How To Recall Mail In Gmail If You're Using The Service

Aadhya Khatri - Nov 15, 2019

How to recall mail in Gmail? Here's how to recall the emails before the recipient opens it to change the content or delete it for good.

The email system nowadays comes with a harsh consequence, once you sent the mail and want to recall it, because either you have the address wrong or regret its content, there is no taking back. Fortunately, if you use Gmail, you have an effective way to undo it before the recipient opens the mail. Outlook also has the option to recall emails but it is far trickier and time-consuming than what we have with Gmail. Here's how to recall mail in Gmail.

How to recall mail in Gmail: Check Your Unsend Settings

Recently, Google has made the Unsend option the standard function for Gmail, but checking the settings to make sure that it works the way you want is still advisable.

Signing in your Gmail account and open settings by clicking on the gear icon. You should find it right above the list of emails.

How to recall mail in Gmail: Adjust Settings If Necessary

In Settings, you will find all the special features which you can activate or adjust to use on Gmail.

Under the General tab, scroll down until you see the section for Undo Send. Now you can change the time for Send cancellation, which means the time you have to recall an email. The choices are five, ten, twenty, or thirty seconds.

how-to-recall-email-in-gmail — Now you can change the time for Send cancellation, which means the time you have to recall an email

The recommended time is 10 seconds but you can choose which works for you. When you have made the necessary adjustments, scroll down all the way to the bottom and save what you have just done.

recall-email-in-gmail — When you have made the necessary adjustments, scroll down all the way to the bottom and save what you have just done

How to recall mail in Gmail: Send A Test Email

When the adjustments are in place, you should test the function to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Tap or click on Compose and at the bar for the email address of the recipient, type in yours. Now send the test email.

You should see a popup notification in the lower-left corner of the window saying that the email has been sent, along with an option to undo in the middle of the bar.

how-to-recall-an-email-in-gmail — A popup notification in the lower-left corner of the window saying that the email has been sent, along with an option to undo in the middle of the bar

If you do nothing and wait past the waiting time, the Undo option will disappear and now it is too late to recall the email. If you are having a hard time deciding which time period you should go for, test with them all until you get a feeling of which works for you.

If you select the Undo option, the email will come right back to the state you saw before you sent it. Now you can change it as you want, either the email address of the recipient of the content of the mail. You may even delete it if you change your mind about sending it.

Once the mail is recalled, you have all the time in the world to adjust it as you wish.

How to recall mail in Gmail: Recalling An Email On iOS Or Android

How to recall email in Gmail if you are an iOS or Android users? Recalling an email on iOS and Android is no different to what you have on the web browser. You will also see the Undo option to click on if you change your mind about sending the mail. Please note that the button will be there for a few seconds only so act quickly.

recall-gmail — You will also see the Undo option to click on if you change your mind about sending the mail on Android and iOS

However, that is the end of our article on how to recall mail in Gmail before you assume that everything will work as you expect, sending a test email to see if anything goes wrong is advisable.