How do you recall a Gmail email?

It’s not a great feeling when you suddenly realise you’ve hit your email send button too soon. Perhaps you forgot to include a link or copied in the wrong person by accident. Whatever the reason, wouldn’t it be great if you could undo your mistake before your message goes out to the world? Fortunately, you can recall a Gmail email. Here’s how.

How do I recall a Gmail email using webmail?

While some other email apps may include a recall option, this article will focus on the Gmail recall feature, which is available through webmail and the Gmail app on your phone or tablet.

If you send an email using Gmail in a web browser, the option to recall your message appears just after you click the Send button. A box appears on the bottom left of the page informing you that your email has gone, and giving you the option to Undo or View the message.

If you click on Undo before the box disappears, Gmail will first let you know it has recalled the message.

Your recalled email will then re-appear for you to amend or delete.

The Undo box disappeared too quickly! Can I change how long I have to recall my email?

The default time you have to rectify your error and recall your email is five seconds. If you think you’ll need more time to realise your mistake, then it’s possible to increase this limit.

If you want to give yourself more time to recall your email, first click on the settings icon in the top right of the page and then select See all settings.

When the setting menu appears, click the General tab from the top of the page. Once selected, look down the list to the Undo Send option and, using the drop-down menu, choose how long you would like the recall box to appear.

Now scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Save Changes button.

The recall option will now be available for the time limit you set.

How do I recall a Gmail email using the Gmail app?

If you are using the Gmail app on your phone or tablet, you can also recall your message. However, at the time of writing, there’s no way to extend the time limit on the app, so you’ll only have five seconds to recall your message before it’s gone.

The option to recall your email on the Gmail app appears just after you tap the Send icon. The recall box appears at the bottom of the app, informing you that your message has gone, and offering you the option to Undo.

If you tap Undo before the box disappears, your email will re-appear and you can amend or delete it as needed.