Here’s how to unsend Gmail email messages and save yourself from email embarrassment syndrome.

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Not all Gmail risks come from hackers locking you out of your account, or stealing 2FA security codes. While Google readily admits that attackers are targeting Gmail accounts, sometimes it is your own actions that you need protection against. And I’m not talking about Gmail phishing attack awareness, but rather that thing that sends your heart racing into your stomach: hitting send on an email that you instantly realize should not have been sent. But don’t despair, there’s a cure for Gmail email embarrassment syndrome; as long as you’ve prepared in advance and act quickly, here’s what you need to know and do.

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How To Unsend Sent Gmail Email Messages

Like all such things, being prepared for the worst ahead of it happening is key. That’s as true for making a mistake and hitting send on an email that should have stayed where it was as it is in making sure your Gmail account is protected against hackers before they can strike. Thankfully, winding back time and saving yourself from email embarrassment, or worse, is easy enough. Here’s what you need to do.

• Head for the settings icon, the cog, in your desktop Gmail application.
• Click on the “See all settings” link at the top of the sidebar.
• In the “General” settings section, scroll down to “Undo Send” and select the cancellation period, which is available as 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. I would advise opting for 30 seconds to give yourself the most time to act, as brain freeze can delay that sinking feeling of realization, and five or ten seconds isn’t really long enough to react.
• Scroll to the bottom of the settings page and ensure that you click on the save changes button.

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And that really is all there is to it. You can now unsend any sent Gmail email message as long as you act within the 30-second (or less if that’s what you have opted for) time limit.

If you make an email mistake, act quickly and hit the Undo option from the sending bar that appears for 30 seconds after hitting send.

And now you can relax, the Gmail message has been pulled back from the ether for you to edit or delete. No harm done, as it never got sent on to the recipient, but rather just stayed on the mail server during the reflection time allotted.