How to unsend an email (and take back a proposal you already sent)
You can unsend an email only in the first seconds after you press Send, while your mail app still holds it back. Once the message is delivered, Gmail, Outlook.com and Apple Mail cannot pull it out of the recipient's inbox. Outlook can recall a message, but only inside your own company. If you have just sent a client the wrong price, you can still withdraw the proposal itself, as long as it went out as a link.
In short: in Gmail you get 5 to 30 seconds to click Undo, in Outlook.com up to 30, on an iPhone 10 by default. Outlook recall works only between Microsoft 365 work accounts in the same organization, and only for unopened messages, so it never reaches a client. A proposal attached as a file stays with the client. A proposal sent as a link can be withdrawn after the email went out.
Why most emails cannot be unsent
"Unsend" in Gmail, Outlook.com and Apple Mail is a delay. The app waits a few seconds before it actually sends the message, and Undo cancels it during that wait. When the time is up, the email is delivered to the recipient's server, which you do not control.
Outlook recall is the only feature that removes a message after delivery. It works because both mailboxes sit in the same Microsoft 365 organization, so the server can delete the unread copy. A message sent outside your company, for example to a client, is beyond recall.
| Mail app | What it offers | How long you have | Who it works for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Undo Send (delay) | 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds | Any recipient, only before the time runs out |
| Outlook.com | Undo send (delay) | Up to 30 seconds | Any recipient, only before the time runs out |
| New Outlook for Windows | Undo send (delay) and recall | Recall: until the recipient opens it | Recall only for Microsoft 365 work accounts in the same organization |
| Classic Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web | Recall | Until the recipient opens it | Microsoft 365 work accounts in the same organization |
| Mail on iPhone | Undo Send (delay) | 10 seconds, longer if you set a delay | Any recipient, only before the time runs out |
How to unsend an email in Gmail
Right after you send a message, Gmail shows "Message sent" in the bottom left corner with an Undo option. Click it and the message returns to the editor. According to Gmail Help, you choose how long that option stays on screen:
On your computer, open Gmail and click Settings > See all settings.
Next to Undo Send, pick a send cancellation period of 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds.
Click Save changes at the bottom of the page.
If you often notice mistakes right after sending, set 30 seconds. The message then leaves a little later.
How to recall an email in Outlook
Microsoft's guide lists two conditions: you and the recipient both have Microsoft 365 work or school accounts in the same organization, and the recipient has not opened the message yet. Recall is available in new and classic Outlook for Windows and in Outlook on the web.
New Outlook and Outlook on the web
Go to Sent Items and double-click the message to open it in a separate window.
On the ribbon, select Recall message and confirm with OK.
A recall report arrives in your inbox. Its link shows whether the recall succeeded, is pending or failed.
Classic Outlook
Open the sent message from Sent Items with a double-click (the Reading pane will not do). On the Message tab, go to More Move Actions > Recall This Message, then choose Delete unread copies of this message or Delete unread copies and replace with a new message. The second option helps when you forgot an attachment: you remove the first version and send a corrected one. The recall report usually arrives within 30 seconds.
If you do not see the recall command, your account is probably not on Exchange or your organization has turned the feature off. Messages protected by Azure Information Protection cannot be recalled.
Outlook.com and personal accounts
Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live addresses cannot recall messages. You can only delay sending: go to Settings > Mail > Compose and choose a time under Undo send, up to 30 seconds. During that time, an Undo prompt appears at the bottom of the message list after each message you send.
How to unsend an email on iPhone
In the Mail app you have 10 seconds after sending. Tap Undo Send at the top of the inbox to pull the message back. If 10 seconds is too short, Apple's Mail guide shows where to set a longer delay: Settings > Apps > Mail > Undo Send Delay.
What to do when the email has already gone
When Undo is gone and recall is not an option, send a short correction rather than staying silent. Reply in the same thread so the client reads both messages together, and say only what changed:
Subject: Re: [original subject]
Hi Anna, a correction to my previous email: the price for the annual plan is $4,800, not $8,400. The updated proposal is attached. Sorry for the confusion.
One sentence of apology is enough; a longer explanation only draws more attention to the mistake. If you have already called the client about this proposal, mention the correction on your next call too.
Can you take back a proposal you already sent?
It depends on how you sent it. A PDF or Word file attached to an email belongs to the client the moment the email arrives. They can forward it, or open it months later and read the wrong version. No mail app recalls it once it is in a mailbox at another company.
A proposal sent as a link works differently. The email carries only the address, and the document opens from the server, so you decide whether the client can still see it. With open notifications you also know whether the client has seen the wrong price before you write the correction.
Send proposals you can still take back
Send your next proposal as a tracked link: you get notified when the client opens it and you can withdraw it at any time. 14 days free, no card.
Start free trialHow to withdraw a proposal in Sellizer
In Sellizer every proposal starts with the status Active. To stop the client from opening it, change its status (see the help article):
Find the proposal in the Proposals panel.
In the Actions column, click the edit icon (pencil).
Change the status to Withdrawn or Deleted for the recipient.
With Withdrawn, the client sees that the proposal was withdrawn and can request a new one; you get an email when they do. After a mistake, choose this status so the client sees what happened. With Deleted for the recipient, the link shows "Proposal not found", as if the proposal had never existed. In both cases the proposal and its statistics stay in your panel, and you can switch it back to Active.
Change the status instead of deleting the proposal with the red X in the panel. Deleting is permanent and removes the statistics too.
Set an expiry date before you send
If a price is valid only until a certain day, set the proposal expiry date in the Advanced tab when sending. After that date the client cannot open the proposal and sees that it has expired, so they can ask you for a new one. Sellizer can also remind the client 24 hours before the date. You can change the expiry date after sending as well.
If you allowed downloads, though, and the client saved the file, that copy stays on their device, and Sellizer no longer records how it is read. For proposals that may change, leave downloads off. Our guide to sending a PDF as a tracked link shows how to do it, and the PDF tracking page shows what you see after the client opens it.
How to avoid sending emails you will want to unsend
Set the longest Undo time in Gmail and Outlook.com. Thirty seconds is enough to catch a wrong recipient or a missing attachment.
Add the recipient last. A message with an empty To field cannot go out by accident.
Send proposals as links. A mistake in the document can then be fixed after sending, and you know whether the client has seen it. If they have not opened it after a few days, the templates in quote follow-up emails help with the next message.
For a wider look at what you can learn after sending, see how to tell if someone read your email and our guide to read receipts in Outlook. Our proposal tracking software page shows what happens to a proposal after you send it.
FAQ: unsending emails
Can you unsend an email after it has been delivered?
Usually not. Gmail, Outlook.com and Apple Mail only hold the message back for a few seconds before it leaves, so Undo works only in that window. The one exception is recall in Outlook, which removes the message only if you and the recipient have Microsoft 365 work accounts in the same organization and the recipient has not opened it yet.
How long do you have to unsend an email in Gmail?
Between 5 and 30 seconds, depending on your setting. On a computer, open Settings, select See all settings and choose the Send cancellation period next to Undo Send. After that time the message is sent and Gmail cannot take it back.
Can I recall an email sent to someone outside my company?
No. Outlook recall works only between Microsoft 365 work or school accounts in the same organization, so a message sent outside your organization cannot be recalled. For external recipients the only protection is a delay before sending, such as Undo Send in Outlook.com and new Outlook for Windows.
Why did my Outlook recall fail?
Recall fails if the recipient has already opened the message or has an account outside your organization, such as Gmail or Outlook.com. Messages protected by Azure Information Protection cannot be recalled either. If the recipient's mailbox is temporarily unavailable, Outlook keeps trying for up to 24 hours before it reports the recall as failed.
How do I take back a proposal I already sent?
If it went as an attachment, you cannot: the file is in the client's mailbox, and the best you can do is send a short correction. If you sent it as a Sellizer link, open the proposal in the Proposals panel and change its status to Withdrawn or Deleted for the recipient. The client then sees a message instead of the proposal, and you can switch it back to Active at any time.
Try Sellizer for free
Send your proposal as a link. You will see when the client opens it, and if you spot a mistake, you can withdraw it. 14 days, no credit card.