Gmail, Outlook, iOS: how to cancel sending an email that has already left?

It is a great classic. In the middle of writing an email, in a hurry, it can happen that a key is accidentally pressed that accidentally sends the letter, inconclusive or full of misspellings, to the wrong recipient.

An embarrassing situation to say the least that fortunately it is possible to repair simply by canceling the sending of the message. A function available in the Gmail and Outlook messaging services, as well as in iOS.

Cancel sending email in Gmail

In Gmail, interrupting the sending of an email is child’s play. All you have to do is click the “cancel” button in the box located at the bottom left of your screen, which appears immediately after sending the message.

Please note: You have five seconds by default to retrieve your email. A very short waiting period, however, it is possible to extend it up to a maximum of 30 seconds. That’s why:

• Click on the gear at the top right of the screen and select “View all settings”

• Go to the “Cancel Shipment:” section and select the delay to cancel the shipment from 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds

Cancel sending an email in Outlook

Like Gmail, Outlook allows you to hold an email while it’s being sent. This option is valid as long as your recipient has not yet opened your message.

• Click the gear icon at the top right of the screen

• Select the “Show all Outlook settings” section

• Go to the “Mail” category on the right of the screen. Then press “Dial and Reply” in the side columns

• Go down to the “Cancel shipment” section and choose the waiting time: 5 or 10 seconds and validate by clicking “Save”

Cancel sending an email on iOS

The procedure is the same if you are using Apple’s Mail app on iOS. When sending, the “Cancel Send” button appears at the bottom of the screen for about ten seconds.

To increase the delay:

• Go to settings, then “Mail”, and click at the bottom on “Delay for cancellation of shipment”.

Some email services do not offer the ability to retrieve an email. Yahoo is one of them. It is only possible to delete it from your own “Sent” folder, but your recipient still receives it.