Gmail: How To Recall An Email Using “Confidential Mode”

With over 1.5 billion active users as of May 2021, Gmail is one of the leading email subscribers. According to Litmus, the Email Client has a market share of 34 percent, many of whom will want to take advantage of all of the service’s features. One of them is the ability to recall an email despite being sent on Gmail. 

Gmail’s “Recall” or “Unsend” feature is one of the ways you can deal with the permanent nature of an email which can sometimes make you lose sleep. Either of them can be a lifesaver when you regret sending an awkward email or a pleasant one to the wrong contact. Whatever the reason, today you’re going to learn how to recall an email in Gmail.  

Recalling An Email

In the real sense, recalling an email from Gmail is not possible unless you have turned on “Confidential Mode”. We’ll come back to this in a moment. You can only cancel sending an email after it has been sent. After the submission is complete, there is nothing else you can do. Unlike for Outlook, the Unsend Feature on Gmail is only for a short period of time. Outlook allows you to make changes or recall an email even after it has been sent.  

In Gmail, what seems almost like Recalling an Email is to deny access to confidential email after it has been sent. The “Confidential Mode” allows you to set an email expiration date and password. You can also remove access early to, essentially, recall the email. However, for this to be successful you need to set the Confidential Mode before sending the email. The following steps will guide you how to. 

1). First, compose your email.

2). At the bottom of the composition window (the space where you type your email) you will see an icon that looks like a lock with a timer. Click the icon to display the Confidential Mode settings. 

3). Once you set the expiration date and passcode, tap Save. 

4). To remove access to the confidential email, all you need to do is locate the email in the Sent section, open it and select Remove access. 

Do you use Gmail regularly? We have more tips for you on how to use Gmail more effectively. Check out similar posts below.