Opps! I Sent It Accidently! How to Unsend Emails in Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

If you have a habit of accidentally sending emails before you’re ready to send them, there are a handful of ways to ‘unsend’ the emails depending on which email service or email client you use. Have you ever sent an email and immediately regretted it?

Perhaps you hit the send button too soon, or you realized that you made a typo, or you addressed it to the wrong person. Or maybe you just had a change of heart and decided not to send the email after all. Whatever the reason, you might be wondering if there’s a way to unsend an email.

Why would you want to unsend an email?

There are several reasons why you might need to do so:

How to Recall Email in Outlook

Outlook offers a handy feature to unsend email messages, but it’s important to keep in mind that you won’t be able to fully recall a message if the recipients have already read it.

However, it’s worth noting that Outlook lacks the robust features of an app like Spike for truly unsending email messages. Additionally, Outlook isn’t very effective for unsending messages sent to Google Workspace or other non-Microsoft solutions.

Fortunately, many email clients today offer some form of “undo send” feature that allows you to recall a sent message within a certain time frame, typically ranging from a few seconds to a minute or two. This can be a lifesaver in situations where you need to retract a message quickly and avoid any potential embarrassment or harm. So let’s dive into the ways to unsend an email if you’ve accidentally sent it.

If you use Microsoft Outlook on a collaborative communications server like Microsoft Exchange Server, you’ll enjoy some significant benefits over an ordinary Outlook account. One of the biggest advantages is the ability to recall an email message, which essentially unsends it.

How to recall an email in Outlook for Mac

Here’s how to recall an email on Outlook for Mac:

• Step 1: Open Outlook and go to the “Sent Items” folder.
• Step 2: Double-click on the email you want to unsend or sent by mistake.
• Step 3: In the top menu, click on “Message” and then “Actions.”
• Step 4: Select “Recall This Message” from the drop-down menu.
• Step 5: Choose whether you want to delete the unread copy of the message or delete unread copies and replace it with a new message.
• Step 6: Click “OK” and wait for the process to complete.

It’s important to note that this feature is not foolproof. If the recipient has already opened the email, it may not be fully recalled, and they will still be able to see the content of the message. Additionally, the recall feature may not work for messages sent to non-Outlook email clients.

How to unsend an email in Outlook for PC

Here’s how to unsend an email on Outlook for PC:

• Step 1: Open Outlook and go to the “Sent Items” folder.
• Step 2: Double-click on the email you want to unsend or sent by mistake.
• Step 3: In the top menu, click on “Message” and then “Actions.”
• Step 4: Select “Recall This Message” from the drop-down menu.
• Step 5: Choose whether you want to delete the unread copy of the message or delete unread copies and replace it with a new message.
• Step 6: Click “OK” and wait for the process to complete.

It’s important to keep in mind that this feature has limitations. If the recipient has already opened the email, the message will not be fully recalled, and they will still see the content. Additionally, the recall feature may not work for messages sent to non-Outlook email clients.

How to unsend an email in Outlook for iPhone

Here are the steps to unsend an email on Outlook for iPhone:

• Step 1: Open the Outlook app on your iPhone.
• Step 2: Tap on the “Sent” folder.
• Step 3: Find the email you want to unsend and open it.
• Step 4: Tap on the three dots (…) in the upper-right corner of the screen.
• Step 5: Tap on “Recall Message” from the drop-down menu.
• Step 6: Choose whether you want to delete the message or delete it and replace it with a new message.
• Step 7: Tap on “Recall” to confirm and wait for the process to complete.
• It’s important to note that like the other versions of Outlook, the recall feature may not work if the recipient has already opened the email, and it may not work for messages sent to non-Outlook email clients.

How to unsend an email in Outlook for Android

Here are the steps to unsend an email in Outlook for Android/Google Play:

• Step 1: Open the Outlook app on your Android device.
• Step 2: Tap on the “Sent” folder.
• Step 3: Find the email you want to unsend and open it.
• Step 4: Tap on the three dots (…) in the upper-right corner of the screen.
• Step 5: Tap on “Recall Message” from the drop-down menu.
• Step 6: Choose whether you want to delete the message or delete it and replace it with a new message.
• Step 7: Tap on “Recall” to confirm and wait for the process to complete.
• Again, it’s vital to note that the recall feature may not work if the recipient has already opened the email, and it may not work for messages sent to non-Outlook email clients.

How to Unsend an Email in Gmail

Gmail includes some handy options for unsending an email. If you decide you don’t want to send an email, you have a short time after to cancel it. Here are the steps:

You can configure in Gmail how long you have to unsend an email in Gmail.

1. In the top right of the Gmail interface on a laptop/desktop, click Settings and then See all settings.
2. Next to “Undo Send,” select a Send cancellation period of 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds.

Discover More:

• Spike – A Better Gmail Client for Windows
• The Best Email Providers That Don’t Need a Phone Number
• It’s email, but as easy as chat. It’s Conversational Email!

How to Unsend Emails in Yahoo

Unfortunatly Yahoo doesn’t include an option to unsend an email message. If you use Yahoo, it’s ideal to use an email client like Spike in order to unsend the email after you sent it.

Can you unsend an iMessage?

When you send a text message in iOS 16 Messages, you have the power to unsend it, but with a catch: the message won’t just disappear into the interwebs. Instead, a note will be left in its place, letting the recipient know that you recalled something. It’s worth noting that if someone is using an older version of iOS , the recalled message will still be visible to them.

Here’s how to unsend a text message in iOS 16 Messages. It’s quite simple on iOS, macOS, or iPad:

Just remember, timing is important here. Make sure you unsend the message within that 15-minute timeframe, or you’ll lose the opportunity to do so

Unsend Emails Easily Using Spike Email Client

The ideal solution for unsending emails is to use an email client designed specifically to unsend emails without the other person having the option to keep them. Spike’s unsend email feature works across iCloud, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and more.

Unlike other email clients and web-based solutions, Spike is designed to protect you from sending emails accidentally. There is a delay after sending before it’s truly sent to give yourself a “gotcha moment”. It works on desktop and mobile devices, and in certain situations, it might save your job.

Mobile

1. Long-press the message bubble.
2. Tap the Unsend Message button.
3. After 10 seconds the ‘Unsend Message’ will turn grey or disappear.

Desktop

1. Right-click the message or click the 3 dots next to the message and select ‘Unsend Message.’
2. After 10 seconds the ‘Unsend Message’ will turn grey or disappear.

Save Yourself Trouble and Avoid Sending Emails by Mistake

Although Spike includes the best way to unsend emails you’ve sent accidentally, it’s best to not make the mistake in the first place. Before sending an email, stop and reread the message to make sure you’ve crossed all your Ts and dotted all your Is. Check to make sure you are sending it to the right person (and not the wrong person).

Did you Add the Attachments?

If you are intending to attach files, double-check to make sure you’ve attached them and included the right versions. If you’ve worked with multiple versions of files, it’s ideal to make sure you’ve got the correct version as well.

Did you Reply to all the Questions in the Email?

To streamline the conversation and back/forth process of email, double-check to make sure you’ve answered all the questions in the email. It can be as simple as pasting the original question into your email and answering the question below is so it’s easy to follow in the conversation.

Summary

The ability to unsend an email can potentially be life-changing if you protect yourself from sending the wrong message to the wrong person. Unfortunately, most email clients do not include this feature for all email service providers natively.

Spike is the best email client for unsending email messages across Google Workspace, Outlook email, Yahoo, iCloud, etc. Spike supports it as an account so that the unsend email functionality will work perfectly. Download Spike today!