Customize Flow Bubble Size and Shrink Behavior on Android
Last updated: September 5, 2026
Available on: Android only. Requires the display-over-other-apps (overlay) permission for the bubble to appear.
The Flow Bubble sits on your screen while you dictate. Shrink it to a small dot or auto-hide it in search fields so it stays out of your way until you need it. On the Flow Bubble Size screen, a slider offers four sizes — small, default, large, and extra large — plus a Reset button that resets the slider only, not the shrink toggles.
Note: Flow's accessibility permission is required for the bubble to detect text fields and insert dictated text. Without it, the bubble appears in the Repair (warning triangle) state that links to the accessibility screen.
When to use it
Use these settings when you want to:
Reduce how much of your screen the bubble covers while you browse or read.
Keep the bubble out of the way when typing in search bars.
Minimize visual clutter between dictation sessions.
How it works in Flow
Key behaviors
Shrink the bubble when not in use: The master toggle. Shrinks the bubble when idle and unlocks the sub-options below.
Shrink to a dot: Reduces the idle bubble to a small dot. With it off, the idle bubble shrinks to a compact icon instead.
Shrink the bubble in search fields: Shrinks the bubble immediately when your cursor is in an in-app search or filter input, so it doesn't overlap autocomplete or keyboard input.
Tapping the bubble: Tap once to start a hands-free session (tap the checkmark to finish), or press and hold to dictate and release to submit. A shrunken bubble restores to full size and starts dictation in one tap. During a hold, a Cancel button appears if transcription is taking too long. Offline, both gestures are blocked with a toast.
Always full size during dictation: The bubble expands to full size whenever you activate Flow, regardless of your shrink settings.
Drag and dock: Drag the bubble anywhere and it snaps to the nearest left or right edge. During a hold-to-dictate session the docked side is locked, so releasing your thumb won't flip it.
Drag-only during dictation: While recording, transcribing, or showing an error, taps go to the on-bubble buttons and only dragging moves the bubble.
Landscape positioning: The bubble positions itself correctly in landscape and reverse-landscape, including on devices with navigation bars or display cutouts, and when shrunk to a dot.
Hidden inside Wispr Flow: The bubble is hidden on Wispr Flow's own screens, except the Feedback/Report screen, the Report-a-transcription screen, and the Edit Profile dialog.
Repair indicators appear when you're typing: The pulsing spinner, retry icon, and warning triangle appear only when a text field is focused. If the accessibility connection drops while no text field is focused, the repair prompt shows the next time you tap into a text field.
Best practices
Enable Shrink to a dot for the least visual distraction between sessions.
Enable Shrink the bubble in search fields if the full-size bubble overlaps autocomplete suggestions.
How to set it up
Open the Wispr Flow app on your Android device.
Open Settings, then tap Flow Bubble Size in the General section.
Turn on Shrink the bubble when not in use.
Choose your sub-options: Shrink to a dot and/or Shrink the bubble in search fields.
Verify from your home screen: the bubble shrinks on its own after a few seconds idle, or immediately in a search field. Tap it — it expands and starts dictation.
Note: Turning the master toggle off grays out the sub-toggles but preserves your choices — re-enabling the master toggle restores them.
Tip: During onboarding, Flow detects the overlay and accessibility grants automatically and advances on its own — no need to manually return to the app.
FAQs
Can I use both shrink options at the same time?
Yes. They work independently: Shrink to a dot applies during general idle states, and Shrink the bubble in search fields applies when your cursor is in an in-app search or filter input.
Why doesn't the bubble appear at all?
The bubble requires the overlay permission and appears only when a text field is focused; when idle it is invisible and taps pass through to the app underneath. It is hidden while snoozed, while any onboarding screen is open, inside restricted banking and financial apps, and in password, numeric, and phone fields.
Onboarding is per account: if you sign in with an account that hasn't finished onboarding, the bubble stays hidden until it does. Signing back in with an already-onboarded account brings it back immediately.
What do the bubble's Repair states mean?
The bubble shows three distinct Repair states:
Pulsing spinner (reconnecting): "Flow Bubble is reconnecting. Dictation paused." Not tappable — it resolves on its own, and escalates to the retry icon if reconnection keeps failing.
Retry icon (service unresponsive): "Flow isn't responding. Tap to restart." Tap to restart the connection.
Warning triangle (permission revoked): "Flow Bubble disconnected. Tap to re-grant accessibility." A separate state, not an escalation of the spinner — it appears only when accessibility permission has been revoked in system Settings. Tap to open the in-app accessibility repair screen; opening system Accessibility Settings from there floats a guide over Settings that closes once accessibility is enabled.
A Repair indicator stays until the connection is restored and reappears the next time you focus a text field. On restore, it clears and the bubble confirms with "Flow Bubble reconnected."
What is the "Wispr Flow needs attention" notification?
It appears when accessibility permission has been revoked in system Settings; tapping it opens the in-app accessibility repair screen. If notifications are denied, Flow shows a toast instead: "Re-enable accessibility for Wispr Flow to keep working."
What is the "Flow isn't responding" notification?
It appears with a retry icon on the bubble when the accessibility service stops responding. Tapping the notification opens the app home screen, not the permission screen. If notifications are denied, Flow shows a toast instead: "Wispr Flow isn't responding. Open the app to restart it."
What happens to error prompts, and what changes offline?
Paste and Retry prompts auto-dismiss if you don't act on them; after you tap, the button briefly shows "Pasting…" or "Retrying…". When transcription fails, you'll see the toast "Failed to transcribe. Saved in the app." and the recording is kept locally so Retry works. Offline, error bubbles turn gray but Paste stays active so you can still paste locally.
If the network drops mid-dictation, Flow shows "Taking longer than usual. Your audio is saved in the app." and the recording is retryable from the transcript list on the Home screen.
What happens if I tap the Wispr icon when an error is showing?
If Flow failed to paste, tapping dismisses the bubble and keeps your text on the clipboard so you can paste manually. If Flow failed to transcribe, tapping starts a new dictation session.
Why is the bubble still showing after I revoked the microphone permission?
So you can re-grant access without relaunching the app. Tapping the bubble opens a permission screen that walks you through re-granting mic access. On Android 14 and later, Flow keeps running at reduced capability and resumes recording once the permission is restored.
How does snooze work?
Snooze lasts 10 minutes. Shake your device to end it early — shake-to-unsnooze works while you're in a text field and is disabled in restricted banking apps.
Why doesn't the bubble appear in my banking or financial app?
The bubble is intentionally hidden in restricted banking and financial apps for security. The built-in list covers well-known banking and financial apps in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Europe, India, Asia, Latin America, and South Africa, and updates with app releases.
Is this available on iPhone or iPad?
No. Bubble size customization is Android only.
Limitations and notes
These settings are Android only — not Mac, Windows, or iOS.
The master toggle Shrink the bubble when not in use must be on before the sub-options take effect.
Shrink the bubble in search fields does not apply to browser URL bars, and generally won't trigger in notification inline-reply boxes (like WhatsApp), because those aren't classified as search or filter inputs. Password, numeric, and phone fields are never treated as search fields.
Repair states temporarily override your size and shrink settings, and are suppressed during active dictation.
When snooze ends, the bubble returns to its default position on the right edge rather than where you last left it.
Bubble size and shrink preferences are saved per account. Signing back in to the same account restores your settings; a different account on the same device starts with defaults.
Still stuck?
Reach out to support if the bubble isn't behaving the way you expect. Most bubble issues are resolved in one reply. Include:
Your device model, Android version, and Wispr Flow version.
Which shrink options you have on, and the app where the issue happens.
What you expected vs. what the bubble actually did.