Why Does Google Play Keep Asking About Wispr Flow Permissions?

Most Android devices (stock Android, Pixel)

Use these steps on stock Android, Pixel, and most other devices not listed below.

1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Downloaded apps. If you don't see "Downloaded apps," look for Wispr Flow directly under Accessibility.

2. Tap Wispr Flow and enable the toggle.

3. Dictate a short phrase. If text appears in your target app, you're done.

Samsung devices

On Samsung, accessibility services live under "Installed apps" rather than "Downloaded apps."

1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Installed apps.

2. Tap Wispr Flow and enable the toggle.

3. Dictate a short phrase. If text appears in your target app, you're done.

Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices

Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices require two extra permissions in addition to accessibility. Flow guides you through both steps during setup.

1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Downloaded apps.

2. Tap Wispr Flow, enable the toggle, and tap OK on the confirmation prompt.

3. Enable autostart for Wispr Flow when Flow opens the Background autostart manager.

4. Set battery usage to "No restrictions." This also covers the standard Android battery-optimization exemption, which Android may otherwise show as a separate full-screen prompt.

5. Dictate a short phrase. If text appears in your target app, you're done.

Vivo devices

Vivo devices use aggressive battery management similar to Realme, Oppo, and OnePlus, and require autostart plus locking Flow in recent apps in addition to accessibility.

1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Wispr Flow and enable the toggle.

2. Open Settings → More Settings → Applications → Autostart, then enable Wispr Flow.

3. Lock Wispr Flow in recent apps.

4. Set the standard Android battery optimization exemption for Wispr Flow.

5. Dictate a short phrase. If text appears in your target app, you're done.

Motorola and Lenovo devices

Motorola and Lenovo list Wispr Flow directly under the Accessibility menu and use the standard inline battery dialog (less invasive than other OEMs). Lenovo devices follow the same steps as Motorola.

1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Wispr Flow.

2. Enable the toggle.

3. Dictate a short phrase. If text appears in your target app, you're done.

Realme, Oppo, OnePlus, Huawei, Honor, and Transsion (Tecno, Infinix, itel) devices

These manufacturers use battery management that can silently stop Flow from running in the background, so you'll need to disable battery optimization in addition to accessibility. Honor devices follow the same steps as Huawei.

1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Downloaded apps (or look for Wispr Flow directly under Accessibility).

2. Tap Wispr Flow and enable the toggle.

3. Open Settings → Apps → Wispr Flow → Battery and set it to "Unrestricted" (or "Don't optimize").

4. Dictate a short phrase. If text appears in your target app, you're done.

Bugs fixed in recent updates

Several Flow Bubble, snooze, permissions, and text insertion issues were resolved in recent versions. Update Wispr Flow via Google Play to get these fixes:

• Accessibility service not reconnecting after Flow restarts: When Android shut down Flow and restarted it, the accessibility service sometimes didn't reconnect. Flow now detects this and shows a warning triangle on the bubble so you can re-enable accessibility in one tap.

• Dictation not working in Chrome or Chromium search boxes: Tapping the search bar in Chrome or Chromium and dictating could fail to insert text. Fixed in a recent update.

• Flow Bubble getting cut off in landscape mode: On devices with navigation bars or display notches, the Flow Bubble could be partially hidden when rotating to landscape or reverse-landscape. Fixed in a recent update.

• Text not inserting in WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Signal, or Slack: Flow could fail to insert dictated text in certain messaging apps. Text insertion now works reliably in these apps.

• Snooze not persisting or getting stuck: Snooze state could be lost when the keyboard appeared, and a snoozed card could become stuck after a force-stop. Snooze now persists through keyboard interactions and clears properly on restart.

• Shake-to-unsnooze not working: The shake gesture to bring back the Flow Bubble while snoozed stopped responding in some cases. Fixed.

• Bubble not shrinking in search fields: The bubble could remain full-size when tapping into a search field. Fixed.

• Bubble position lost after rotating to landscape: The bubble now correctly restores its position after orientation changes.

• No warning-triangle bubble when opening the app with accessibility disabled: Flow now shows the warning-triangle bubble immediately on launch so you can fix it in one tap.

• Snooze blocked when the warning triangle is showing: Snooze is now blocked while the warning triangle is showing, and an active snooze is automatically cancelled if the accessibility service drops — so the recovery prompt is always visible when needed.

• Flow not auto-starting on boot: After a device restart, Flow could fail to start automatically even when accessibility was enabled. Flow now starts reliably on boot.

• Stability improvements on Samsung devices: Several crashes and "app not responding" errors related to the accessibility service have been fixed.

• Bubble and overlay shutting down when microphone permission was revoked: Flow now keeps the bubble and overlay alive so you can re-grant the permission in place without relaunching.

• App restarting repeatedly after revoking microphone permission: On Android 14 and above, Flow no longer restarts repeatedly when the microphone permission is revoked mid-session. You may need to relaunch Flow to return to full dictation, but you no longer need to reinstall.

• Warning triangle delay: The bubble now switches immediately to the pulsing loader when Android stops accessibility in the background.

• Bubble not appearing after onboarding or restart: Fixed a startup issue where the bubble could fail to appear after enabling accessibility, signing back in, or restarting the device.

• Bubble flickering in text fields: Fixed a bug where tapping into a text field could cause the bubble to flicker or disappear.

To get these fixes:

1. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version via Google Play.

2. Re-enable accessibility if the toggle is off (see "How to re-enable accessibility" above).

3. Dictate a short phrase to confirm the bubble is stable and text is inserted correctly.

Can I make the Google Play notifications stop?

These notifications come from Google Play, not from Wispr Flow, so Flow can't disable them. To silence them, adjust notification settings for the Google Play Store app in your Android settings.

Why did my accessibility permission turn off on its own?

An app update, a device restart, or your phone's battery management can disable it. See "Why this happens" above for the affected device brands.

The Flow Bubble looks active but text isn't being inserted — what do I do?

On devices with aggressive battery-saving modes, the accessibility connection can drop silently while the bubble looks normal. Flow reconnects automatically. If it can't reconnect, the warning triangle appears — tap it to re-enable accessibility. The warning triangle won't appear while you're actively recording; Flow waits until your dictation session ends. The warning triangle and the pulsing reconnecting loader only appear while a text field is focused. If you don't see them, tap into a text field — that's when Flow surfaces the recovery UI.

What does the pulsing bubble mean?

A pulsing Flow Bubble means Flow is reconnecting to Android's accessibility service in the background — usually after your device woke from deep sleep or a brief system interruption. This typically resolves in a few seconds. The pulsing bubble is not tappable — it auto-resolves when Android reconnects the service. If reconnection doesn't succeed shortly, the bubble switches to a warning triangle that you can tap to fix.

Why can't I snooze the bubble when the warning triangle is showing?

Snooze is disabled while the warning triangle is showing. You'll see "Snooze is unavailable while accessibility needs attention." Tap the warning triangle to restore accessibility first — once Flow reconnects, the bubble works normally again, including snooze.

Does Flow start automatically after I restart my device?

Yes. As long as accessibility is enabled, Flow starts automatically when your device boots, and also after app updates. On a few aggressive OEM devices, Android may not rebind Flow's accessibility service immediately after boot — in that case, opening Flow once will get the bubble back.

What does Flow use accessibility for?

• Placing your text in the right field: Flow inserts dictated text into the field you're using. For your privacy, Flow does not insert text into password, numeric, or phone number fields, but can dictate into quick reply boxes (e.g. WhatsApp from a notification) and browser URL bars on many popular browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Brave, Samsung Browser, DuckDuckGo, Vivaldi, Kiwi Browser, Chromium, UC Browser, Yandex Browser, and others).

• Auto-hide in sensitive apps: Hides the Flow Bubble in banking and financial apps for security.

• Shake gestures: Brings back the Flow Bubble with a shake when snoozed. Shake-to-unsnooze is blocked while your device is locked.

What other permissions does Wispr Flow need?

In addition to accessibility, Flow needs:

• Overlay permission: To show the Flow Bubble (Display over other apps).

• Microphone permission: To hear your voice. If this is revoked, Flow continues running in a limited mode and prompts you to re-grant it — no reinstall needed.

• Notification permission: To show status notifications while the service is active.

• Battery optimization exemption: To keep running in the background.

On Samsung, Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus, Motorola, Lenovo, and Transsion (Tecno, Infinix, itel) devices, you may also need to adjust manufacturer-specific battery settings. Flow's in-app setup walks you through these steps. Google Pixel devices use the standard Android battery exemption dialog and don't need OEM-specific setup.

What happens if text insertion or transcription fails?

If text insertion fails, the Flow Bubble shows a "Paste" button and saves your text to the clipboard. If transcription fails, you'll see a "Retry" button and a brief notification: "Failed to transcribe. Saved in the app." — your audio is recoverable.