E-mail message recall: can it stop an embarrassing mistake?

Do you use Microsoft Outlook for your e-mail? You may have seen the command “Recall This Message”. You may even have used it. If so, I have some sobering news for you: it doesn’t work, at least not except in specific circumstances.

Recalling a message works only if the recipient uses the same Microsoft Exchange server as you do. If your company uses MS Exchange you can probably recall a message sent to one of your co-workers, assuming he/she hasn’t already read it. Lotus Notes has a similar feature, and the same caveats apply.

However, once a sent message has left your company’s system, such as sending to any external address, there’s no way to recall it. Even worse, the recipient will see both the original message and the ineffective recall notice.

I once received a rather embarrassing message sent by accident by a female client. She then drew more attention to it by issuing the “recall” notice. She was shocked, embarrassed and wiser when I explained that recalls don’t work.