your message.
The exception will be if you and your recipient are using the same email program and the same email server – as in the next example:
How to recall an email in Outlook
First, the good news: if you use Outlook, it might be possible to take back an email you’ve already sent.
Second, the bad news: the key word here really is “might.”
Whether an Outlook recall actually works depends on a few key details. Both you and your recipient need to be using Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 accounts within the same organization — in other words, your message has to stay inside the same company mail system. If you’re using Outlook with a POP or IMAP account, or your email went out to someone on Gmail, Yahoo, or mail.com, the recall option won’t do anything.
Microsoft has recently improved this feature for Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online with a new cloud-based message recall, which makes it a little more reliable than before. But even this newer version still has limits: it only works inside your organization and only if the message hasn’t been read yet or moved out of the recipient’s inbox. And if your company’s admin has turned off the recall feature altogether, you’re unfortunately out of luck.
Here’s how to try recalling an email in Outlook:
Open your Sent Items folder.
Double-click the email you want to recall so it opens in its own window.
Find the Recall command. Depending on your version of Outlook, it will be in one of these places:
On the Message tab, click Actions → Recall This Message, or
Open the File tab and select Message Resend and Recall → Recall This Message.
Choose one of the two options:
Delete unread copies of this message, or
Delete unread copies and replace with a new message.
(Optional) Check the box to be notified if the recall succeeds or fails for each recipient.
Click OK. If you chose to replace the message, make your changes and hit Send again.
Outlook has the option of recalling or replacing your email
If you can’t find the “Recall This Message” option at all, that usually means your account isn’t connected to an Exchange or Microsoft 365 server – or, sadly, that your organization has turned off this function.
How long does it take to recall an email and how do I know if it worked?
Once you’ve hit “recall,” all you can really do is wait. In most cases, Outlook will try right away, but if the recipient’s mailbox is offline or busy, it may take a little while. If you requested a notification, you would receive an email letting you know when the recall has succeeded (or if it ultimately failed).
How to undo send on your email
While it’s not possible to recall an email once it’s been sent to the recipient email server, many email programs have started building in a delay before your email actually departs from your mailbox. This panic button lets you have a few extra seconds to change your mind, e.g., Gmail gives you 30 seconds to cancel the send of your email.
It’s important to understand that even if your email program has a built-in delay, once it is over, it will no longer be possible to get your email back. So, it won’t help you if you regret your choice of angry words an hour later, but it does give you a chance at redemption if you realize you selected the wrong recipient two seconds after hitting send.
Message recall with mail.com Premium
Good news, mail.com Premium members! Your mails are sent with a three second countdown during which you can still pull the plug. So, if you hit send and then immediately notice you’ve forgotten an attachment, quickly click Cancel Sending while the countdown is still running.
Click during the countdown to cancel sending your email
How to unsend an email on iPhone
If you use Apple’s Mail app on your iPhone, you have a built-in safety net for those “oops” moments. When you hit Send, your message doesn’t actually take off right away. Instead, Mail delays sending it for a few seconds, giving you a quick chance to change your mind.
By default, you get a 10-second window to undo sending. After you send your email, you’ll return to your inbox as usual, and at the bottom of the screen you’ll see the words Undo Send in blue. Tap it, and your message pops back open so you can edit it, add an attachment, or just decide not to send it at all. When you’re ready, you can hit Send again, or Cancel if you’ve decided to scrap it.
If 10 seconds feels a little too short (and let’s be honest, it often does), you can extend that grace period. Just go to Settings > Mail > Undo Send Delay and choose a longer interval, e.g., 20 or 30 seconds, depending on how much wiggle room you want. If you prefer to live dangerously, you can also set it to Off, which sends emails immediately and disables the undo option until you turn it back on.
What to do if the Undo Send option is not appearing on your iPhone
When we tried out this function, the “Undo Send” option did not show up for us while we had the “Filter by Unread” option active in our inbox. So, if you are not getting the unsend option, try deactivating any inbox filters and that may fix the problem. In addition, make sure your phone is running iOS 16 or higher – “Undo Send” is not available in earlier iOS versions. And of course, make sure the function is activated as described above.
Good to know: The mail.com Mail App for iOS also includes an Undo Send feature. If you’re using our app, you can take back an email just after hitting send — perfect for catching typos or forgotten attachments before they go out. Learn more in our post: Undo email sending in the mail.com Mail App for iOS
Avoid the need for email recall
As you can see, recalling or unsending an email you regret is often not an option. This is why, as always, we recommend proofreading important emails several times (reading what you have written out loud sometimes helps catch typos). And if your emotions are running high, give yourself a cooling-off period before you send off angry words that you’ll regret later. Keep in mind that it is always possible to save your email as a draft and return to it later with fresh eyes.
FAQ: Recalling and unsending emails
Even with all the new “undo” and recall options out there, email mistakes still happen. Here are answers to some of the most common questions people have about taking back a message once it’s been sent.
How do you retract an email?
That depends on which email service you use. In Outlook, you can try to recall a message if both you and the recipient are on the same Microsoft 365 or Exchange system. Other email programs don’t truly retract messages once sent, though some let you briefly cancel sending a message before it goes out.
Is there a way to unsend an email?
Yes, but only within a short time window. Many email apps offer an Undo Send feature that delays delivery for a few seconds so you can change your mind. Once that delay expires, the message is gone for good.
Does deleting an email unsend it?
No, deleting an email only removes it from your own mailbox. Once your email has reached the recipient’s server, there’s no way to delete it from their inbox unless your email system specifically supports recall.
What does “recall email” mean?
“Recalling” an email means trying to delete a message you’ve already sent before the recipient reads it. In Outlook, this feature can work if both sender and recipient are using the same Microsoft 365 or Exchange account, but it’s not guaranteed to succeed.
What happens when you recall an email?
Outlook attempts to remove the original message from the recipient’s inbox and, if you choose, replace it with a new version. You’ll usually get a notification telling you whether the recall worked, but if the message was already opened or moved, it won’t be pulled back.
We hope this post will help you next time you need to pull the emergency brake on an email.
And if you still don’t have a secure email account with mail.com, why not sign up for free here?
This article first appeared on October 2, 2023, and was updated on October 13, 2025.
