Customize Flow Bubble Size and Shrink Behavior on Android
Last updated: October 16, 2026
Available on: Android only — not Mac, Windows, or iOS.
If the Flow Bubble covers text or search suggestions, resize it or shrink it between dictations. Shrinking keeps a smaller, interactive bubble available; it does not hide it.
Adjust size and shrinking
Note: The bubble requires display-over-other-apps permission and completed onboarding for your signed-in account. Already-onboarded accounts are eligible again on sign-in, but still need that permission. Accessibility access enables field detection and text insertion. The overlay, including repair icons, stays hidden during onboarding; the “Try It Yourself” tutorial has its own in-screen bubble.
Open the Wispr Flow app.
Open Settings, then tap Flow Bubble Size in GENERAL.
Move the slider and check the live preview.
Enable Shrink the bubble when not in use if you want automatic shrinking.
The slider snaps to four unnamed stops: 0.7×, 0.85× (default, second stop), 1.0× and 1.15×.
Changes apply and save immediately; there is no Save action. Reset restores only size, leaving shrink settings and Flow Bubble Opacity unchanged. Opacity has a separate row directly below Flow Bubble Size.
Setting | Default | What it does |
Shrink the bubble when not in use | Off | Shrinks the idle bubble after 5 seconds. |
Shrink to a dot | Off | Uses a small dot instead of a compact Wispr icon when shrunk. |
Shrink the bubble in search fields | Off | Shrinks immediately in a recognized in-app search or filter field. |
Both sub-options require Shrink the bubble when not in use and work independently or together. Turning it off disables both without clearing their saved choices; turning it back on restores them.
Shrinking applies only while idle, not while recording, transcribing, showing errors or repairing accessibility. Your size choice applies to every bubble state, including the shrunken icon/dot and repair bubble. Repair uses the normal unshrunk footprint; repair indicators wait until active dictation ends.
Search-field shrinking
Search shrinking needs the on-screen keyboard and field information Flow can read: the field must use a Search keyboard action or identify itself as a text filter. Recognized browser address bars do not trigger it, and it generally won't trigger in notification inline-reply boxes (like WhatsApp), which aren't classified as search or filter inputs.
Saved size and account preferences
Size and shrink preferences are saved per account on this device and refreshed when Settings opens. They survive sign-out; signing back in restores them. A new account starts with defaults. Switching accounts updates the bubble without restarting.
If a saved size is outside the four supported stops, the slider shows the smallest stop instead.
Important: After upgrading from an installation with shared settings, existing choices transfer to the first account that signs in. If another account signs in first, the original account's old settings are not restored automatically.
Once an installation uses per-account settings, changes made while signed out apply to the next account that signs in. If the app is shut down first, those changes are lost and must be made again.
Test the resized bubble
Focus a regular text field in another app with the keyboard open.
Wait without touching the bubble; automatic shrinking should produce your selected icon or dot.
Tap the shrunken bubble and speak; it expands and starts hands-free dictation in one gesture.
Tap the checkmark (Done) to finish and insert your text.
Holding also expands the bubble and starts hold-to-dictate. Releasing submits an active recording even if connectivity drops mid-hold; a hold that never started recording submits nothing.
The touch area shrinks with the bubble. Moving from a search field to a regular field expands it without closing the keyboard; automatic shrinking can shrink it again after the idle delay.
Offline, neither tap nor hold starts recording or opens a microphone prompt. Flow shows “No internet. Try again later.” Either gesture expands a shrunken bubble before it shrinks again about 5 seconds later.
If a weekly free-limit notice interrupts a start, that press displays the notice; the next press starts dictation.
If the bubble is missing
Keyboard: The bubble hides when the keyboard closes. Showing it without the keyboard is off by default.
Fields: Password, numeric and phone fields are excluded, with exceptions for recognized browser address bars and system notification replies. Detection varies by app and device; some system text-entry dialogs can also receive an exception, including password-marked fields.
Banking and payment apps: Restricted apps hide the bubble for security. Coverage varies; apps outside the restricted list are not hidden by this protection. Typing cannot reveal it there; shaking shows “Flow Bubble is disabled inside banking apps.”
Inside Wispr Flow: The bubble is hidden by default, except while these screens or dialogs are open: Feedback/Report, Report-a-transcription, Edit Profile, Add/Edit Snippet and Add/Edit word.
If the bubble is snoozed
Snooze hides the bubble for 10 minutes; opening the keyboard does not end it. Accessibility repair ends snooze automatically and prevents starting it.
Tap End snooze now on Home's “Bubble is snoozed” card.
Focus a text box; the bubble returns at its default right-edge position.
Alternatively, shaking the phone inside a text box ends snooze. Snooze also ends if Flow is force-stopped; normal bubble behavior resumes when Flow starts again.
If testing is blocked
Accessibility repair icons appear only with a text field focused and return on the next focus until resolved. Their descriptions are TalkBack announcements, not visible text.
Icon | Action |
Spinner | Wait; it is not tappable and becomes a retry icon after 60 seconds of unsuccessful reconnection. |
Retry icon | Tap to restart the connection. |
Warning triangle | Tap to open Flow's accessibility repair screen and follow its instructions. |
The icon clears after recovery.
Microphone access was removed
The bubble remains available; only recording is blocked. No app relaunch is needed.
Tap the bubble to request microphone access.
Allow access in Android's dialog, if offered.
Tap Go to Settings instead if Flow shows We can't hear you.
Allow access under Permissions → Microphone on Wispr Flow's Android app settings page.
Press the bubble again after either permission route; granting access does not start recording.
The sheet appears when Android no longer offers its dialog, including permanent denial or a lapsed one-time grant with “Ask every time.” An active “Only this time” grant needs no prompt.
If Android still refuses to enable recording after access is granted, Flow returns to the permission prompt.
A test dictation fails
A copy button supports manual pasting when Flow cannot confirm insertion. After a paste failure, Paste works offline; tapping the Wispr icon dismisses the error but leaves the text on the clipboard for manual pasting. If Paste fails, the normal bubble returns and the text stays on the clipboard.
“Failed to transcribe. Saved in the app.” means a History entry was saved; audio is preserved for retry only if it was captured. Without audio, the entry remains reportable and deletable, the bubble's Retry only restores the bubble, and Home offers no retry. Tapping the Wispr icon starts a new dictation instead.
For “Taking longer than usual. Your audio is saved in the app.” during transcription, use Retry Transcript in the Home transcript row's overflow menu if recorded audio is available. If the recording file no longer exists, the bubble's Retry also returns to the normal bubble without retrying.
Still stuck?
Contact support if shrinking fails the test or recording stays blocked after restoring permissions. Include your device model, Android and Flow versions, shrink settings, affected app, steps tried, and expected versus actual behavior.