---
id: KB-PR-025
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/troubleshooting/i-sent-it-to-the-wrong-person
idioma: en
categoria: problemas
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-PR-024, KB-NO-023]
citadoPor: [KB-PR-008]
---

# I sent it to the wrong person

_Cut the access first, then tell people. In that order, and without waiting to find out whether they opened it._

**Responde a:** i sent a document to the wrong person · sent data to another client · how do i retract a misdirected send · sent to wrong recipient what do i do

**First cut off access to the link, then tell people, and only at the end weigh up the scope.** That order matters: every minute the link stays live is a minute in which the wrong person can open it.

## The first ten minutes

1. **Cancel the send or the link** — Before writing to anyone. It is the only thing that shrinks the problem while it is happening.
2. **Tell whoever received it by mistake** — One sentence asking them to ignore and delete it. Most people cooperate.
3. **Send it to the right recipient** — So the work continues and does not get forgotten in the scare.
4. **And write down what happened, with times** — Ten lines today beat next month's reconstruction.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Do not wait to find out whether they opened it before acting.** It is the natural temptation —«maybe they haven't seen it and we needn't make a fuss»— and it is exactly backwards: if they have not seen it, cutting and telling costs nothing; if they have, every minute counts. Doubt is not a reason to wait, it is a reason to cut now.

## How much it matters depends on what was inside

| What was sent | What else to do |
| --- | --- |
| A document with nothing sensitive | Cut, tell them, move on |
| Personal data | Also tell whoever handles data protection |
| Another client's documents | Also tell that client. They find out anyway, and worse |
| Terms, prices or anything confidential | Also flag it internally before it comes back from outside |

> [!WARNING]
> The underlying cause is rarely carelessness: **it is two similar contacts in the address book**. Two people with the same name at different companies, the same company entered twice, or a generic office address sitting next to the individual's. Once the fire is out, half an hour cleaning up those duplicates is worth more than any resolution to be more careful.

**Do I tell them even if they never reply?**

Yes. The notice puts you in a different position even with no answer.

**Do I have to report it internally?**

If it held personal data or a third party's, yes, and quickly.

**Can I find out whether they opened it?**

Not with certainty, and it does not change what to do now.

## Ejemplos

**A file is sent to another client's contact with a similar name.**

- Cancels the link first, tells them after, and resends to the right person

→ The window in which someone could open it shrinks to minutes.

**After the scare, the address book still holds the two near-identical contacts.**

- Spends half an hour merging duplicates and disambiguating the names

→ The cause disappears, not just the episode.

**A file is sent to the wrong contact.**

- Revokes access before writing to anyone

→ Exposure is cut even if the other side never looked.

**The wrong recipient belongs to another company.**

- Cuts access and alerts the right people internally

→ Whoever should decide what to communicate does.

**It is discovered hours later.**

- Cuts access anyway and records what was sent and to whom

→ The scope is documented for whatever follows.

**The recipient is simply asked to delete it.**

- Revokes access as well as asking

→ You do not depend on a third party complying.