How to Unsend an Email in Outlook

Outlook gives you two different ways to stop or reverse a sent email, depending on the type of account you use. Work and school accounts in the same Microsoft 365 organization may be able to recall an unread message, while personal Outlook.com accounts can use Undo Send to delay delivery for a short time.

The important part is that message recall is not available in every situation. If the recipient has already opened the email, uses a different organization, or you are using a personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, or MSN account, a true recall may not be possible.

What You Need to Know

• Outlook message recall only works in certain Microsoft 365 work or school environments.
• Both you and the recipient generally need to be in the same organization for recall to work.
• The message must still be unread for a normal recall to succeed.
• Personal Outlook.com accounts cannot recall an email after it has been sent.
• Outlook.com offers Undo Send instead, which can delay delivery for up to 30 seconds.

How Outlook Email Recall Works

Message recall attempts to remove an email from a recipient’s mailbox before they open it. Microsoft says this feature is available when both the sender and recipient use Microsoft 365 work or school accounts within the same organization.

Recall is different from deleting a message from your Sent Items folder. Deleting your own copy does not remove the email from the recipient’s inbox. If recall is available, Outlook sends a recall request and later provides a report showing whether it succeeded, failed, or is still pending.

Recall an Email in New Outlook

In new Outlook for Windows, open the Sent Items folder and double-click the message you want to recall so that it opens in a separate window. From the ribbon, select Recall Message, then confirm the request.

Outlook will send you a Message Recall Report shortly afterward. Open the link in that report to see whether the recall succeeded, failed, or is still pending.

Recall an Email in Classic Outlook

In classic Outlook, go to Sent Items and double-click the message to open it fully. Simply selecting the message in the reading pane is not enough.

If you use the Classic Ribbon, go to Message > More Move Actions > Recall This Message. With the Simplified Ribbon, go to Message > More commands (…) > Actions > Recall This Message. You can then choose to delete unread copies or delete them and replace the message with a corrected version.

Recall an Email in Outlook on the Web

For Microsoft 365 work or school accounts using Outlook on the web, open Sent Items and double-click the sent email so that it opens separately. Select Recall Message from the ribbon and confirm the request.

You should then receive a recall report in your inbox. The report shows the status for the recipients included in the recall request.

Use Undo Send in Outlook.com

Personal Outlook.com accounts do not support message recall after an email has actually been sent. This also applies to personal addresses ending in @hotmail.com, @live.com, and @msn.com.

Instead, Outlook.com offers Undo Send. Go to Settings > Mail > Compose, find Undo send, and choose how long Outlook should delay sending your messages. Microsoft currently allows a delay of up to 30 seconds.

After you send a message, an Undo option appears for the delay period you selected. Clicking it stops the message before it leaves Outlook.

Check Whether the Recall Worked

Do not assume that a recall succeeded just because Outlook accepted the request. Microsoft sends a Message Recall Report that shows whether the recall succeeded, failed, or remains pending.

Most recall results appear quickly, although Microsoft says some requests may take longer. If the recipient’s mailbox is temporarily unavailable, Outlook may continue retrying for up to 24 hours before marking the recall as failed.

Reasons an Outlook Recall Can Fail

Several conditions can prevent a recall from working. The most common is that the recipient has already opened the email. Recall can also fail when the recipient is outside your Microsoft 365 organization or when your account does not support the feature.

Situation	Can you usually unsend it?
Unread email to someone in the same Microsoft 365 organization	Recall may work
Recipient already opened the message	Usually no
Email sent to Gmail or another outside account	Recall will not work
Personal Outlook.com account	Use Undo Send before delivery
Undo Send delay has already expired	No

In classic Outlook, Microsoft also notes that recall may be unavailable if you do not have an Exchange account, if your organization has disabled the feature, or if the message is protected by Azure Information Protection.

What to Do If You Cannot Unsend the Email

If recall is unavailable or fails, the best option is usually to send a quick correction. If the mistake is minor, explain what was wrong and provide the correct information. If you forgot an attachment, send a follow-up with the file attached.

For more serious mistakes, such as sending sensitive information to the wrong person, contact your organization’s IT, security, or compliance team immediately. They may have procedures that can help limit the impact, even when Outlook itself cannot recall the email.

For future messages, personal Outlook.com users can reduce the risk of accidental sends by enabling the maximum Undo Send delay.

Frequently Asked Questions