Should sensitive information be shared with an unauthorized party, your business could face serious consequences — from financial damage to reputation harm and more. It's for this reason that redaction is so incredibly important. Though you can attempt to recall emails in Outlook, proactively redacting them with secure digital tools is even better. In this guide, we'll share how to use Outlook's recall function and how to redact emails using a dedicated redaction tool — Hexamail Redaction with Hexamail Flow.

Redacting an email: the basics

So, what is email redaction, and when should you do it?

Email redaction is all about removing or obscuring sensitive pieces of information, like personal details or confidential data, from an email. Usually, the unwanted content is covered or replaced by a white or black box so that it's no longer legible. Learning how to redact emails is vital for maintaining privacy and protecting yourself against potential data breaches or identity theft.

It's essential to redact your emails if they contain any personally identifiable information like:

Bank account numbers
Social security numbers
ID numbers
Addresses & dates of birth

Ideally, you'll redact this data before sending an email, not after. Once you've clicked "send," the situation gets a little more complicated.

You cannot redact an email in Microsoft Outlook directly

Microsoft Outlook wasn't designed for redaction; there's no function in the software to enable this type of editing. So, you'll need a different software to clean up your emails before sending them — a dedicated redaction tool such as Hexamail Flow.

Redacting vs recalling

Redacting

Redacting means removing any sensitive or personal information from an email before sending it out. It's a proactive measure that ensures confidential data never reaches the recipient in plaintext.

Recalling

Recalling an email is not the same as redacting it. Recalling means deleting an email from the recipient's inbox. Recalling is more of a safety net for when redaction isn't possible or wasn't done proactively.

From this point on, we'll cover how to recall emails, how to redact sensitive data in an email, and how to redact a document before attaching it to an email.

You can recall an email in Microsoft Outlook

Many business owners and office workers don't redact emails before clicking "send." Though this could spell disaster in the worst cases, there is a potential lifeline to explore. If you're working in Outlook, the application's recall function could be your saving grace. It allows you to delete a sent message from the recipient's inbox. You can then send them a replacement email.

You may find this function helpful after you've made an error in your email or sent it to the wrong person. However, it's crucial to remember that it's not foolproof and will only work in select situations. We spell it all out below.

How to recall an email in Outlook step by step

If you're looking to recall a Microsoft Outlook email, read on. There are four versions of Outlook: Classic Outlook, New Outlook, Outlook on the web, and Outlook.com. We cover all of them in this section.

Classic Outlook New Outlook / OWA Outlook.com

Classic Outlook

1. Find the email you want to recall

Open your Sent Items folder and find the email you want to recall. Double-click the email to open it in a new window.

2. Recall the email

Select the three dots on the top right corner, click the Actions button in the top ribbon, and select "Recall This Message."

Sent Items → double-click email → ⋯ (three dots) → Actions → Recall This Message

If you don't see the three dots, select Move from the toolbar, then choose Actions and "Recall This Message."

Alternative: Move → Actions → Recall This Message

Once you initiate the recall process, a pop-up window will appear on your screen, giving you two options:

  • 1.Delete unread copies of this message OR
  • 2.Delete unread copies and replace with a new message.

You can also have Outlook notify you whether the process is successful. Select your desired option(s) and click OK to proceed. If you choose to delete the message, it will be permanently removed. If you want to replace it, you will be directed to a second screen where you can revise the email. Once you're done composing the new email, click Send.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web

  1. 1 Go to the left folder pane and select Sent Items.
  2. 2 Double-click the message you want to recall.
  3. 3 Look at the ribbon and find a button that says Recall Message.
  4. 4 Select OK in the dialog box that comes up.
  5. 5 Look at your inbox to determine the status of your recall. Outlook will send you a status update link there. Click that link for more information.

Outlook.com

You cannot recall a message in Outlook.com. The feature is not available in this version of the application at the time of this writing.

What happens when you recall an Outlook message?

When you recall a message, the original email doesn't simply go away. The recipient may need to open the new email first for the initial email to disappear. To prevent this, include the word "URGENT" or a similar phrase in the recall message's subject line.

Keep in mind that the recipient may still be notified when the messages are deleted from their inbox. So, even if you recall an email, the recipient may still be aware that a message was sent to them, but they won't be able to view its contents.

Delay email delivery to reduce email errors

Even if you are familiar with how to recall an email via Outlook, remember that you can only make modifications of this type if the email is unread. Once the recipient reads the message, recalling it is out of the question and that sensitive information is vulnerable.

One of the best ways to avoid a situation like this is to delay email delivery so that you'll have more time to reconsider your messages before they're actually sent. There's a Defer Delivery feature in Outlook that allows you to do that.

Follow the instructions on the Microsoft support page to set the feature up for all your Outlook emails.

Note: This feature isn't available for Outlook.com.

The best approach: redacting before sending and using recall as backup

Recalling is a helpful feature that's available in certain versions of Outlook. While email redaction isn't directly possible in Outlook, redacting sensitive information before sharing is a proven way to enhance email security. With Hexamail Flow, connect your Outlook or Office 365 mailbox (or import EML, MSG, or PST files), automatically redact in bulk, refine results as needed, and output redacted email to HTML, email, or PDF.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Redacting your emails in Outlook before clicking "send" protects your firm's private information, reducing the need to recall messages in the future. A little attention upfront can help you avoid major obstacles down the road.

How to redact emails using Hexamail Flow

Here is the procedure for redacting email with Hexamail Redaction using Hexamail Flow:

  1. 1
    Connect your mail — link your email account (Outlook, Office 365, or Gmail) or import EML, MSG, or PST files into Hexamail Flow.
  2. 2
    Automatically redact email in bulk — PII, PHI, PCI, and custom patterns are detected and masked across your connected mailbox or imported files.
  3. 3
    Refine redactions as needed — review results, unredact phrases that should remain visible, or adjust what was masked.
  4. 4
    Output redacted email — export to HTML, email, or PDF documents ready to share.
Download Hexamail Flow trial

How to redact an email before sharing it with a third party

When you need to share an email containing sensitive information with a third party, use the same Hexamail Flow workflow:

  1. 1
    Connect the relevant Outlook, Office 365, or Gmail account — or import the EML, MSG, or PST file containing the email.
  2. 2
    Let Hexamail Flow automatically redact sensitive content in bulk.
  3. 3
    Refine redactions — unredact phrases or adjust what was masked before sharing.
  4. 4
    Output the redacted email as HTML, email, or PDF for the third party.

Hexamail Redaction overview

Safeguard sensitive information with Hexamail Flow

Hexamail Flow is an email redaction platform designed for organizations looking to safeguard sensitive information. Connect Outlook, Office 365, or Gmail — or import EML, MSG, and PST files — then automatically redact PII, PHI, and financial data in bulk. Refine results by unredacting phrases as needed, and output redacted email to HTML, email, or PDF.

Configure redaction expressions for SSNs, credit cards, names, addresses, API keys, and custom patterns. Compliance officers get full audit trails of who accessed what messages and when.

Features that make Hexamail Redaction great

Redaction expressions

Redaction is straightforward — configure built-in entity types and custom expressions, then let Hexamail Flow bulk-redact connected mailboxes or imported files. Review and unredact phrases before exporting to HTML, email, or PDF.

Redaction workflow

Keep your redactions organized with a searchable email archive. Full audit trails, retention policies, and compliance reporting help compliance officers track who accessed what messages and when.

Team redaction & compliance

Work across your organisation on large redaction projects. Authorized users can view original content in the vault while recipients see redacted versions — with full audit logs for GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 compliance.

Fast automated redaction

Bulk redaction across connected accounts and imported PST, MSG, and EML files. Refine individual messages, then output redacted email to HTML, email, or PDF — far faster than manual one-by-one editing.

Download Hexamail Flow trial

Frequently asked questions

What is the redacted meaning in the context of emails?
Redaction in the case of emails refers to eliminating or covering up sensitive text and images to keep them secure. It comes in handy when you want to remove trade secrets or confidential information before distributing text or documentation to your team via email.
Can I redact on a Google document?
You can certainly do small-scale redactions on a Google document. Just click and drag your cursor to select the text you want to redact, then click the highlight icon and select the color black. That text you highlighted won't be readable to others, so long as you share the content with view-only permissions. If you send the document to someone else in editor mode, they'll be able to remove the highlighted portions, leaving your information vulnerable. For secure, auditable redaction, export to PDF and use Hexamail Flow instead.
Can you recall an email in Classic Outlook using the three dots menu?
Yes. In Classic Outlook, double-click the sent email, select the three dots on the top right corner, click Actions, and select "Recall This Message." If you don't see the three dots, select Move from the toolbar, then Actions and "Recall This Message."
Does Outlook.com support message recall?
No. You cannot recall a message in Outlook.com. The recall feature is not available in this version of the application.
What is the best way to protect privacy when sending sensitive emails?
The best way is to use Hexamail Flow: connect your Outlook, Office 365, or Gmail account (or import EML, MSG, or PST files), automatically redact sensitive content in bulk, refine or unredact phrases as needed, then output redacted email as HTML, email, or PDF before sharing.

Related guide: How to redact an email in Office 365