Oops, I Sent It! How to Unsend an Email in Outlook

Ever hit send too fast and wished you could take back an email? Well, Outlook users, there's good news! You can actually recall an email, but it's not available for every situation. First, understand that "unsending" or "reverting" an email is actually called "recalling" in Outlook. The steps vary depending on your Outlook version. For newer versions like Microsoft 365 or the updated Outlook for Windows in Windows 11, find "Sent Items" on the left, double-click the message, and hit the "Recall Message" button with two arrows pointing left. Wait for a recall report in your inbox to know if it worked.

If you're using an older Outlook, go to "Sent Items, " open the message, and look for the "Recall This Message" option under "Actions" in the "Messages" tab. Recall only works if both sender and recipient use Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Exchange within the same organization. If the recipient hasn’t opened it, the email vanishes from their inbox. Also, recall isn’t instant; it might take time for the recall to confirm, especially for group emails.