Google Inbox will let you hit 'undo' on sent emails

Google Inbox
Google Inbox is still invite-only, unfortunately

We've all fired off that one unfortunate email only to wish we'd waited another few seconds, to realize it was sent to the wrong person or you left the subject line blank or something even worse.

Now Google proposes to ensure that will never happen again - or at least that it won't matter, hopefully.

That's because a new Google Inbox feature called "Undo Send," revealed during a Reddit ask-me-anything session, will let you quickly recall emails as if they were never sent in the first place.

It's happening

As GigaOM points out there are two likely ways this might work. Firstly, judging by how BlackBerry Messenger does it, Google Inbox could just let you rescind emails sent to other Inbox users.

On the other hand there's also a somewhat buried Google Labs feature that lets Gmail users un-send emails no matter who they were sent to - as long as they do it within 30 seconds of actually pressing the "send" button.

In the Reddit AMA Google Inbox Software Engineer Taylor Kourim said the undo button is the feature he most wants to implement, tied only with cross-browser support.

And in case you think it's just a pipe dream, he clarified: "Yes, we're working on it right now.

Other Inbox team members answered that they most want to add customization for snooze times and tablet support, but the ability to un-send emails is undoubtedly the most exciting feature that Google Inbox may one day boast.

Google opened Inbox up to all comers for a short time today, but currently it remains a (mostly) invite-only service.

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.