Phew! Gmail adds an official ‘Undo Send’
The tool to stop embarrassing emails getting to the wrong people
- The feature was previously only available in Gmail Labs and the Inbox app
- Google has now added it to Settings menu of the desktop version of Gmail
- Once enabled, people can add up to a 30-second delay to sent messages
- Clicking ‘Undo’ within the set time prevents the message being delivered
- If you’ve ever hit send on an email only to realise you’ve sent it to the wrong person, you’ll know the feeling of dread that hits the pit of your stomach.
- But thankfully, for Gmail users at least, there is now a solution to spare any future blushes.
- Google has made its ‘Undo Send’ tool an official and permanent feature nearly six years since it launched as an experiment in Gmail Labs.
To enable the feature, Gmail users can click the cog icon from their inbox and choose Settings.
From there, under the General tab, they tick the ‘Enable Undo Send’ box and set the cancellation period.
his is currently available for five, 10, 20 or 30 seconds and effectively delays the message being sent for up to half a minute to give users time to change their mind.
WHAT IS GOOGLE INBOX?
Google Inbox is an email service available for desktops – on Chrome, Firefox and Safari – as well as an iOS and Android app.
When a user first logs in using, Google scans the account to present important emails first.
It groups similar emails into ‘Bundles’ based on subject and turns addresses into map links.
Other features include the option to undo sending messages, snoozing emails to be dealt with at a later time, and pinning messages to the top of the inbox.
Google launched Inbox as an invitation only app in October and it was rolled out to all Android and iOS users last month.
And once they have saved the changes, the tool will be enabled for all future messages until it is switched off.
Google added the feature to Gmail Labs – a scheme the firm describes as ‘some crazy experimental stuff’ – in March 2009.
It was then added to Google’s standalone Inbox app, which launched as an invitation only app in October and was rolled out to all Android and iOS users last month.
To use the feature on the desktop, compose an email in the traditional way and hit send.
A pop-up message will appear at the top of the inbox that says: ‘Your message has been sent. Undo.’
Clicking Undo stops the message being sent and reopens it in a compose window so users can delete it, change the recipient or amend what has been written.
This works in a similar way on the Inbox app, but instead of appearing at the top of the screen, the Undo option appears in the bottom right-hand corner.
The announcement was made in a official blog post: ‘Previously a popular feature in Gmail Labs, and recently added to Inbox by Gmail, today we’re adding ‘Undo Send’ as a formal setting in Gmail on the web.
‘Undo Send’ allows people using Gmail to cancel a sent mail if they have second thoughts immediately after sending.’
It continued that the feature is turned off by default for those not currently using the Labs version.
