How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

The instantaneous delivery of email comes with consequences. Once you send an email, it’s gone and out of your hands. We all make mistakes, though, and Google gets it. To help out, Gmail includes a feature called Undo Send that allows you to cancel your send request. In the past, you had to manually enable it, but now it’s on by default.

Here’s how to make the most of it.

How to recall an email in Gmail for web

Gmail’s Undo Send feature only delays the email — it doesn’t actually recall accidental messages sent to others. In other words, if you set the Send Cancellation Period to 30 seconds, Gmail doesn’t actually send the message until 30 seconds after you click Send. After that, there’s nothing you can do but send a follow-up “whoopsie” email or wait for the response.

Here’s how to customize Undo Send:

Step 1: Sign in to Gmail on the web with your Google account.

Step 2: Click the Gear icon located in the top-right corner.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Step 3: Click the See All Settings link in the rolloout menu.

Step 4: The Undo Send option is located under the General tab. Click the down arrow to select a delay in seconds from five to 30.

If you are worried about sending the wrong email, you probably want to set the cancellation period to at least 10 seconds, just to be safe. Five seconds isn’t very long to realize you made a mistake and click the Undo button.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Step 5: Scroll down to the bottom and click the Save Changes button.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone
How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

How to send a test email

Want to see this feature in action? Let’s give it a test run.

Step 1: With the Gmail web client open, click the big Compose button. You can’t miss it.

Step 2: Type your own email address in the To field. If you have another email account, use that instead.

Step 3: Click the blue Send button.

Step 4: A "Message Sent" pop-up appears in the bottom-left corner, as shown here. Click the Undo link to recall the email.

Step 5: In a second pop-up window, click the blue OK button to confirm.

Step 6: Your unsent email should now be on your screen as a draft. Adjust your message accordingly and send it, or delete it instead.

Recalling an email on iOS or Android is easy, and it doesn’t require adjusting any settings or options. The Send Cancellation Period is a predetermined interval that you can’t change like you would on a PC. You have a limited time to select Undo once the button appears on your screen. If you don’t click it in time, the message will be sent automatically.

Now not only can you avoid a costly mistake, but you're also one step closer to being a Gmail power user.

Editors' Recommendations

  • How to insert page numbers in LibreOffice
  • How to convert Apple Pages to PDF
  • This 28-inch Samsung 4K monitor is surprisingly cheap at Best Buy
  • You won’t believe how cheap this 13-inch laptop is at Walmart
  • This creepy Mac app can record every moment of your online life

Gmail is an email service offered by Google that has gradually become one of the essential parts of our working lives. It allows you to share documents, send messages, and other important data without any limit for most users. From critical business documents to school homework, you can send anything using Gmail.

However, there are some times when you click send on an email and regret it instantly. Maybe you sent an email to the wrong email address or forgot to attach a file to your email. You may wish to recall your email to fix the mistakes in these instances.

But, can you unsend an email in Gmail?

Yes, you can. Gmail provides a feature that allows you to recall a sent email within 30 seconds for those users. In this article, we have a detailed guide for you on how to recall an email in Gmail.

  • How to Recall a Message in Gmail
    • Enable the “Undo Send” on Gmail Desktop
      • Step 1: Open the Settings
      • Step 2: Setting the Email Cancellation Period in Gmail
      • Step 3: Save Changes
    • Undo Send on Gmail Mobile
    • Enable Confirm Before Sending on Android
  • Why the Recalling Function Isn’t Ideal
  • A Few Reasons Why People Want to Recall Gmail Emails
  • Alternatives to the Gmail Recall Message Feature (A Better Retrieve Email Gmail Option)
  • How To Recall a Gmail Email – FAQ
    • Can You Unsend an Email on Gmail? / Can Gmail Recall Emails?
    • How Do I Recall an Email After 30 Minutes in Gmail?
    • How Long Do You Have to Recall an Email in Gmail?
    • Can I Unsend an Email in Gmail After 10 Minutes?
    • Can You Recall an Email in Gmail After a Day?
  • Recall an Email in Gmail
        • Jake Wright

How to Recall a Message in Gmail

Unfortunately, by default, the recall email Gmail function isn’t active to a useable degree. So, to recall Gmail messages, you have to activate this option in the settings. Here are ways you can do this on desktop and mobile. Outlook recalls better, but only within a company server.

Enable the “Undo Send” on Gmail Desktop

Here’s how to retract an email in Gmail with the Undo Send option in your Gmail web client:

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Step 1: Open the Settings

  1. Click on the gear icon at the top right side of the screen. You will see a sidebar show up.
  2. Click on See all settings here. This will take you to the settings page that contains all the Gmail settings.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Step 2: Setting the Email Cancellation Period in Gmail

  1. Click on the General to go to that tab.
  2. Scroll down to find the Undo Send. Clicking on the box will show a drop-down menu that allows you to choose a duration. This includes five, ten, twenty, and thirty-second intervals. Choose the option that best suits you.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Step 3: Save Changes

Once you’ve chosen, scroll down and click Save Changes.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Now, whenever you press send on an email, a confirmation box will show up at the screen’s bottom-left with two buttons. Clicking on Undo allows you to stop the message from sending, while the View message will enable you to see the email you sent. Note that clicking on the View message won’t prevent the email from sending.

Clicking on Undo in the selected time frame means that the recipient won’t know that you sent the email. It can be a lifesaver if you send a sensitive email to the wrong person.

Undo Send on Gmail Mobile

The process to unsend an email in Gmail mobile is similar to the one we discussed for the web and desktop versions. It’s often on by default when on your mobile device. When you send an email using the Gmail mobile application, a pop-up box appears at the bottom of the screen telling you that the email has been successfully sent. Here’s an image showing how to retrieve an email from Gmail on an Android device.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

If you wish to recall the email, click on Undo on the right side of that pop-up. This button should take you back to the email compose screen, where you can make changes to the email or discard it altogether.

Enable Confirm Before Sending on Android

  1. Open Gmail on your mobile device and open the menu button in the top right
  2. Navigate to Setting > General settings
  3. Scroll down and make sure Confirm before sending is checked

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Why the Recalling Function Isn’t Ideal

This feature in Gmail doesn’t really recall your email. Instead, it just adds a delay timer which allows you to undo your email if you realize you made a mistake at the very last second. If you don’t click on Undo during this time, the email is sent, and there is no way to get it back.

If you back out from the email screen while this pop-up is showing, the option goes away completely, leaving you no choice to recall your email.

This method is not the perfect solution for retracting emails, which is why we recommend being vigilant when typing your emails, proofreading them, and ensuring you’re sending them to the correct email address. Yet, It’s a bit hard when sending emails automatically in Gmail.

A Few Reasons Why People Want to Recall Gmail Emails

  • Regrettable wording while angry
  • Forgotten attachments
  • Sending to the wrong recipient
  • Forgetting to CC an important manager
  • The issue discussed in the email has been resolved

Alternatives to the Gmail Recall Message Feature (A Better Retrieve Email Gmail Option)

By now, we’ve established that this feature is extremely limited in its use, and not everyone will utilize it simply because you can’t recover emails after 30 seconds. Sometimes you want to send something confidential or something that you just want to give limited access to the recipient.

There’s no way to do this in the Gmail web or mobile client. However, you can achieve this using Google Docs.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Open a new document on Google Docs and type your message there like you usually would. When done writing your message, click on the blue Share button at the top-right of the screen. Simply write the recipient’s email here, and you can send a document as an email.

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

This gives the advantage that you can make changes to the document anytime, which will be reflected immediately. This also works to recall emails from Google Sheets.

How To Recall a Gmail Email – FAQ

Can You Unsend an Email on Gmail? / Can Gmail Recall Emails?

If you realize that you don’t want to send an email you just sent, Gmail, by default, provides a 5-second window in which you can recall and edit your email. You can increase the timer for this window to 30 seconds by going into the General settings and heading over to the Undo Send option. This is the closest you’ll get to a Gmail retrieve email option.

How Do I Recall an Email After 30 Minutes in Gmail?

The recall message Gmail option only has a delay of up to 30 seconds. After that, the email is sent, and there is no way to recover it. Gmail doesn’t recall your messages. Instead, it puts a short delay between sending your emails.

How Long Do You Have to Recall an Email in Gmail?

By default, Gmail has a 5-second delay in recalling your emails. This can be increased up to 30 seconds by heading into the settings. However, there is no way to unsend the email after this time has passed.

Can I Unsend an Email in Gmail After 10 Minutes?

The Undo Send feature only puts a delay in sending your emails. You can’t unsend an email after the 30-second delay has passed. Gmail has no option to recall an email. Outlook can be more forgiving, but only for internal company emails.

Can You Recall an Email in Gmail After a Day?

No, unfortunately, you can’t recall a sent email in Gmail after a day as the undo send feature has a maximum delay of 30-seconds.

Recall an Email in Gmail

Gmail is a fantastic email messaging platform with tons of features to ease users’ use. The Undo Send option is one of them.

Even though it’s far from perfect, it can be a lifesaver for many people as it can be highly frustrating when you click send and realize you forgot to add one tiny bit of detail. This feature allows you to avoid such issues.

We hope this article helped you learn more about how to recall an email in Gmail and how you can use it to make your life easier. If you’d like to learn more about upping your Gmail game, check out our list of Gmail hacks.

Related articles:

  • How to Sign Out of Mail on iPhone
  • How to Recall an Email in Outlook
  • How to Sync Outlook Calendar with iPhone

How to recall an email in gmail on iphone

Jake Wright

Jake is a spreadsheet expert and content writer from New Zealand. He has a double Bachelor's Degree in Teaching and has been working in the education industry for over 11 years. His experience makes him adept at breaking down complex topics so that everyone is able to understand.

How do I recall a message in Gmail that's already sent from mobile?

Recall an email with Undo Send If you decide you don't want to send an email, you have a short time after to cancel it. Right after you send a message, you can retract it: In the bottom left, you'll see "Message sent" and the option to "Undo" or "View message". Click Undo.

How do I recall an email sent from my Iphone?

You have ten seconds to change your mind after you send an email. Tap “Undo send” at the bottom of the screen to pull back the email.

How do I recall an email after 1 hour Gmail?

How do I recall an email after 1 hour in Gmail? Unfortunately, you cannot unsend a message in Gmail after one hour. You can only recall it within 30 seconds of sending it.