Gmail Introduces Undo Send

How many times have you sent an email and wished you could take it back? According to a recent survey, as many as 87 percent of executives say they have either mistakenly sent or received an email or electronic message.

We’ve all done it. Maybe you notice an inexcusable typo right as you press send. Or you’ve "replied all" when you really meant to reply sender. Suddenly everyone in the office knows you can’t go for drinks Friday night because you’re planning a colon cleanse.

Earlier this week Gmail introduced Undo Send one of the new features being tested in Gmail Labs. Think of it as an email panic button. Undo Send automatically implements a five second delay on every email you send. It can’t recall a message that’s already gone, but Gmail figures that most of us realize we want to recall a message the instant it’s sent.

Of course, Outlook users have always had the option of recalling emails via the sent folder. But I think this works only when the sender and the recipient are within the same organization and operating on the same server. Readers, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

Here’s one thing I never recommend: Sending a separate message to recall the first. If I’ve already read your questionable email, chances are your recall is only going to prompt me to read it again. I’m curious by nature. And if I haven’t yet opened the original offending message, a recall message will only prompt me to. Poor office behavior, I know. But sometimes I can’t help myself.

Have you ever sent an email you wish you could recall? If you received a message someone else was trying to recall, would you open it?