Gmail help: recall, recover, delete, schedule and fix email

Jump to what you need

• Unsend an email
• Recover an account
• Change password
• Delete an account
• Schedule send
• Stop spam
• Free up storage
• Fix Gmail problems

New here, or locked out? See our Gmail signup guide to create an account, or the Gmail login guide if you can't sign in.

How to recall or unsend an email in Gmail

Gmail does not have a true "recall" like some office systems. Instead it gives you a short Undo send window immediately after you press Send.

1. Right after sending, look for the Message sent note at the bottom-left of the screen.
2. Select Undo before the note disappears. Gmail reopens the message as a draft so you can edit or delete it.

To give yourself more time, open Settings → See all settings, and set Undo send to a cancellation period of up to 30 seconds. Once the window passes, the message cannot be pulled back. See Google's Undo send guidance.

How to recover your Gmail account

If you cannot sign in, use Google's recovery flow rather than creating a new account — a new account does not restore your old mail.

1. Open Google Account recovery and enter the email address you are trying to reach.
2. Work through the identity checks. Use a device, browser and location you normally sign in from.
3. Answer as accurately as you can; approximate answers can still help Google verify ownership.

Avoid paid "recovery" services. No third party can legitimately recover a Google Account for a fee, and sharing a verification code hands over control. For sign-in problems step by step, see our Gmail login and recovery guide.

How to change your Gmail password

1. Open your Google Account security settings.
2. Under How you sign in to Google, select Password and confirm your identity.
3. Enter a new, unique password you do not use anywhere else, then save.

Changing your password signs you out on most other devices, so have your new password ready where you need to sign back in. See Google's change-password instructions.

How to delete a Gmail account

You can remove just Gmail while keeping the rest of your Google Account, or delete the whole account.

1. Open your Google Account and go to Data & privacy.
2. To remove only email, choose Delete a Google service and select Gmail. To remove everything, choose Delete your Google Account.
3. Follow the confirmation steps.

Download first. Use Google Takeout to export mail and data before deleting, because the action is difficult to reverse. See Google's delete Gmail guidance.

How to add or switch Gmail accounts

You can use several mailboxes on one device and move between them quickly.

• On the web: select your profile picture in the top-right, then Add another account, or pick an account already listed.
• In the Gmail app: tap your profile picture, then Add another account or choose one from the list.

Check the active address in the profile menu before composing, so a message goes from the mailbox you intend. See Google's add-or-remove-account help.

How to schedule an email in Gmail (send later)

1. Compose your message as usual.
2. Select the arrow next to Send and choose Schedule send.
3. Pick a suggested time or set your own date and time.

Scheduled messages wait in the Scheduled label, where you can edit or cancel them before they go. See Google's schedule-send guidance.

How to set up a Gmail signature

1. Open Settings → See all settings and stay on the General tab.
2. Scroll to Signature, select Create new, and enter your text.
3. Choose when it is used (new emails, replies), then Save Changes at the bottom.

On mobile, the signature is set separately in the Gmail app settings. See Google's signature instructions.

How to create filters and organise your inbox

Filters sort incoming mail automatically — labelling, archiving or starring it so your inbox stays manageable.

1. Type your criteria in the search box (for example a sender) and open the search options.
2. Select Create filter, then choose actions such as apply a label, skip the inbox, or mark as read.

You can also build labels and enable inbox categories from Settings. See Google's filters guidance.

How to block senders and stop spam in Gmail

• Report spam: open the message, select the three-dot menu and choose Report spam.
• Block a sender: in the same menu choose Block, and future mail from that address goes to Spam.
• Unsubscribe: use the unsubscribe option Gmail shows for legitimate mailing lists.

Never click links or buttons inside a suspicious message, and never share a verification code. Report phishing instead of replying. See Google's spam and phishing help.

How to turn on 2-Step Verification

2-Step Verification adds a second check at sign-in, so a password alone is not enough to access your account.

1. Open your Google Account security settings.
2. Select 2-Step Verification and follow the setup, choosing a method such as a prompt, an authenticator app or a passkey.
3. Save backup options so you are not locked out if you lose a device.

See Google's 2-Step Verification guide.

How to free up Gmail storage

Storage is shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos, so a full quota can stop new mail arriving.

1. In Gmail search, find large mail with larger:10M and delete what you no longer need.
2. Empty Spam and Trash, which still count until cleared.
3. Review large files in Drive and Photos, or use Google's storage manager.

See Google's free-up-storage guidance.

How to set a vacation responder (out of office)

1. Open Settings → See all settings on the General tab.
2. Scroll to Vacation responder, turn it on, and set the dates, subject and message.
3. Select Save Changes. Gmail replies automatically during that period.

See Google's vacation responder help.

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