You hit send, and half a second later you spot it — the missing attachment, the reply-all you didn't mean to do, the typo in someone's name. Normally that email is already gone.
Gmail keeps it parked for a few seconds before it actually leaves, and gives you a way to grab it back.
Here's the trick:
Turn on Undo Send and pick a cancellation window of up to 30 seconds — every email you send shows an Undo link for exactly that long.
How to use it
- Click the gear icon and choose See all settings.
- On the General tab, find Undo Send and set the cancellation period (5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds).
- Scroll down and click Save Changes.
- From then on, a "Message sent" banner appears at the bottom-left after every send — click Undo while it's showing.
Where it helps most
Catching a wrong recipient, a missing attachment, or a sentence you regret — before it ever reaches an inbox.
One thing to watch for
Once the countdown banner disappears, the email is genuinely gone — there's no recovering it after that. Thirty seconds is the maximum Gmail allows, so it buys you a moment, not a safety net.
Found a faster way to do this, or noticed it works differently on mobile? That’s what the comments are for — this section connects to your comment system of choice (Disqus, giscus, etc.) once the site is live.