To recall an email in Outlook, open the message from your Sent Items folder and select Recall Message. Outlook then tries to delete the email from the recipient’s mailbox and sends you a Message Recall Report showing whether it worked.
Recall only works when you and the recipient both use Microsoft 365 work or school accounts in the same organisation. You can’t recall an email sent to a Gmail, Hotmail or Outlook.com address, or to most people outside your company.
The exact button sits in a different place depending on your version of Outlook, so the steps for each one are below.
How to recall an email in new Outlook for Windows
-
- Go to Sent Items in the folder pane.
- Double click the email to open it in its own window.
- Select Recall Message on the ribbon, then confirm.
- Check your inbox for the Message Recall Report, then open it to see whether the recall succeeded, is pending, or failed.
If you can’t see Recall Message, you may still be on classic Outlook. Use the steps in the next section instead.
How to recall an email in Outlook on the web
-
- Open Sent Items and select the email.
- Select the three dots (More actions) at the top right of the message.
- Choose Advanced actions, then Recall message.
- Select OK to confirm, then watch for the recall report in your inbox.
How to recall an email in classic Outlook for Windows
-
- Open Sent Items and select the email.
- On the full ribbon, open Move Actions. On the simplified ribbon, open More options, then Actions.
- Select Recall This Message.
- Leave the default options as they are and select OK.
Can’t find the button? Double click the email to open it, then go to File, Resend or Recall and Recall This Message.
How to recall an email in Outlook for Mac
You need Outlook for Mac version 16.94 or later. Legacy Outlook for Mac doesn’t support recall.
-
- Open the Sent folder and double click the email.
- Select Recall on the ribbon and confirm with OK. You can also Control click the message and choose Recall.
- If the Recall button is missing, add it by customising your toolbar.
- Open the Message Recall Report in your inbox to check the result.
Microsoft lists the Outlook mobile apps for iOS and Android as supported clients for recall too, as long as your organisation uses Exchange Online.
Why Outlook recall isn’t working
Most failed recalls come down to who the email went to, not which button you pressed. Microsoft’s cloud-based recall runs for up to 24 hours and only works inside Exchange Online.
| Situation | Can you recall it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Colleague in the same Microsoft 365 organisation | Yes | Both mailboxes sit in the same Exchange Online tenant |
| Colleague who has already read the email | Sometimes | Your IT admin decides whether read emails can be recalled |
| Client or supplier at another company | Usually no | Only works if their admin has allowed recalls from your organisation |
| Gmail, Hotmail or Outlook.com address | No | Personal accounts don’t support recall |
| Email that has been forwarded | No | Forwarded copies, manual or by a rule, can’t be pulled back |
| Email older than your organisation’s limit | No | The default limit is 365 days, set by your admin |
| Encrypted or sensitivity labelled email | Sometimes | Needs a premium encryption licence and new Outlook or Outlook on the web |
If the recall report never arrives, ask your IT team to check it isn’t being blocked. It comes from Office365Reports@microsoft.com.
How to stop it happening again: undo send and delayed delivery
The most reliable fix is to give yourself a few seconds to cancel before the email leaves. Unlike recall, this works for every recipient, including external and personal addresses.
Undo send in new Outlook and Outlook on the web: select the Settings gear, then Mail, then Compose and reply. Under Undo send, choose a delay of up to 30 seconds and save. After you send, an Undo button appears for that time.
Delay delivery in classic Outlook: go to File, Manage Rules & Alerts and New Rule. Choose Apply rule on messages I send, leave the conditions blank and confirm. Tick defer delivery by a number of minutes, set one or two minutes, then name the rule and turn it on. Every email will wait in your Outbox for that time, so you can still open and delete it.
What to do if sensitive data went to the wrong person
If the email held personal data, passwords or financial details, treat it as a security incident rather than an embarrassing slip. A recall attempt is a good first step, but it can’t undo a message that was already read, forwarded or sent outside your organisation.
-
- Try the recall straight away and keep the recall report.
- Contact the recipient, ask them to delete the email and confirm in writing that they have.
- Change any password or access code that was in the email.
- Tell your IT support team or data protection lead so they can assess the risk.
- If personal data was exposed and the risk to people is real, you may need to report it to the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.
Need help setting up undo send across your team, or making sure recall is switched on in your Microsoft 365 tenant? Our IT support team can configure it for you.
