How-to · Gmail for Mac
How to recall email in Gmail on Mac: what works and the Undo Send steps
Gmail cannot recall an email after it has been delivered on a Mac, but Undo Send can cancel it for a few seconds. Click Undo in the Message sent notice in a browser, or click Undo Send in the Apple Mail sidebar, or choose Edit > Undo.
Quick answer
- Gmail cannot recall an email once it has been delivered, so the only real option is timing.
- In a browser, click Undo in the Message sent notice at the bottom left right after you send.
- In Apple Mail with a Gmail account, click Undo Send at the bottom of the sidebar, or choose Edit > Undo.
- Gmail lets you pick a window of 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. Apple Mail defaults to 10 seconds.
- If the window closes, send a short correction. Neither app can recall a message after that.
What you need
- A Gmail account, open in a web browser on your Mac
- For Apple Mail: Mail set up with your Gmail account, on macOS 13 or later
- A few seconds of attention right after you click Send
How to Pull back a sent email in Gmail on Mac in Gmail on a Mac
Send the message and watch the bottom left
Click Send as usual. Right after sending, Gmail shows a Message sent notice at the bottom left. The notice offers Undo and View message. It stays only briefly, so keep your eyes on that corner for the few seconds it stays up.
Click Undo in the notice
Click Undo while the notice is still on screen. Gmail cancels the send. If the notice has gone, the email has already been sent, and you cannot recall it.
Open Settings from the top right
In Gmail, click Settings at the top right of the window. You will need the full settings page for the next steps.
Choose See all settings
Select See all settings. Gmail opens the full settings page, where the Undo Send option lives.
Pick a cancellation period
Find Undo Send on the settings page. Next to it, choose 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. Thirty seconds gives you the most room to catch a mistake.
Tip: Start with 10 seconds if the longer window makes sending feel slow.
Save your change
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save changes. If you skip this, Gmail keeps the period it had before.
Show the Mail sidebar if it is hidden
Open Apple Mail with your Gmail account. If the sidebar is hidden, choose View > Show Sidebar. Undo Send appears at the bottom of the sidebar after you send.
Click Undo Send within 10 seconds
After you send, click Undo Send at the bottom of the sidebar. You have 10 seconds by default. After that, the message cannot be unsent.
Or choose Edit > Undo
You can also choose Edit > Undo right after sending. Apple's Mail guide lists this route next to the sidebar button.
Change the Mail undo delay
Choose Mail > Settings, select Composing, then open the Undo send delay dropdown. MacRumors' undo article lists Off, 10, 20 and 30 seconds. Its delay article lists only 10, 20 and 30.
Tip: Check the dropdown on your own Mac, since the two MacRumors articles disagree.
If the window has closed, send a correction
Once the notice or the sidebar button is gone, you cannot recall the message. Send a short correction that names the error and gives the right version.
The short answer is no. Gmail has no recall button, and no setting pulls a delivered message back out of someone's inbox. What you get is a timer. For a few seconds after you click Send, Gmail holds the message and gives you a chance to cancel it. That feature is called Undo Send. Google's help pages describe no other option.
Why Gmail cannot recall a delivered email
Email does not work like a shared document. Once a message reaches the other person's mail server, you lose control of their copy. Gmail can only stop a message that is still on its way out. That is the idea behind Undo Send, and it explains why the window is short.
Two things follow from that. First, the recipient's copy belongs to their account, not yours. Second, Google's help pages describe no way to reach into it. An Apple Community reply on the same question says there is probably no way to recall a message through Apple's mail tool either. That is why the honest answer is about timing. You have a few seconds to act. After that, the only real fix is a follow-up email.
88%
of 2,000 US office workers say they regretted a work email right after sending
88% of workers have sent an email they regret (CNBC syndicated)28%
of office workers believe an email they sent hurt their careers
88% of workers have sent an email they regret (CNBC syndicated)10 seconds
Default Undo Send window in Apple Mail, per MacRumors
macOS: How to Adjust the Undo Send Delay in Apple Mail (MacRumors)5 to 30 s
Gmail Undo Send options: 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds
Send or unsend Gmail messages (Computer), Gmail HelpHow to recall email in Gmail on Mac in a browser
A Canary Mail blog says Google has never released a Gmail app for macOS. That is a third-party claim, not a Google statement, and I found no Google statement either way. So this section covers Gmail in a browser, where the Undo notice appears.
Google's help page for Gmail on a computer describes the notice that appears after you send. It does not show Mac-only screens. The steps below come from that text, not from a screenshot. Your layout may look slightly different, but the labels should match.
Before you click Send: a short checklist
- Read the To line once more. The window is short, so this check has to happen before you click Send.
- Read the subject line and the first two lines. Those are what the recipient sees first in a preview.
- Open each attachment name and confirm it is the final version.
- Set the Undo window to 30 seconds if you send often. It is the longest option Gmail offers.
- If the message should wait anyway, schedule it instead of sending it now. The scheduling steps are on a separate page.
Change how long the Undo window stays open
Gmail lets you choose a cancellation period of 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. Open Settings at the top right, choose See all settings, and find Undo Send. Pick a period, then click Save changes at the bottom of the page. Skip that last click and your choice does not stick.
| Mail setup | Where you change it | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail in a browser | Settings > See all settings > Undo Send | 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds |
| Apple Mail with a Gmail account | Mail > Settings > Composing > Undo send delay | Off, 10, 20 or 30 seconds |
| Apple Mail default | No change needed | 10 seconds |
A longer window gives you more time to catch a mistake. It also means Gmail holds each message longer before it leaves, so you may notice a short pause after you click Send. Try 10 seconds first, then move up if you keep missing the notice.
Apple Mail with a Gmail account: Undo Send and Edit > Undo
If you read Gmail in Apple Mail, the Mac app has its own undo tool. Apple's Mail guide says you can click Undo Send at the bottom of the sidebar within 10 seconds of sending. You can also choose Edit > Undo. MacRumors reports that the button shows only briefly. After that, the message cannot be unsent.
MacRumors says Apple Mail's Undo Send requires macOS 13.0 or later. Setapp describes the version requirement differently and mentions more recent releases. Check your version under Apple menu > About This Mac before you assume the button is missing for another reason.
I did not verify how Mail's window works with Gmail's own Undo Send, or whether one overrides the other. Do not plan around Mail behaving like Gmail's browser window. Test the button with a message to yourself first, and read the sidebar carefully on your first real send.
Why people miss the window, and the mistakes that make it worse
One mistake is looking away. People click Send, switch to a calendar or a chat window, and return to a notice that has already gone. Keep your eyes on the bottom left of the screen for the few seconds the notice stays up.
A second mistake is closing the window too fast. In an Apple Community thread, a user reported that closing the window right after sending made their emails vanish. Waiting 10 seconds before closing fixed it for them. That report came from an iPhone user, so treat it as a lead, not a rule.
A third mistake is quitting Mail too soon. In another Apple Community thread, a Mac user found messages stuck in the Outbox after quitting Mail. Setting Undo send delay to Off fixed it, according to that thread. That turns the safety net off for good, so decide before you change it.
What to do when the window has closed
Once the notice disappears, you cannot recall the message. Your options are practical now. Send a short correction that names the mistake and gives the right version. For sensitive errors, call the person or send a separate note that asks them to ignore the first message.
Here is a worked example. You send a contract to the wrong client on a Friday afternoon. You reply within the hour with two lines. Please ignore my last email, it went to the wrong address. The right file is attached. Then you send the correct version. The client gets a clear signal, and nobody has to guess what happened.
How common the regret is, and why it matters
A Babbel survey of 2,000 US office workers found that 88% had regretted the contents of a work email right after sending it. The same coverage reports that 28% believe an email they sent hurt their careers. The survey is commercial and self-reported, so read the figures as a rough signal, not a census.
Those numbers matter because the regret usually arrives in the same moment as the Send click. Undo Send covers only part of that moment. A pause before you send covers more of it.
A pre-send habit that makes recall less likely
Put a short gap between writing and sending. Draft the message, step away for a minute, then read it once more. If the message should wait anyway, schedule it instead. The steps are in How to schedule email in Gmail on Mac. For the Gmail side of undo, see Undo Send in Gmail on Mac.
What Gmail on a Mac does not do
Gmail on a Mac has no recall. The sources I checked also list no keyboard shortcut for Undo Send, so this guide gives none. If you find one elsewhere, check it on your own Mac first. Use the mouse on the notice in Gmail, or use Edit > Undo in Apple Mail.
Apple Mail lets you turn the undo delay off. Turning it off removes the safety net, so leave it on unless you have a clear reason. Gmail's listed options are 5, 10, 20 and 30 seconds, with no off choice. Pick the longest window you can live with.
If it does not work
- The Message sent notice is gone
- The window closed, and Gmail cannot recall the email now. Send a short correction. Then set the Undo window to 30 seconds in Settings > See all settings so the next mistake has more time.
- Undo Send does not show in Apple Mail
- Choose View > Show Sidebar. If it still does not appear, check that your Mac runs macOS 13 or later, the version MacRumors gives for this feature.
- Messages stay in the Outbox after I quit Mail
- In one Apple Community thread, setting Mail > Settings > Composing > Undo send delay to Off fixed it. That is a user report, not Apple guidance, and it turns the window off.
- My email vanished after I closed the window
- An iPhone user in an Apple Community thread found that waiting 10 seconds before closing fixed it. Leave the window open for that long after you send.
- The steps on my screen look different
- Google's help describes the computer version of Gmail and gives no Mac-specific steps. Look for the same labels: Undo, Settings, See all settings, Undo Send and Save changes.
Faster with Lazur
Do it faster: ask Lazur while you are in Gmail
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Hold ⌥⌘ and talk
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You say“Where is the Undo button in this notice?”
Lazur · points at itLazur draws a circle and a label around the Undo button in the Message sent notice. You click it yourself. Lazur points and explains, it does not click for you.
Questions people ask
Can I recall an email in Gmail on Mac after it has been delivered?
No. Gmail cannot recall a delivered email. The only built-in option is Undo Send, which works for a short window right after you click Send.
How long is the Undo Send window in Gmail?
You can choose 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds in Settings > See all settings, next to Undo Send. Click Save changes after you pick one, or the change does not stick.
Does Apple Mail have its own recall for Gmail accounts?
Apple Mail has Undo Send at the bottom of the sidebar, plus Edit > Undo. Apple's guide gives you 10 seconds to click it. I did not verify how that window interacts with Gmail's own Undo Send, so test it first.
Why is Undo Send missing in Apple Mail?
Check View > Show Sidebar first. MacRumors says the feature requires macOS 13 or later, so an older Mac cannot use it.
Is there a keyboard shortcut for Undo Send in Gmail?
The sources I checked did not list one, so this guide does not give one. Use the mouse on the Message sent notice, or use Edit > Undo in Apple Mail.
Is there a Gmail app for Mac?
A Canary Mail blog says Google has never released a Gmail app for macOS. That is a third-party claim, and I found no Google statement. Use Gmail in a browser or in Apple Mail.
What should I do if the window has already closed?
Send a short correction that names the mistake and gives the right version. For sensitive errors, call the person or send a separate note asking them to ignore the first message.
Sources
- Send or unsend Gmail messages (Computer), Gmail Help · Google · checked 2026-11-07
- Unsend emails with Undo Send in Mail on Mac (Apple Support) · Apple · checked 2026-11-07
- Send email messages in Mail on Mac (Apple Support) · Apple · checked 2026-11-07
- macOS: How to Undo Send in Apple Mail (MacRumors) · MacRumors · checked 2026-11-07
- macOS: How to Adjust the Undo Send Delay in Apple Mail (MacRumors) · MacRumors · checked 2026-11-07
- How to recall a Gmail email on a Mac desktop, on web, and mobile (Setapp) · Setapp · checked 2026-11-07
- Recall sent email? (Apple Community) · Apple Community · checked 2026-11-07
- how to stop undo send in mail (Apple Community) · Apple Community · checked 2026-11-07
- Best Gmail App for Mac and iPhone (2026), Canary Mail Blog · Canary Mail · checked 2026-11-07
- 88% of workers have sent an email they regret (CNBC syndicated) · NBC Philadelphia / CNBC · checked 2026-11-07
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