You sent an email by mistake

Short answer: Work in this order: identify exactly what went out and to whom, attempt recall or undo send immediately, revoke access to the document if it was sent as a controlled link, tell the recipient directly, and record the incident. Speed matters most in the first minutes, because an opened attachment cannot be taken back.

1. Establish what was actually exposed

The wrong recipient, the wrong attachment, the wrong figures, or a draft that was never approved are very different incidents. Be precise before you react.

2. Use whatever window you have

Undo send lasts seconds. Recall may work inside your own organisation. Both are worth trying and neither can be relied on.

3. Close the document, not just the message

In most incidents the email text is harmless and the document is the problem. If the file went out as a FINIS link, revoke access or destroy it — the document stops opening immediately, even if the message was already read.

4. Speak to the recipient

A short, direct message asking them to delete the document is more effective than a silent recall attempt, and it protects the relationship.

5. Record it

Note what was sent, to whom, at what time, and what you did. If the document was sent through FINIS, the access record already shows whether it was ever opened — which often turns a serious incident into a minor one.

6. Change how the next one goes out

Mistyped recipients and stale drafts will keep happening. What you can change is whether they remain permanent.

How FINIS handles this

FINIS is a post-send control platform for documents. You send the file as a FINIS link instead of an attachment, and the controls stay with you.

Revoke access

End access to a document after it has been sent, even after it was opened.

Destroy

Erase the document itself and keep a record that it was destroyed.

Track opens

See when the document was opened and how it was accessed.

Auto-expire

Give the document a lifetime at the moment you send it.

Sharing control

Control whether recipients can pass access on to others.

Boomerang

Set a return date so access ends and control comes back to you.

Questions

What should I do if I send an email by mistake?

Identify what went out, try recall or undo send at once, revoke document access if it was a controlled link, tell the recipient, and record the incident.

Can I tell whether the recipient opened it?

Not with an ordinary attachment. A document sent as a FINIS link shows when it was opened and how it was accessed.

Is it better to say nothing and hope?

No. A direct request to delete is usually more effective than silence, and leaves a clearer record.

How do I stop this from being permanent next time?

Send confidential files as controlled links rather than attachments, so access can be revoked after sending.

Send everything. Fear nothing.

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