As humans, we cannot deny that we can all make mistakes. While many of the mistakes we make in our lives are irreversible and have consequences, accidentally hitting the Send button in Gmail is not one of them, fortunately. If you find yourself with typos often right after sending an important email, here’s how you can use the “Undo Send” feature in Gmail to recall an email. We’ve included steps to recall an email using Gmail on the web and mobile apps on Android and iOS.
Recall an Email in Gmail in 2021
You can use Gmail’s popular “Undo Send” feature to quickly recall an email before it reaches the recipient. What Gmail implements here is a buffer period that gives users the option to recall a message, much like how Twitter’s new Undo Tweet feature works.
Set Email Cancellation Period in Gmail
Gmail gives you 5 seconds to recall an email by default. But you can customize the cancellation time and set it to 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. Unfortunately, this setting is limited to Gmail for the web, and you can’t customize the “undo send” period in the mobile apps on iOS and Android. That said, here’s how to customize the recall period for Gmail emails on the web:
1. Open Gmail and click the gear icon in the upper right corner. Now you will see a drop down menu with some quick settings. Click on “See all settings” to expand and view all Gmail settings.
2. Under the General section, a Option titled “Undo Send”. Click the dropdown menu and set your desired cancellation period. As mentioned earlier, the available options are:
- 5 seconds
- 10 seconds
- 20 seconds
- 30 seconds
note: Google only gives you a short window to recall an email from Gmail. You don’t have an hour or two to ‘unsend’ emails in Gmail, so you’ll need to be quick when using this feature.
3. Next, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Save Changes”. Gmail will automatically redirect you to your inbox after saving the changes made to the settings.
Recall Email in Gmail for the web (Windows, Mac and Linux)
Once you’ve determined your optimal cancellation period, you’re ready to recall emails you’ve sent in Gmail. Here’s how to do this:
1. Compose the email as you normally would, and Press the “Submit” button.
2. Shortly after sending an email, you will see the option to undo mail in the lower left corner of the screen. Click the “Undo” button To recall email in Gmail. Yes, it really is that easy.
Recall Email in Gmail Using Mobile Apps (Android and iOS)
Similarly, you can cancel emails in Gmail’s mobile apps on Android and iOS. While I will show you the steps to use an Android device, the process of recalling an email remains the same in Gmail’s iOS app. Here’s how you can recall an email in Gmail for Android or iOS:
1. Compose your email and send it using the Gmail app for Android or iOS.
2. Now you will look for Undo in a floating bar above the bottom navigation bar. Tap to cancel the email and return to the edit screen. You can now edit the email and choose to resend or delete it.
Remove Sent Emails in Gmail in Easy Steps
This was our quick guide to recalling emails in Gmail. Whether it’s for returning an email you instantly regret, or making corrections before sending an email again, Gmail’s Undo Send feature will come in handy to help you avoid potentially embarrassing situations. For more such tips, check out our article on sending email as attachments in Gmail and the best Gmail tips and tricks. Also, do you use the official method detailed above to recall emails or do you rely on third-party tools for the task? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.