How to delete an email you have just sent by mistake
Email services already offer options to prevent others from reading these messages.
How many times have we been on the verge of having a mini Heart attack because we sent the wrong email? Surely often, given the high dependence on new technologies for work and personal relationships nowadays. Possibly you would like to disappear from the face of the earth when you realize that there is no way back, that the recipient will see the content of that email that he/she should never have received..
Currently, the big telecommunications companies are rushing to offer a value-added service, something we have all been wishing for years: to be able to delete an email of ours once it has been sent.. Deleting an email that should never have reached a recipient is now possible, and the same goes for instant messaging applications (Whatsapp or Telegram).
How does sending an email work?
Here is one of the important explanations of why it is already possible to delete an email already sent. This is because the email in question "travels" through several servers that guide it through the Internet network to the addresseeas if it were passing through a toll road. Unfortunately, this act will not take more than a few seconds in most cases, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Common Mistakes
According to computer and browsing security experts, this type of incident happens much more frequently than we usually think. The e-mail tool has become indispensable, we work with it, we travel with it and we present ourselves with it, especially in the job market. Consequently, the probability of making a mistake has increased tenfold in recent years, the probability of falling into error has increased tenfold in the last few years..
Sending messages to a client who should not see certain information, sending messages complaining about our superiors to the managers themselves or inappropriate replies in "reply to all" mode are some of the most common cases. Some people have lost their jobs because of these involuntary actions, or have even been denounced for lack of professionalism.
How to delete a sent email?
It must be taken into account that, in many cases, this will not be possible. We only have the possibility of deleting an email that has already been sent, depending on the program we use. depending on the program we use.
The moment a message remains in the outbox, waiting to be sent, is when we can intercept it.The following are some guidelines to follow in order to save your skin in those moments of crisis, depending on the server you use.
Google Mail "Gmail".
It is the most used web server today, as it can be synchronized with Youtube, Facebook and Google's own search engine. In this case we must go to the "settings" tab of Gmail, click on the option "undo sending", which will give us the ability to choose the time we want to have to delete a message before it is sent..
Microsoft Outlook mail
Microsoft users have it much easier. The Outlook web mail server allows the interruption of sending with more time.. Specifically, until the recipient reads the message (up to 24 hours or more). Simply go to the "sent items" tab, click on the erroneous email and click on the "retract this email" option.
Thunderbird users
This webmail platform is less known, but more used among expert users, as it is one of the most confidential services on the market at the network level. Thunderbird has by default the option to leave messages in the "stand by" folder.. We click on the option "send later" and it will be able to delay the sending up to two hours.
Virtutu mail service
The Virtutu system is the most efficient, since it is the only one that has an encryption model. encryption model that allows you not only to stop, interrupt or delay sending, as was the case with the previous as in the previous cases, but rather gives us the possibility of completely deleting the message, as if we had never written it. That is, even if we have sent the message. Surprising, isn't it?
(Updated at Apr 12 / 2024)