Have you just sent an email a little too quickly with spelling mistakes, without an attachment or to the wrong recipient? Don’t panic, you can still catch him… as long as you react very quickly!
Oh, the dumpling! You have just mistakenly sent an email to one of your contacts who was not the recipient. Or you copied a whole set of recipients, when you only wanted to write to one. Mistakes that we all make in our professional or personal lives. Like messages sent without the promised document, which are inevitably followed by a second email with the mention: “Oops, with the attachment it’s better!” Not to mention the messages written in a hurry and sent without proofreading, and full of spelling mistakes… In short, so many variations of the famous “early dispatch” syndrome which can put you in embarrassing situations!
It must be said that it is very – too – easy to send an email without taking the time to check its content: a simple, quick click on the Send button and your message will be found in a few seconds in the inbox of your correspondent, even if he is on the other side of the planet, the data traveling practically at the speed of light! A real time saver on a daily basis, but also a real trap for the forgetful.
Fortunately, some messaging services give you a second chance to correct your mistake by catching your message before it reaches its recipient. Provided, however, that you are responsive and, above all, use an email service that offers this option. Because not everyone is equal.
Long remaining an experimental function, the option to cancel sending in Gmail, Google’s messaging service, is now activated by default. It allows you to take advantage of a delay of between 5 and 30 seconds depending on your choices, once you have clicked on the Send button. Which gives you time to react. The option is accessible from the Gmail settings opened in your browser. So, as soon as you click on the Send button, an option appears at the bottom left of the window. All that remains is to click on Cancel sending to prevent the sending. The function also exists in the mobile application, a delay of less than 10 seconds being applied by default for sending an email.
If you use Yahoo mail, it’s a different story. It is impossible to apply any delay for sending a message… from a web browser. On the other hand, if you use the Yahoo application on iPhone or Android, it is entirely possible. The option is located in the app settings under the name Cancel sending. By activating it you will benefit from a delay of approximately 5 seconds after pressing Send to reconsider your decision.
If you use the Mail app on the iPhone, you will obtain the same result, with a delay of around ten seconds to correct the situation after pressing the Send button, regardless of the messaging system used.
And what about the giant Microsoft with its Outlook email? It’s complicated. With Outlook.com online email, there is no solution. No message cancellation option is offered. No more than with the free eponymous application on Mac and PC. On the other hand, if you have Microsoft 365 and the Outlook application (therefore paid), if you cannot cancel the sending of an email, you can recall it once sent. The maneuver consists of retrieving the message stored in the correspondent’s inbox, as if he had never received it or almost never received it. However, to achieve this, several criteria must be respected. Your correspondent must also use Outlook, and must not have already opened the message. Furthermore, the recipient will be informed that an email has reached them and that they have been called back.
For professionals using Exchange email, the principle applied for Outlook also holds. It is possible to return a message sent in error as long as these same criteria are respected.