How to schedule and unsend email in Gmail: Undo is a delay, not a recall
How to schedule and unsend email in Gmail, on the web and the app
To schedule and unsend email in Gmail, set up the undo window once, then use Undo for mistakes you spot straight away and Schedule send for mail you want to hold for longer. The last group changes or cancels a scheduled message.
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Give yourself time to unsend
Set the Undo Send window to 30 seconds
In Gmail on a computer, click Settings at the top right, then See all settings. On the General tab, next to Undo Send, choose a Send cancellation period of 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. Pick 30, then click Save changes at the bottom, or the change is not kept.
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Click Undo right after sending on a computer
After you click Send, a box at the bottom left says Message sent with Undo and View message. Click Undo before the box goes. The message comes back as a draft you can fix, and this only works in that short window.
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Tap Undo right after sending in the app
In the Gmail app on Android or iPhone, you see Sent with an Undo option straight after sending. Tap Undo. There is no documented setting for the length of this window in the apps, so treat a message sent from the phone as gone once that prompt disappears.
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Hold a message for later
Schedule an email from a computer
Write the email, then at the bottom left click the Down arrow next to Send and choose Schedule send. Pick a suggested time or set your own. The email goes out based on the time zone you scheduled it in, and may leave a few minutes after the time you chose.
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Schedule an email in the app
In the Gmail app on Android or iPhone, write the email, tap More (the three dots) at the top right, then Schedule send, and pick an option. You can have up to 100 scheduled emails at once.
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Change or cancel a scheduled message
Open the Scheduled folder
On a computer, click Scheduled in the left panel. In the app, tap Menu, then Scheduled. Every message waiting to go is listed here with the time it is set for, so this is where to check before a deadline.
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Cancel send to stop or edit a scheduled message
Open the message and click or tap Cancel send. A cancelled scheduled email becomes a draft, so nothing is lost. To send it at a different time, edit it, then use Schedule send again and choose the new date and time.
A common case: you finish a sharp reply to a client at 11 at night. Step 4 sets it for nine the next morning, and step 7 lets you cancel it at eight if you think better of it, which is far more time than the 30 seconds Undo gives you.
Scheduling is the only way to keep a message recallable for hours, because Undo stops working as soon as its short window ends.
If it goes wrong
- The Undo box disappeared before you could click it
The window had passed and the message went. Gmail cannot recall it now. Set Undo Send to 30 seconds (step 1) so the next one gives you more time.
- A scheduled email went at the wrong hour
Gmail sends based on the time zone you scheduled it in. If you scheduled it while travelling or with a different time zone on the device, the hour follows that zone.
- Gmail will not let you schedule another email
Gmail allows 100 scheduled emails at a time. Open Scheduled, cancel any you no longer need, and try again.
Why Gmail can unsend for seconds and not after
When you click Send, Gmail does not send the email straight away. It holds it for the Send cancellation period you set under Undo Send, from 5 to 30 seconds, and Undo cancels it during that time.
That is why the option only exists while the Message sent box is showing. After the period ends, the email is delivered like any other, and Gmail has no way to reach into the recipient’s mailbox.
Schedule send works on the same principle over a longer time. The message sits in Scheduled until the time you picked, and Cancel send turns it back into a draft.
Both features protect you only while the message is still with Gmail, so the useful question is how long you want it to stay there.
How long each control gives you
| Control | What it changes | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Undo on the web | Cancels the message you just sent | 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds, as you set |
| Undo in the app | Cancels the message you just sent | A few seconds; the length is not documented |
| Schedule send | Holds the message until a set time | Until the time you choose |
| Cancel send | Turns a scheduled email back into a draft | Any time before it sends |
Set the web window to 30 seconds first. It costs nothing except a short delay on every message you send from a computer.
When the message has already gone
If Undo has passed, the message is in the recipient’s mailbox. Gmail offers no recall, and nothing in its settings changes that after the fact.
Outlook users sometimes expect Gmail to have Outlook’s recall. That feature belongs to Microsoft’s service and works under its own conditions; see recalling a message in Outlook if the email went from an Outlook account.
A different case looks similar: a message that seems not to have sent at all. Check Sent and Drafts first, ask the recipient to check Spam, and wait a few hours for a delivery error. A slow connection or another mail app can also delay sending.
How to tell it worked
After you undo or schedule, check these:
- After Undo, the message is open again as a draft, and it is not in Sent.
- A scheduled message is listed under Scheduled with the right time.
- A cancelled scheduled message is back in Drafts.
Scheduled emails can leave a few minutes after the chosen time, so a short delay is expected rather than a fault.
Set the 30-second window today
The one change worth making now is the Undo Send window on the web. Set it to 30 seconds, save, and every message you send from a computer gets a little more time.
For anything you might still reconsider, schedule it instead of sending it now.
Common questions
- Can I unsend a Gmail message after the Undo box has gone?
- No. Undo only cancels a message Gmail is still holding. Once it has left, Gmail offers no recall, so the fix is a follow-up email.
- What is the longest Undo Send window in Gmail?
- Thirty seconds. On the web, the Send cancellation period offers 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds, set under Undo Send on the General tab of See all settings.
- Does the recipient see a message I unsent?
- Not if you undo in time. Undo cancels a message Gmail has not sent yet, so there is nothing for the recipient to receive.
- What happens to a scheduled email I cancel?
- It becomes a draft. You can edit it, send it now, or schedule it again for a new time.
Steps performed and confirmed today