Recalling an Email in Outlook: A Step-by-Step Guide

91% of businesses have had outbound email security problems in their Microsoft 365 installations, according to independent research (download the complete study here for additional insights). These instances are mostly caused by human mistakes, which might include adding the wrong recipient, attaching the wrong file, or failing to utilize the Bcc field. See our article “What is a misdirected email?” for a brief overview of human mistakes in email.

It is possible to recall or replace an email in Microsoft Outlook under some extremely precise situations. As an alternative, the email can still be sent from the recipient’s inbox with a ‘Outlook recall message’ from the system. Recalling an email in Outlook can be used to maintain information barriers if the other requirements are satisfied, as it is limited to recipients who are part of the same company as you.

Make sure you notify your Security, Compliance, and Risk, or IT team right away if you have sent an email containing sensitive information (personal, privileged, or business data) to the incorrect individual. The effects of these occurrences can be minimized for your company and any affected data subjects by promptly initiating an inquiry and corrective action.

Furthermore, it could be helpful for you or others in your organization to know that we offer Egress Prevent, an advanced email security solution that addresses this information, and have additional resources on email data loss prevention (DLP) on our blog, should this kind of incident happen often.

So, how Do You Recall an Email in Outlook?

The procedures below can be used to recall or replace an email if you, your receiver(s), and your company are all using Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 and the recipient hasn’t viewed it yet.

Recalling an Email in Outlook (on Exchange and Microsoft 365)

Get into the Sent Items folder.

To open or remember an email, double-click on it.

Select File > Info.

Select “Message.” Reply and Remember > Remember This Sentence

Decide which one you like:

This message recalls the email by removing it from the inbox; delete any unread copies of it.

Replace unread copies with a fresh message that calls’ unread copies by erasing them and notifying recipients through email.

Mark, Please let me know whether or not each recipient box’s recall attempts result in the deletion of your email.

Click OK.

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Why Recalling an Email in Outlook Doesn’t Always Work

As previously indicated, remembering an email in Outlook is only functional in the following combination of certain circumstances:

All of you and the recipient(s) use Microsoft 365 or Exchange.

All of you work for the same company.

The email recipient has not yet read it.

Outlook will default to sending a recall email, which is a distinct (new) email that contains the email you would like to recall if these and other requirements are not satisfied. The email remains in the recipient’s inbox and is not removed or replaced. This indicates that an Outlook recall won’t function in the following situations:

You do not use Microsoft 365 or Exchange.

A portion or the entirety of your recipients do not use Microsoft 365 or Exchange.

There is/are the recipient(s) outside of your company.

After reading the email, the receiver

Due to a rule in the recipient’s mailbox, the original email has been relocated to a folder other than their inbox; in this scenario, the recipient will have access to both the original message and the recall notice email.

The Outlook Web Access (OWA) that you are utilizing

how to recall an email in outlook

Other Solutions: Delay Your Emails

This implies that you have the option to postpone the distribution of an email after you’ve sent it, providing you more time to alter your mind.

Delay a Single Message in Outlook

In the Message editing box, click Options.

Achieve Delivery Delay.

Check the box labeled “Do not deliver before.”

Choose the preferred delivery day and time from the two drop-down menus.

Next, to save the modifications, click the Close button.

The message will remain in the Outbox folder until the time you have set for delivery after you click Send.

This won’t stop you from inadvertently sending the email to the incorrect person; it will simply buy you a little more time to rethink your message. It is also only helpful if you don’t forget to review the message before it disappears from your Outbox.

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Delay Sending a Group of Messages

Select the “File” tab.

To manage rules and alerts, click.

Under the Email Rules menu, select New Rule.

Click Apply rule on messages I send under Start from a Blank Rule in the Rules Wizard window Step 1: Select a template box. Click Next to proceed.

Click Next after selecting the boxes next to any choices you wish to use in Step 1: Select condition(s) list.

A confirmation dialogue box will show up when you click Next if none of the prerequisites are selected. The rule you are setting will then be applied to every message you send if you click Yes.

Select the action(s) list and tick the box to “Delay delivery by a number of minutes” under Step 1.

Click the section of the sentence that is underlined in Step 2: Edit the rule description (click an underlined value) that says, “defer delivery by a number of minutes.”

Type in the number of minutes you wish to postpone sending the message before it goes out (delivery can be postponed for up to 120 minutes).

After you’re done, click OK and select Next.

Step 1: Select the appropriate exception(s) will then provide you another list of checkboxes with the exceptions you desire.

Click Next if you want your rules to be applied to every email you send.

Next, beneath the Rules Wizard Enter the name of the rule you generated in Step 1: Specify a name for this rule box.

After selecting the “Turn on this rule” check box, click “Finish.”

When it comes to sending something important, it is therefore a good idea to test your rule before depending on it.

Every mail you send from now on will remain in the Outbox folder for the duration that is set.

Once more, this technique is only effective if you thoroughly review every email you send to ensure there are no errors in the sender or attachment before sending it from your Outbox.

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