Did you just send an email a little too quickly with spelling mistakes, no attachments, or to the wrong recipient? Don't panic, you can still catch him…as long as you react very quickly!
Oh, the dumpling! You just accidentally sent an email to one of your contacts who wasn't the recipient. Or you copied a whole series of recipients even though you only wanted to write to one. Mistakes that we all make in our professional or private lives. Like messages that are sent without the promised document and are inevitably followed by a second email saying: “Oops, it’s better with the attachment!” Not to mention the messages that are written in a hurry and sent without proofreading and are full of spelling mistakes… In short, there are so many variations of the famous “Early Dispatch” syndrome that can land you in embarrassing situations!
It must be said that it is very easy to send an email without taking the time to review the content: a simple, quick click on the “Send” button and your message will be in the inbox in a few seconds Your correspondent found Even if he is on the other side of the planet, the data moves practically at the speed of light! A real time saver in everyday life, but also a real trap for forgetful people.
Luckily, some messaging services give you a second chance to correct your mistake by intercepting your message before it reaches the recipient. Provided, however, that you are responsive and, above all, use an email service that offers this option. Because not everyone is the same.
The cancel send option in Gmail, Google's messaging service, long remained an experimental feature and is now enabled by default. Depending on your selection, you can use a delay between 5 and 30 seconds once you click the Send button. This gives you time to react. You can access the option from the Gmail settings open in your browser. So as soon as you click on the submit button, an option will appear at the bottom left of the window. All you have to do is click on “Cancel Send” to prevent it from being sent. The feature is also present in the mobile application, with a delay of less than 10 seconds applied by default when sending an email.
If you use Yahoo Mail, things are different. It is impossible to delay sending a message via a web browser. On the other hand, if you use the Yahoo application on iPhone or Android, it is quite possible. The option is in the app settings under the name Cancel Send. By activating it, you will benefit from a delay of approximately 5 seconds after you click send to reconsider your decision.
If you use the Mail app on iPhone, you will get the same result, with a delay of about ten seconds to correct the situation after pressing the send button, regardless of the messaging system used.
And what about the giant Microsoft with its Outlook emails? It's complicated. There is no solution for Outlook.com online email. No option to cancel messages is provided. No more so than with the free application of the same name on Mac and PC. On the other hand, if you have Microsoft 365 and the (i.e. paid) Outlook application and you cannot cancel the sending of an email, you can recall it after it has been sent. The maneuver consists in retrieving the message stored in the correspondent's inbox as if he or she had never or almost never received it. However, in order to achieve this, several criteria must be taken into account. Your correspondent must also be using Outlook and must not have already opened the message. In addition, the recipient is informed that they have received an email and that they have been called back.
For professionals who use Exchange email, the principle used for Outlook also applies. It is possible to return a message that was sent in error, provided the same criteria are followed.