How to recall an email in Outlook 2022

Outlook provides a built-in feature that recalls an email or modifies a message, even though there are several basic requirements. In this article, you'll learn:

How to remember an email
Requirements for recalling Outlook emails
Consequences and delays during a recall

The instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007; and Outlook for Microsoft 365.

How to Recall an Email in Outlook (and Change It If Requested)

When you try to recall the email, Outlook may notify the recipient of the recalled email. To recall an email in Outlook:
Open Outlook and go to the Send Items folder.Double-click the sent message you want to recall to open it in a separate window. When the message is displayed in the Reading Pane, the options to recall a message are unavailable.

Go to the Message tab, select the Gestures drop-down arrow and select Recall This Message. In Outlook 2007, go to the Message tab, in the Transactions group, select More actions, and then click Recall This Message.

In the Recall This Message dialog box, select one of the following:

Delete Unread Copies of This Message to remember the message.
Delete Unread Copies and Replace with a New Message to replace the message with a new one.

If you want to be notified about the results, check box for each recipient to tell me whether the callback succeeded or failed.
Select OK.
If you have chosen, delete the unread copies and replace the original message with a new message.
Select Send.
You will receive an Outlook notification message that your attempt to retract or change the email succeeded or failed.

Requirements to Recall an Email in Outlook

Both you and your recipient must have an Exchange server e-mail account and use Outlook as their e-mail client.
When you try to process a callback, the recipient's mailbox opens.
The original message is unread and in the recipient's Inbox.
The message was not touched by any action, such as a rule, spam filter, or attachment.

Possible Consequences When You Recall Outlook Email

Depending on the settings of the recipient's email client, whether the original email has already been read, and a few other factors, the results of your attempt to recall a message may vary. Below are some of the possible consequences of an Outlook recall.

If the recipient has read the message, the recall will fail. Both the original message and the new message (or notification of your attempt to recall the original message) are available to the recipient.
If the recipient did not open the original message and opens the recall message first, the original message will be deleted. Outlook notifies the recipient that you deleted the message from the mailbox.

These results occur if the recipient moves both messages to the same folder manually or by using a rule. Automatically process requests and responses to meeting requests and polls if the recipient is enabled, under Follow-up, and if the recipient hasn't read the original email, Outlook deletes the original message and notifies the recipient that you've deleted the message. In Outlook 2007, this feature allows you to process requests and responses on arrival and under Tracking Options. However, if the original message is marked as read when the recall message is processed, the recipient is notified that you want to delete the message.

The original message remains in the recipient's inbox. If the recipient moves the original message from the inbox to another folder (either manually or using a rule) and the recall message goes to the inbox, the recall will fail regardless of whether it has been read or not. The recipient is notified that a recall attempt failed. The recipient has access to both the original and new email message. In addition, if you use Outlook on a mobile device and try to recall a message, the operation will most likely fail.