Recall an email vs. undo send in Outlook
Draft. Not published yet.
These are two different tools. Undo send stops a message before it leaves. Recall tries to retrieve one that’s already been delivered, and the conditions are narrow.
Undo send is the reliable safety net. In Outlook.com, go to Settings > Mail > Compose, and under Undo send choose a delay of up to 30 seconds. After you send, an Undo prompt appears for that long. In new Outlook for Windows, look in Settings under Mail for Compose or Compose and reply and the same Undo send option. If you don’t see it, search Settings for “Undo send.”
Classic Outlook for Windows doesn’t have that short Undo send delay. You can instead delay a single message (see Schedule a message to send later) or use a rule that defers outgoing mail by up to 120 minutes.
Recall works in new Outlook, classic Outlook, and Outlook on the web only when both you and the recipient have Microsoft 365 work or school accounts in the same organization, and the recipient hasn’t opened the message. It does not work for personal accounts such as Outlook.com, Hotmail, Gmail, or other outside addresses.
To try a recall, open the message from Sent Items in its own window (a reading-pane click isn’t enough in classic Outlook). In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, choose Recall Message. In classic Outlook, use Recall This Message from the Message tab, then delete or replace unread copies. You’ll get a report showing success, pending, or failed.