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Key Takeaways

  • To recall an email in Outlook, go to the Sent Items folder, open the message in a new window, click File, and select Resend or Recall > Recall This Message.
  • Recall only works if certain conditions are met, including that both you and the recipient have a Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 account in the same organization.
  • Consider using a rule in Outlook to delay sending your emails, rather than relying on recall, to prevent sending messages in error.

In Outlook for desktop, you can unsend an email if you act quickly. We'll show you how to recall an email in Outlook, explain the requirements that must be met, and offer an alternative approach to use instead.

How to Recall an Email in Outlook

It's simple to request a recall on an Outlook message. Whether that request will complete successfully is another matter, which we'll cover in the next section. To recall an Outlook email:

  1. In Outlook, go to the Sent Items folder from the left-hand pane.
    Sent folder in Outlook.
  2. Find the message that you want to recall and double click it to open it in a new window.
  3. From the top menu, click File.
    Viewing an email in Outlook with File highlighted.
  4. Click Resend or Recall > Recall This Message.
    Recall This Message option in Outlook.
  5. In the new window, click Delete unread copies of this message to remove the email from the recipient's inbox entirely. Alternatively, select Delete unread copies and replace with a new message if you want to send a different email in place of the original.
    • Optionally, you can check Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient. This emails you the result of every recall attempt.
      Recall This Message options window in Outlook.
  6. When ready, click OK to send a request to the recipient's address asking the email client to delete the original email.

What Are the Requirements to Unsend an Email in Outlook?

You can only recall an email if both you and the recipient use a Microsoft Exchange account, and it is more likely to be successful if you are in the same organization. MAPI and POP accounts aren't supported. To check what type of email account you have:

  1. Click File on the top menu.
  2. Click Account Settings > Account Settings.
    Account Settings option in Outlook.
  3. Remain on the Email tab. Use the Name column to find your active email account. The Type column shows what type of account it is.
    Account Settings in Outlook.

With that limitation in mind, recalling won't work on emails you've sent outside your organization to, for example, a Gmail or Yahoo account. This is because once an email has left your internal server, you have no control over it. There's no universal rule that an email server should abide by a recall request; in fact, it won't even be processed.

Even if you and your recipient are on the same Exchange server, that still doesn't guarantee a successful recall.

Most importantly, the recipient must open the recall request before they open the original message. If they read the original message first, whether that's before you request a recall or after, the original message will remain in their inbox. While they will still receive the recall request informing them that you want to delete the original message, it's their prerogative on whether to follow through.

However, the recall will happen automatically in the background, without the recipient needing to read the recall request, if they have Automatically process meeting requests and responses to meeting requests and polls enabled in their Outlook settings. This setting is found through File > Options > Mail > Tracking. Again, though, this only applies if the recipient hasn't opened your original email. If they have, it'll remain in their inbox regardless of this setting.

Outlook tracking options.

Also, if the recipient has a rule that moves your original email from the inbox to another folder, the recall request will fail. Furthermore, if the email is sent to a public inbox and the recall request is read by someone other than the intended individual recipient, the recall won't work.

Finally, recall requests can't be processed if the recipient is viewing their emails outside the Outlook desktop program, like through the Outlook web app or their mobile device.

To summarize, for a successful email recall, all of these conditions must be met:

  • Both you and the recipient must be on the same Exchange server.
  • The recipient must open the recall request before they read the original email.
  • The recipient must not have any rules that modify or move your original email.
  • The recipient must open the recall request through Outlook on desktop.

As you can see, there are a very specific set of requirements that must be met for your email recall to be successful. For the best chance of success, request the recall quickly, but the process isn't fool-proof. Rely on it as a last resort.

How to Delay Sending an Email in Outlook Rather Than Recalling

If you often find yourself needing to unsend an email, it might be best to take preventative measures and set a rule in Outlook to delay the sending of your messages.

With this, you're not technically recalling an email, but it gives you a short window in which to cancel the outgoing email. To create such a rule:

  1. Click File on the top menu.
  2. Select Manage Rules & Alerts.
    Manage Rules & Alerts option in Outlook.
  3. In the Email Rules tab, click New Rule.
    Outlook Rules and Alerts with New Rule selected.
  4. Select Apply rule on messages I send, then click Next.
    Outlook Rules Wizard with 'Apply rule on messages I send' selected.
  5. Select and modify any conditions you like. For example, whether to ignore the rule if sending to a specific person. When done, click Next.
  6. Select and modify any actions you like. You must check defer delivery by a number of minutes.
    Outlook Rules Wizard with 'defer delivery by a number of minutes' selected.
  7. In the lower pane, click a number of to set how many minutes you wish to defer sending by, from 1 to 120, then click OK.
  8. Click Next to follow the wizard through—set any exceptions and give your rule a name.
  9. Finally, review the rule. Ensure Turn on this rule is checked. When you're done, click Finish.
    Outlook Rules Wizard finishing rule setup.

With the rule enabled, outgoing messages will sit in your Outbox folder until the rule's time elapses, before which you can manually delete them if needed.

As you've seen, it's a simple procedure to unsend an email in Outlook. However, whether the recall will be successful is an entirely different matter because it depends on so many factors. In a world where people can access their emails from anywhere at any time, you shouldn't rely on recall.

Instead, if you're often sending something in error, consider using an alternative method to delay sending your email. It means it won't get sent instantly, and also ensures you won't be left red-faced by a mistake.