Google presses 'send' on 'undo send' – AT LAST

No regrets after six-year beta

Google has decreed that the “Undo Send” feature in Gmail, which it first unveiled in Gmail Labs in 2009, is ready to go mainstream.

Gmail Labs' original Undo Send option gave hot-heads five seconds for the transition from fury to regret. That's been changed in the general availability version, which lets +Inbox users give themselves up to 30 seconds.

Of course, it's not only the short-tempered The Register would advise to enable the feature: it's also not a bad idea for people who habitually fail to check the address offered by auto-complete, and might help prevent “reply-all” embarrassments.

Turned off by default, you can switch Undo Send on in the general settings tab.

When enabled, Undo Send shows a yellow bar during the grace period.

The Undo Send option is, however, only available to webmail users (either on Gmail or +Inbox): if you use a smartphone app or a non-Gmail client, you'll just have to learn self-control. ®