As humans, there’s no denying that we all make mistakes. Although most of the mistakes we make in our life are irreversible and have consequences, accidentally pressing the send button in Gmail is fortunately not one of them. If you often notice typos immediately after sending an important email, here’s how you can use the Undo Send feature to recall an email in Gmail. We’ve included steps to recall an email in Gmail on the web and using mobile apps on Android and iOS.
Recall an email in Gmail in 2021
You can use Gmail’s popular “Unsend” feature to quickly redial an email before it reaches the recipient. What Gmail has implemented here is a buffer period that gives users the choice to recall a message, much like how Twitter’s new Cancel Tweet feature works.
Configure Cancellation Period for Emails in Gmail
Gmail gives you 5 seconds to recall a default email. However, you can customize the undo period 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 unsend period in the mobile apps on iOS and Android. That said, here’s how to customize the reminder period for Gmail emails on the web:
1. Open Gmail and click the gear icon in the upper right corner. You will now see a context menu with some quick settings. Click on “See all settings” to expand it and view all Gmail settings.
2. Under the General section, you will see a option labeled “Cancel Send”. Click on the drop-down menu and set the desired cancellation period. As mentioned before, the available options are:
- 5 seconds
- 10 seconds
- 20 seconds
- 30 seconds
To note: Google only gives you a brief window to recall an email in 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 your settings changes.
Recall emails in Gmail for the web (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
After setting your optimal cancellation period, you’re ready to recall emails in Gmail that you’ve already sent. Here’s how:
1. Compose the email as you normally would and press the “Send” button.
2. Shortly after sending an email, you will see an option to cancel the email in the lower left corner of the screen. Click on the “Cancel” button to recall the email in Gmail. Yeah, it really is that easy.
Recall emails in Gmail using mobile apps (Android and iOS)
Similarly, you can also revoke emails in Gmail’s mobile apps on Android and iOS. While I’m going to show you the steps using an Android device, the process for recalling an email also remains the same on the Gmail iOS app. Here’s how to 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. You will now see the Undo option in a floating bar above the bottom navigation bar. Tap it to revoke the email and return to the edit screen. You can now edit the email and resend it or choose to delete it.
Unsend emails in Gmail in simple steps
So that was our quick guide to recalling emails in Gmail. Whether it’s to unsend an email you instantly regret, or to make corrections to an email before resending it, Gmail’s “Unsend” feature will come in handy to avoid situations. potentially embarrassing. For more such tips, check out our article on sending emails 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.
