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How to delete a message sent by mistake in Outlook? Step by step guide

Perhaps due to haste, misinformation, distraction or whatever cause, you are in trouble because You sent an email by mistake and it is most likely sensitive information, for this reason you may be wondering if there is any way to reverse this action.

If the answer is yes, do not worry because it is possible to fix this problem. Outlook has a way to eliminate this error What did you actually do? together with Gmail, they are the only email managers that have options to do so.

Nevertheless, for Microsoft users, it must comply with certain conditions to reach the solution on this problem, and in this post we will tell you about it.

What conditions apply to be able to cancel the sending of an email in Outlook?

Outlook inbox

When you use an instant messaging application, you know that it is possible to remove the chat text for you or for both of you who are involved in the dialogue. Now, related to the topic of this article, you need to do something similar, but in your email client. As we had mentioned to you, it is possible to undo or delete the sending of an email, however there are conditions that apply specifically to users of Outlook, that require using this powerful action.

So, if you are looking for tips or tricks to eliminate that message that should not have reached a particular contact you should know, then you should know that to correct this slip you must be using an account Microsoft Exchange Server, version 2000, 2003 or 2007 and in the same way the recipient or, failing that, Office 365.

You should know that their accounts need to be educational or commercial and from the same provider, and not private users, yes or yes. Clarified the issue of the requirements that must be met both the sender and the receiver to revoke that email sent due to carelessness, you will have already verified that if you do not have these parameters attributed by Microsoft, unfortunately this emergency cannot be repaired.

Learn how to delete a message sent by mistake before it is read in Outlook

The important is that your conditions and those of the recipient are given to start the process which will lead you to cancel the email you should never have sent. After being aware that both are under the same circumstances to complete this task, the rest is very simple thanks to the Outlook interface.

Next, follow the order of these steps to undo a sent email:

  • Login to your Outlook account as you always do, go to the mailbox or message tray “Sent”.
  • Once the panel is deployed, start looking for that email you intend to override, click it twice to open the message.

Sent messages in Outlook for PC

  • Now identify in the options the section “Move”, then make it expand from the blue envelope.
  • Now you are going to click on the tab “Retrieve this message”.

Move messages in Outlook for PC

  • Then when a new window is displayed, you will have the option available “Delete unread copies of this message”, click on it.
  • Finally click on “To accept”.

This is all the procedure you must do to make the message disappear from the recipient’s inbox, it is important to mention that the email it will be removed from the mailbox as long as it has not been opened yet. It is also likely that the recipient receives an alert warning that the sending of a message was canceled or deleted. So you must act with agility when you have made this type of mistake to be able to correct it.

On the other hand, these steps will not only serve to cancel or delete the sent message, but also Outlook It also offers you the replacement alternative, that is, you can replace this email with a new one, in case you forgot to place additional information or a file with an attachment. In the same way, it would be pertinent that you activate the checkbox “Let me know if the recovery worked or failed for each recipient”If it isn’t, this is to make sure the mail was retrieved or replaced after it was sent.

If you do not see any of the options that I have recommended, the fault is surely in the conditions. Remember that these tools only work with the requirements that we already mentioned above. Other important elements that prevent the recovery of a message is that it is protected by “Azure Information Protection”If so, this configuration is not possible through Outlook Web.