---
title: "Recall Messages"
slug: "recall-messages-1"
updated: 2025-05-05T21:13:12Z
published: 2025-05-05T21:13:12Z
canonical: "help.opensense.com/recall-messages-1"
excludeFromExternalSearch: true
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.opensense.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Recall Messages

Email recall is a Microsoft Outlook feature that allows senders to attempt the removal of a message from a recipient's mailbox after it has been sent. This capability is **not guaranteed** and is subject to several limitations, especially when mail is routed through connectors or processed by third-party providers. While Opensense applies email signatures seamlessly, message recall is generally **incompatible** with server-side processing methods and should not be relied upon.

### How Email Recall Works

**Email recall** in Microsoft Outlook allows users to retract or replace an email message that has already been sent.

### Key Points:

- **Eligibility**:
  - Both sender and recipient must be using **Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Exchange** accounts within the **same organization**.
  - The recipient must be using **Outlook** and have it open when the recall is attempted.
  - The message must still be **unread** by the recipient for the recall to succeed.
- **Options Available**:
  - **Recall the Message**: Delete the original email from the recipient’s inbox.
  - **Replace the Message**: Delete the original email and substitute it with a corrected version.
- **Important Limitations**:
  - If the message has already been **read**, it cannot be recalled.
  - If the recipient’s Outlook settings (like rules or additional mailbox configurations) interfere, the recall may **fail**.
  - External recipients (outside your organization) **cannot** have messages recalled.
  - Mobile apps and web-based versions of Outlook **do not support** initiating a recall.

### Technical Limitations

Message recall leverages the **SearchKey** MAPI property to identify the message within the recipient's mailbox. When messages are routed through connectors (as is common with server-side solutions), the **SearchKey may be altered**, rendering the recall ineffective.

Microsoft has confirmed that this behavior is a limitation of using connectors to route mail to third-party services. This applies broadly to all server-side solutions, including Opensense.

### Summary

Email recall is a legacy Microsoft feature with **limited reliability**, especially in modern cloud environments or when using server-side email enhancements.

For more information, refer to Microsoft’s documentation on email recall:

- [Exchange Online Message Recall limitations](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/mail-flow-best-practices/work-with-cloud-based-message-recall) – Microsoft Learn
- [MAPI SearchKey Property](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/client-developer/outlook/mapi/mapi-record-and-search-keys) – Microsoft Developer Docs