How to Recall an Email in Outlook?

As the world moves towards digital communication, email has become an essential tool for small business and individuals. However, with the ease of sending an email comes the risk of sending an email with errors or sensitive information. In such cases, recalling an email can save the sender from potential embarrassment or worse, legal action.

If you use Outlook as your email client, this guide will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to recall an email in Outlook.

Factors to consider before you want to recall and email in outlook

Before we dive into the steps, it’s important to note that recalling an email in Outlook is not a foolproof process. There are several factors that can prevent an email from being recalled.

Here are the key points to note about recalling an email in Outlook:

• If the recipient has already read the email or if the email was sent to a distribution list.
• The recall feature only works if both the sender and recipient are using Outlook.
• The recall feature only works if both the sender and recipient are part of the same organization.
• Does not work if the feature isn’t available within your organization.
• You can’t recall a message that’s protected by Azure Information Protection.
• You can’t recall a message in Outlook on the web.

Despite the limitations, it’s still worth trying to recall an email if you’ve made a mistake.

How to Recall an Email in Outlook

Let’s get started:

Step 1: Open your Sent Items folder

To recall an email in Outlook, you first need to open your Sent Items folder. This can be done by clicking on the “Sent Items” folder in the navigation pane on the left-hand side of the Outlook window.

Step 2: Double-click on the email you want to recall

Once you’ve opened your Sent Items folder, you need to locate the email that you want to recall. Double-click on the email to open it in a new window.

Step 3: Click on the “Actions” button

If you have the Classic Ribbon, from the Message tab, select Actions

If you have the Simplified Ribbon, select the Message tab and then select More commands (…). Three dots on the right side of the toolbar. Point to Actions

Step 4: Click on “Recall This Message“

From the “Actions” menu, click on “Recall This Message.”

A new window will appear with two options:

• “Delete unread copies of this message” and
• “Delete unread copies and replace with a new message.”

Choose the option that best suits your needs.

Step 5: Click on “OK”

After choosing the appropriate option, click on “OK.”

• If you chose to delete the email, Outlook will attempt to delete the email from the recipient’s inbox.
• If you chose to replace the email, a new window will appear where you can make the necessary changes to the email. As you compose your new email, Outlook recalls your old message and displays a notification (if you selected that option).

Just click the Send button when you’re done with the revised message.

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How to confirm whether you have recalled an email in Outlook?

If the email was successfully recalled, you should see a notification email in your inbox stating that the recall was successful.

If the email was not successfully recalled, you will not receive any notification email.

Another way to check the recall status of an email is to open the email message and look at the “Tracking” tab in the ribbon at the top of the screen.

• Under the “Tracking” tab, you will see the status of the recall, whether it was successful or not.
• If the recall was successful, you will see a message saying “You successfully recalled this message.”
• If the recall was not successful, you will see a message saying “You were unable to recall this message.”

In conclusion, recalling an email in Outlook can save you from potential embarrassment or legal action. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the recall feature is not foolproof and there are several factors that can prevent an email from being recalled. If you do need to recall an email, follow the steps outlined above and choose the option that best suits your needs.

Bipin Adhikari

Analytical accountant and curious blogger with over 5 years of experience as an Audit Associate and accountant. With expertise in auditing, accounting, and finance I help organizations drive top-notch financial management practices to achieve organizational success.