You hit Send, then instantly spotted the typo, the wrong recipient, or the missing attachment. On a Mac, you may still have a few seconds to pull it back. Apple Mail includes an Undo Send feature that lets you cancel an email right after sending it — here is exactly how to use it, how to give yourself more time, and what it can and cannot do.
The quick answer
Right after you send an email in Mail, an Undo Send button appears at the bottom of the sidebar for a few seconds. Click it before it disappears and the email never leaves your Mac. By default you get 10 seconds — and you can extend that to 20 or 30 seconds in settings.
What you need
- A Mac running macOS Ventura (13) or newer. Undo Send was added in Ventura; earlier versions of Mail do not have it.
- The Mail app (the built-in Apple app, not Gmail in a browser or Outlook).
Not sure which macOS you are on? Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and choose About This Mac.
How to unsend an email in Mail on Mac
- Send your email as normal.
- Look at the bottom of the sidebar on the left. An Undo Send option appears there for several seconds. (No sidebar? Choose View → Show Sidebar from the menu bar.)
- Click Undo Send before it fades. The email is pulled back and reopens as a draft, so you can fix it and send again.
If the countdown runs out before you click, the message is already on its way and cannot be unsent.
Give yourself more time: change the Undo Send delay
Ten seconds is not much when you are reaching for the mouse. You can extend the window to 30 seconds:
- In Mail, click Mail in the menu bar, then choose Settings (older Macs say Preferences).
- Click the Composing tab.
- Find Undo send delay and pick 10, 20, or 30 seconds. Choose Off to disable the delay entirely.
Setting it to 30 seconds is the safest choice for most people — enough time to catch a forgotten attachment or the dreaded reply-all, without a noticeable wait on emails you meant to send.
Important: this is not a true “recall”
Undo Send does not reach into the recipient’s inbox and delete anything. What actually happens is that Mail waits your chosen number of seconds before sending at all — clicking Undo Send simply cancels that pending send. Because the message never left your Mac, there is nothing to retract on the other end.
That is different from the “Recall This Message” feature in corporate Microsoft Outlook, which tries to remove an already-delivered email from another Outlook mailbox. Apple Mail has no equivalent. Once the delay window passes, the email is gone and cannot be recalled. If you have already missed the window, your only option is to send a quick follow-up correction or apology.
The related trick: schedule emails instead
If you regularly wish you had more than 30 seconds, use Send Later to schedule the email for a few minutes (or hours) out — you can edit or cancel it any time before it goes. See our guide on how to schedule (Send Later) an email in Mail on Mac.
Quick tips
- Turn on Show Sidebar so you never miss the Undo Send button.
- Undo Send also works in Mail on iPhone and iPad (iOS/iPadOS 16+) — look for Undo Send at the bottom of the screen right after sending.
- The delay setting is per-device. Changing it on your Mac does not change it on your iPhone.
- Combine it with a clean email signature and rules and smart mailboxes for a tidier Mail setup.
Frequently asked questions
Can I unsend an email after the countdown ends?
No. Once the Undo Send window (up to 30 seconds) passes, the email has been sent and cannot be pulled back. Send a follow-up message instead.
Which macOS added Undo Send to Mail?
macOS Ventura (macOS 13), released in 2022. Any Mac on Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia, or later has it. Earlier versions of Mail do not.
Does Apple Mail have a real recall feature like Outlook?
No. Undo Send only cancels a message during a short delay before it is sent. It cannot remove an email that has already been delivered to someone else.
What is the maximum Undo Send delay?
30 seconds. The options are Off, 10, 20, or 30 seconds, set under Mail → Settings → Composing.
Does Undo Send work if the recipient uses Gmail or Outlook?
Yes — because nothing is ever sent during the delay, it works no matter what email service the recipient uses.
A Mac that keeps up with your inbox
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Guide current as of 2026 and reflects Apple Mail on macOS Ventura and later.