How to Undo A Sent Email in Gmail (With Pictures)

We’ve all accidentally sent an email too early, without a specific attachment, or to the wrong address.

Regardless of how it happened, an accidental email can make you seem too eager, too rushed, or worse: make you violate HIPAA. Sending protected health information (PHI) accidentally or to the wrong recipient (don’t always trust auto-fill!) is one of the most common causes for data breaches.

Luckily, there is a free and easy way to undo a sent email. Anyone can set it up, and we’re going to show you how.

We’ve looked at how to undo sent emails in other email providers:

• Office 365
• Microsoft Outlook

This post will cover how to undo a sent email in Gmail.

Recall a Gmail email with undo send

Every Gmail and GSuite account includes a free little feature called Undo Send. With Undo Send, you can recall an email seconds after sending it.

How to enable undo send on your computer

1. Open Gmail and go into your Settings

2. Find the “Undo Send” section and check the box

3. Choose how long (or short) you want your send cancellation period to be

4. Finally, save your changes to put the undo send feature into effect

How “undo send” works in Gmail 

Below, I composed an email containing top secret proprietary business information and accidentally clicked send – oh no!

Gmail quickly confirmed my email was sent. But after enabling the “Undo Send” feature, now the option “undo” appears.

Almost immediately after selecting the “undo” button, my original email returned, and Gmail confirmed that my sent email was retracted.

Prevent accidental emails even further with Email Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Even with an undo send feature enabled, you can still miss the window to retract your email. And it happens – we’re only human.

With our Email DLP Suite, you can make sure no emails – especially those containing sensitive information – slip through the cracks.

Email DLP allows you to set customizable rules so no sensitive data gets sent accidentally or maliciously. Social security numbers, proprietary information, PHI, and more can be recognized and “quarantined” from being sent out until you give the final approval.

Accidents happen, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.