Tool to recall, erase impulsive e-mails

A unique technology has made it possible not only to erase the e- mail you just clicked but also to recall that email on e-mail servers.

Sending an e-mail in haste and instantly wishing you had not done so, is not very uncommon. One is left helplessly staring at the blank screen or cursing oneself for even thinking of writing that e-mail in a haste.

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However, now you can relax as a unique technology has made it possible not only to erase the electronic mail you just clicked but also to recall that email on all major e-mail servers.

Sounds coming from a Sci-fi movie, but it is true!

A new e-mail service BigString, brings a big relief for all impulsive people, as now they can retract statements by recalling or changing messages that may have been sent in moments of panic, rage or stupor.

Recall Mail Corporation (RMC), through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bigstring, has developed proprietary, patent-pending technology that allows e-mail users to recall, modify, or set an expiration date for e-mails that have already been sent.

These e-mails can be erased, modified or expired even after the recipient has read them. Recall Mail believes that its proprietary technology strategy will revolutionise the way individuals and businesses communicate and utilise email.

A BigString subscriber can also change what a message says or add an attachment.

"We're looking to save ourselves from embarrassment, from lawsuits. Everyone makes mistakes with e-mail, and now we're giving control over those mistakes," said chief operating officer and a cofounder of Recall Mail Corporation Adam Kotkin.

Other e-mail services offer the option of recalling e-mail, but once it's opened, you need the recipient's permission to pull it back. That's not the case with Bigstring.

"We actually store the message on the bigstring.Com servers. So when you're sending someone an e-mail, they're actually getting an e-mail message with an integrated website address inside that message that is not seen.

When they open up that e-mail, it actually goes to a bigstring.Com website, so the sender of this message controls that Website.

"If the sender decides even after the message has been read that they want to change this message, recall this message, self-destruct this message -- whatever they decide to do with this message, they have total control over this website," says Kotkin.

But just because you can recall a message doesn't necessarily mean all proof of the e-mail is gone forever. Keep in mind the recipient can still either print it or take a snapshot of it. They can't cut and paste the e-mail, but they can save it in the same way you'd save a picture from a Website.

But to limit the chances of that happening, you can also have an e-mail expire at a certain date or after the recipient opens it a certain number of times, which also prevents it from being forwarded.

For $29.95 a year, the service runs your messages through a server -- where e-mails are converted into HTML and stored -- allowing you to retract, change or erase them before or after they've been read.

"It's like having a string on your e-mail that you can pull back," says chief executive Darin Myman, who got the idea after he mistakenly forwarded the wrong attachment to a major client and badly wished he could retrieve it. The service, which debuted in January, is already a huge hit among online daters, who use it to withdraw sent photos.