Recall an Email in Gmail

If you need to recall emails you send through Gmail you have several options. You can use the built-in Undo Send feature to recall messages for up to 30 seconds after sending. If you need more time to recall a message, Boomerang is a browser extension that adds a delay feature to Gmail. This delay can be set to virtually any amount of time, giving you plenty of time to recall a message before it gets sent. If you use Outlook to manage your Gmail account, you can create a custom rule that will delay the sending of messages.

Steps

Using Gmail's "Undo Send" Feature

  1. Log into your Gmail inbox. You can enable a feature called "Undo Send" which will allow you to delay messages for a few seconds, giving you a chance to recall it if you'd like. You'll need to be signed into the Gmail website to enable it.
  2. Click the Gear button and select "Settings." You'll find this button in the upper-right corner.
  3. Check the "Enable Undo Send" box in the General tab. You'll find this about halfway down the page.
    • This feature used to be a part of Gmail Labs, but has since been integrated into the general Gmail settings.
  4. Select how long you want to delay sending. Use the drop-down menu underneath the checkbox to select between 5, 10, 20, and 30 seconds. This is how long your messages will wait before they are sent.
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click "Save Changes." This will apply your new Undo Send feature settings.
  6. Send a message like normal. Once you've enabled the Undo Send feature, you can test it out by sending a message.
  7. Click the "Undo" link in the pop-up that appears after sending a message. You'll see this pop-up at the top of your Gmail screen. The "Undo" link will be available for as long as you set the delay.
    • These settings will apply to Inbox by Gmail as well. When you send a message in Inbox, you'll see the Undo button appear in the lower-left corner of the page after sending.

Using Boomerang for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari

  1. Visit the Boomerang download site. Boomerang is an extension that, among other things, allows you to schedule your emails to send at a later time.
    • Visit www.boomeranggmail.com/download.html in the browser that you want to install it in. Boomerang is not compatible with Internet Explorer or Edge, or with mobile browsers.
    • Boomerang will not be able to recall any messages that you've sent before installing it. It will only allow you to delay sending of future messages so that you have a chance to recall.
  2. Click the "Install Boomerang" button. This will begin installing the extension in your browser.
  3. Follow the prompts to install Boomerang. The process is slightly different depending on your browser:
    • Chrome - Click the "Add" button that appears.
    • Firefox - Click "Allow" and then "Install Now."
    • Safari - Click the "Install" button that appears.
  4. Log into Gmail in a new tab. If Gmail is already open in a tab, you'll need to close it and reopen it. You'll see a new "Boomerang" button in the upper-right corner when you have a message open, next to the "More" button.
  5. Click the "Compose" button. This will open a new message window, and you'll see the new "Send Later" button underneath the "Send" button.
  6. Click "Send Later" when you're ready to send a message. This will open a menu with various times that you can set for the message to be sent.[1]
  7. Select how long you want to wait until the message is delivered. If you're often wanting to recall a message just a few minutes after sending it, select "In 1 hour" or enter a custom time of a few minutes. This will send the message to your Boomerang Outbox to be sent later.
  8. Open the "Boomerang-Outbox" folder in the left menu to see your scheduled emails. If you decide you need to recall an email message, you'll find it in the Boomerang-Outbox folder as long as it hasn't automatically sent.
  9. Click a message in the "Boomerang-Outbox" folder that you want to recall. You'll see the message open with a striped background, and several options along the top.
  10. Click "Don't Send" to recall the message. It will be removed from the automatic queue and will not be sent to the recipient.

Using Outlook

  1. Add your Gmail account to Outlook if it isn't already. If you aren't using Outlook to manage your Gmail account, you can add it so that Outlook handles all of your Gmail messages. You can then use special features in Outlook to delay sending emails, allowing you to recall them if you'd like.
  2. Click the "Rules" button. You'll find this in the Home tab, or in the Tools menu.
  3. Select "Manage Rules & Alerts." This will open a new window where you can create your delayed sending rule.
  4. Click the "New Rule" button. This will open yet another new window.
  5. Select "Apply rule on messages I send" and click "Next." This will tell Outlook that the rule you create will apply to all future outgoing messages.
  6. Select additional conditions (if necessary). You can further define what messages your rule is applied to by selecting specific conditions, such as "with specific words in the subject." If you want the rule to apply to all messages, just click "Next" without selecting anything.
  7. Check the "defer delivery by a number of minutes" box. This will enable you to delay your sent messages.[2]
  8. Click the "a number of" link in the bottom frame. This will allow you to define how long the messages should wait before sending.
  9. Set a time for messages to be delivered. Make sure you give yourself enough time to change your mind.
  10. Select exceptions (if necessary). If there are certain types of messages that you never need to recall, you can add exceptions to your rule. If you want the rule to apply to all of your messages, click "Next" without selecting anything.
  11. Give the rule a name. Name the rule something like "Mail Delay" so that you can easily identify it later in case it needs changing or deleting.
  12. Click "Finish" and then "Apply." This will enable your new rule.
  13. Send a message like you normally would. Click the "New Email" button and compose and send your email like you normally would. It will be sent to your Outbox, where it will wait the amount of time you designated.
  14. Open your Outbox to view messages that are waiting to send. All of the messages will stay in the Outbox until they've hit the delay time that you set in your rule. Once a message is sent, it leaves the Outbox and you cannot recall it.
  15. Cancel the sending of a message in the Outbox. Select a message in your Outbox and click the red "X" button to cancel it. The message will be moved to your Trash folder, and you can drag it back to your Drafts if you want to make changes and send it again.

Tips

  • Regardless of which method you choose, once an email has actually been sent to a recipient, there is no way to recall it.

Sources and Citations

  1. Jump up ↑ http://www.boomeranggmail.com/faq.html#SendLaterFeature
  2. Jump up ↑ https://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=44266
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