How to Recall an Email in Gmail (5 Easy Steps)

Gmail is a popular email service thanks to its free option and the lack of account limitations. However, when a user notices a mistake with an email they just sent out, it isn’t obvious how you can recall that email.

In this mail service provider, you don’t recall emails. Instead, the application waits a set amount of time before sending the email, allowing the user to cancel their send.

So, with those details cleared up, let’s look at how to retract an email in Gmail, why you might want to do this, and last, how to turn on this feature from within the Gmail account settings.

How to Recall an Email in Gmail

Here are steps to Retract an Email in Gmail:

Step 1) Log into Your Gmail Account

Email recalls are part of the Gmail settings, meaning users must log into their Gmail account to turn that function on.

Note: Navigate over to the Gmail app and log in using the Google account you want to turn on email recalls for. Once you enter the login info, you should be on the home screen for Gmail, with your most recent emails listed in front of you.

Step 2) Click Settings

Gmail doesn’t have a button labeled “Settings.” Instead, the provided gear wheel is in the top-right corner of the screen.

Click on that gear wheel to open up your settings.

Note: When you do this, you should have a window slide in from the right-hand side of the screen.

2. A wide button labeled See All Settings should be at the top of this new window.

3. You will need to click on that button to get into the advanced settings needed to turn on email recalls.

Step 3) Find Undo Send

After choosing to see all settings choices, you’ll go to a new web page with all of your settings and current options selected for your Gmail settings.
By default, you launch into the General Settings page.

On that General page, you will scroll down until you find the Undo Send option.

This option has a drop-down menu where you can select the email cancellation period for Gmail, which can go up to 30 seconds.

You can choose the option from the drop-down menu that you want.

Step 4) Save Changes

Once you select the time delay, you will need to save the change so that Gmail can update your settings.
Scroll to the bottom of your Settings page and look for a button labeled Save Changes.

C. Clicking on this button will save your changes, refresh the page, and take you back to the email home page.

Step 5) Test Things Out

So, when you send an email, you will see a pop-up message in the bottom-left corner of your screen any time you release that email to its recipient.

This message will have an Undo option that lets you cancel the email you sent. After the time you selected in the previous step passes, you can no longer recall that email.

You can assess if the setting works by emailing a friend or co-worker. You can type out a quick email and send it their way. If you can click the Undo option and your friend or co-worker never received the email, your changes are saved, and work as intended.

Reasons To Recall Gmail Emails

Most users don’t think about needing to recall a sent email. But several reasons exist out there for someone to want to know how to recall an email, such as:

Emailing the wrong person, especially when confidential information is on the line
Spelling mistakes that take away from the professionalism of the email
Attaching the wrong document to an email or forgetting to include a Google Docs attachment in the first place
Giving the wrong response to an email
Sending out an incomplete email draft by accident, sometimes by forgetting important information

Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that you can unsend sent emails within Gmail itself. Moreover, the process isn’t too hard.

Note: Email Recall only works when the email recipient and sender are both hosted on Outlook Exchange (a Microsoft Product).

FAQ

The Undo Send feature is in your Gmail settings. Navigate to your settings by finding the gear wheel in the top-right corner and selecting See All Settings. Scroll down to the Undo Send option and click the drop-down menu to select how much time you have to undo sending an email. You can save your settings at the bottom of the same page.

If you cannot change the unsend time setting in Gmail, you might not be logged into Gmail.

For that, you need to Go to Gmail on your web browser or mobile app and ensure that you are signed into your account. To do this, look in the top-right corner and select your profile picture. If you are not logged in, receive a prompt to do so. This way, you can unsend an email in Gmail.

No, you can’t, as the email recall option in Gmail delays, maximum, up to 30 seconds. This limitation means you cannot unsend an email after 1 hour.

Summary:

You might have to recall an email for many reasons, so it’s a good idea to know how the feature works.
The ability to recall Gmail emails is within the Gmail app settings. Overall, you can recall emails with Gmail by.
You need to make sure that you are signed into your Gmail account.
Going into your settings using the gear wheel in the top-right and selecting See All Settings.
Scrolling down to the Undo Send feature and setting your recall time allowance.
Saving your changes at the bottom of the Settings page.
Sending a test email.