Top Tip Thursday: Retract unread emails with Outlook’s recall feature

It’s important to note that this feature only works if the recipient hasn’t opened your email yet (unfortunately this feature does not act as a time machine!)

Recalling an email retrieves it from the recipient’s mailbox before they have viewed it and although they will know that you deleted an email, they will not be able to see the email itself.

To recall an unread email:

1. Open the Sent Items folder on the left pane in Outlook (where you would find your Inbox, Drafts and Deleted Items).
2. Double click on the email you want to recall or replace, if you don’t double click on it then you won’t be able to complete the next step.
3. On the Message tab, press Actions then Recall This Message.
4. A pop-up box will then appear where you can choose either Delete unread copies of this message or Delete unread copies and replace with new message. You can also tick an option to tell you if the recall succeeds or fails.
5. Then press OK and send a new email if you choose to replace the old one.

If you want to avoid having to recall future emails, check out our previous Top Tip on delayed delivery which gives you time to fix any mistakes before your email is sent!

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