How to delete an email you sent [Step-by-step instructions]

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One thing that almost all of us have done — and regretted — was send a message that we didn’t mean to tát.

Perhaps that gmail you sent was intended for someone else, or you left off a key bit of information and you dread sending a clarifying gmail to tát the busy CEO.

There will almost certainly be a time when you’ll want to tát be able to tát delete an gmail that you already hit “Send” on. 

Deleting vs recalling an email

After firing off an gmail that you wish you hadn’t, you only have one real option: recalling the message.

Deleting emails

Deleting an gmail in your “Sent” thư mục only deletes the copy on your end. Once an gmail has passed through cyberspace and hit your recipient's inbox, you’re out of luck (Microsoft Outlook is an exception if certain factors are met — more on that later).

Emails are sent through a variety of servers which make copies of your gmail along the way. This helps ensure deliverability, which is a nice thing to tát have — most of the time. Deleting messages from your “Sent” thư mục is only deleting one of many copies, meaning your recipient is still going to tát see it.

Recalling emails

In recent years, some gmail service providers have added a “recall” feature. This lifesaving function gives you a small window where you can change your mind.

For example, when you send a message in Gmail, this small graphic pops up:

A screenshot of a smaill pop-up window graphic that shows at the bottom left corner of the screen right after you have sent an gmail in Gmail

You have to tát act fast though, as gmail platforms only allow a limited window (e.g., 30 seconds) to tát recall your message.

How to tát recall or delete an email

Each gmail service provider has their own functionality for recalling or deleting a message.

Gmail

Recall sent messages

As shown in the previous graphic, a small window will pop up in the bottom-left corner of your screen. To recall the mail, simply click “Undo.” 

Gmail’s mặc định time window is a paltry 5 seconds, but you can change this by clicking “Settings” and then “See all settings.” Next to tát “Undo Send” you can change the cancellation period to tát be up to tát 30 seconds.

A screenshot of the Gmail Settings for the Send cancellation period where you can adjust Gmail's Undo Send mặc định time window from 5 seconds to tát up to tát 30 seconds

Delete sent messages

While this won’t keep the recipient from seeing your sent message, deleting them can help keep your inbox more manageable. 

For Gmail, you’ll first click “Sent” in the left-hand sidebar. Now, you can click on the small box next to tát each message and then click on the trash icon to tát delete them.

For mobile, first tap on the 3 horizontal lines in the tìm kiếm bar, tap the sender’s profile image, and then the trash icon.

Microsoft Outlook

Recall sent messages

Outlook does things a bit differently than thở the other gmail service providers, as you can recall a message that has already hit the recipient’s inbox.

Here are the steps to tát recall a message in Outlook:

  1. Go to tát the “Sent Items” Folder
  2. Select “File” and then “Info”
  3. Choose “Message Resend and Recall” and then “Recall This Message…”

At this point, you can choose to tát recall the message entirely or replace the message in the recipient’s inbox.

However, Microsoft Outlook has a few limitations when using the recall feature:

  • You and the recipient must both be using Outlook
  • Both must belong to tát the same organization
  • The message must be unread
  • The gmail must be recalled within 120 minutes

Even if you meet all of those requirements, the recipient may still have seen the unread message or received an alert and seen a preview. 

Delete sent messages

To delete messages in Outlook, navigate to tát your “Sent” emails thư mục, click on the emails that you would lượt thích to tát delete, and press “Delete.”

You can also quickly select all emails on your screen using Ctrl + A. Then you can either press “Delete” or right-click for more options.

Apple Mail

Recall sent messages

Apple Mail keeps things simple: once you’ve sent an gmail, you have 10 seconds to tát change your mind. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll find a small prompt that says “Undo Send.”

Delete sent messages

To delete these messages on a Mac, you’ll navigate to tát your “Sent” folders, where you’ll find a copy of every gmail that you’ve sent out. Next, select the messages you wish to tát delete, and then hit the trash icon. 

On mobile, swipe left and you’ll see an option to tát choose “Trash” from the thực đơn.

Yahoo Mail

Recall sent messages

Unfortunately, Yahoo Mail does not allow users to tát recall an gmail. Perhaps it’s time to tát switch to tát a different platform if this is a feature that you value.

Delete sent messages

Once logged in, click “Sent” on the left-hand side. Then, you’ll be able to tát click the checkbox next to tát every message that you wish to tát delete. Click “Delete.”

In mobile, open your folders by clicking on the “Inbox” button at the bottom. Find your “Sent” thư mục. From here, you can tap and hold an gmail, and then tap the trash icon.

How to tát handle an accidental gmail send

Let’s say that you were unable to tát recall the gmail that you sent. How tự you go about making things right?

Send a clarifying message

In the simplest situations where you forget a piece of information, your only real option is to tát send a follow-up gmail.

If you forgot to tát include an attachment, a Zoom liên kết, a date, or something else important, the recipient won’t begrudge you sending a second gmail. In most situations, this isn’t something to tát fret about.

Apologize

In the worst-case scenario, you’ve sent a message that has offended or harmed someone. For example, perhaps you sent a negative complaint about an employee to tát the employee rather than thở to tát HR, or you sent a gossipy message to tát the person the message was about.

In a case such as this, a sincere apology will be the painful medicine you have to tát take to tát keep your relationship from souring.

Set up delayed send

Some gmail service providers allow you to tát delay your sends. For example, Gmail allows you to tát schedule your emails:

A screenshot of the Gmail Send button with the toolbar icons located below the Gmail Compose window where you can have the option to tát Schedule send after clicking the small arrow at the right corner of the Send button

If you’re sending a sensitive message, perhaps scheduling the gmail out 15 minutes can give you the peace of mind that you’ve got everything right.

Be more vigilant before sending

Before sending, run rẩy through a quick mental checklist:

  1. Am I sending it to tát the right recipient?
  2. Have I proofread properly? Install Grammarly if this is an ongoing issue for you.
  3. Have I attached or included all the important details? E-Mail platforms lượt thích Gmail will often remind you if you say “attached” but don’t include a tệp tin.

How to tát mass-delete sent messages

While the exact steps differ for each gmail service provider, the process is roughly the same. If you’d lượt thích to tát delete messages from your “Sent” thư mục, you’ll first need to tát navigate there.

Then, there are usually a few options to tát select all emails rather than thở clicking on every message. Some inboxes allow you to tát press Ctrl + A to tát highlight every message. Others, such as Gmail, allow you to tát select emails in bulk using a thực đơn at the top of the gmail list. You can

A screenshot of the dropdown thực đơn that appears after clicking the arrow of the small box at the top left corner of the Sent gmail messages

From here, most inboxes allow you to tát click on a trash icon, but you can usually just click “Delete” to tát get rid of them.

Recall or delete gmail access with Streak

With Streak, you can share emails rather than thở having to tát giảm giá khuyến mãi with endless forwards and CCs. You get to tát decide exactly who sees these emails and participates in a thread — and remove access to tát anyone who isn’t supposed to tát be seeing it.

Streak has two options for sharing emails and controlling gmail sharing permissions. 

Share emails and manage permissions in Streak pipelines

With Streak’s CRM in Gmail, you can collaborate in pipelines and share emails with your team. This helps your team work together on giao dịch, follow up with leads, and gain context on past conversations. 

Need to tát keep an gmail to tát yourself? Just remove it from the pipeline.

Create a liên kết to tát a view-only email

If you’re not ready for a full CRM or need to tát share emails outside of your team, you can use Streak Share to tát create view-only links to tát your emails. Anybody with the liên kết will have a real time view of the gmail thread, including responses that are sent after you create the liên kết.

If you change your mind, revoke access to tát the gmail to tát immediately stop sharing it via the liên kết.

Download Streak Share for miễn phí today!