Send & Receive Issues

How to Delete or Recall a Sent Email in Outlook

Ayan Masood Oct 9, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to know if and how they can delete, recall, or undo an email that has already been sent to a recipient.

How to Delete or Recall an Email After Sending

Product: Microsoft Outlook
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: The user has accidentally sent an email with errors or to the wrong recipient and wishes to retract it from the recipient's inbox before it is read.
Observed behavior: Once an email is sent, it normally lands permanently in the recipient's inbox and cannot be deleted remotely, requiring specific recall tools to intercept it.

Before you start

Check if you and the recipient are on the same Exchange server or Microsoft 365 organization, as standard recall features require this. Also, act quickly before the recipient opens the message.

Solution 1Recommended

Use the 'Recall This Message' Option in Outlook

Retract or replace a sent email directly from the recipient's inbox before they have a chance to open it.

This feature is primarily available in desktop versions of Microsoft Outlook. It only works if both you and the recipient use Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 accounts within the same organization. It will not work for emails sent to external addresses like Gmail or Yahoo.

Open Sent Items

Launch your Outlook application and navigate to the 'Sent Items' folder from the left sidebar.

Open the message in a new window

Double-click the specific email you want to recall. It must open in its own separate window; recalling is not available from the reading pane.

Select Recall This Message

In the Message tab, look for the 'Move' group. Click on 'Actions' (or 'More Move Actions') and select 'Recall This Message' from the dropdown menu.

Choose your recall settings

A dialog box will appear. Choose either 'Delete unread copies of this message' to just retract it, or 'Delete unread copies and replace with a new message' if you need to fix a mistake.

Recall Notification: Ensure the box 'Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient' is checked so you receive a confirmation email regarding the status of your recall.

Solution 2

Configure the 'Undo Send' Feature

Cancel the sending process immediately after clicking send by utilizing the Undo Send delay feature.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my email recall fail in Outlook?

A recall will fail if the recipient has already opened the email, if their email is hosted outside your organization's Exchange server (like a personal Gmail account), or if a server rule automatically moved the email from their inbox to another folder.

Does the recipient know if I recall an email?

It depends on their settings. If the recall is successful and they hadn't opened the original message, the email simply disappears. However, if the recall fails, they will see the original email and may also receive a notification stating that you attempted to recall the message.

Can I recall an email sent from my iPhone?

The traditional 'Recall This Message' feature is usually not available in mobile email apps. However, if you are using Apple's default Mail app on iOS 16 or later, you can use the 'Undo Send' feature to unsend an email within a 10 to 30-second window.

How do I know if the recall was successful?

When initiating the recall in Outlook, make sure to check the option 'Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient'. You will then receive a status email in your own inbox confirming whether the message was successfully retracted or not.

Outlook & Email Problems