Customize Flow Bubble Size and Shrink Behavior on Android

Last updated: July 30, 2026

Available on: Android 13 and later

The Flow Bubble sits on your screen while you dictate. If it feels too prominent between sessions, shrink it to a small dot or have it auto-hide in search fields — so it stays out of your way until you need it.

What it is

Bubble size customization controls how the Flow Bubble behaves when you're not actively dictating. The bubble can shrink to take up less screen space and returns to full size automatically when you activate Flow.

You'll find these options on the Flow Bubble Size screen inside the Wispr Flow app, alongside a size slider with a live preview and a Reset button. The slider offers four size options — small, default, large, and extra large — with small/large A labels at the slider endpoints to indicate size. The Reset button only resets the slider — it does not change the shrink toggles.

A separate Flow Bubble Opacity screen sits alongside Flow Bubble Size in the same Settings section. It has its own stepped slider with five discrete positions and its own Reset button. Opacity is also saved per account.

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

Overview

When Shrink the bubble when not in use is on, the bubble automatically reduces in size during idle moments and expands back to full size when you activate Flow to dictate.

Key behaviors

  • Shrink the bubble when not in use: The master toggle. Turns on auto-shrink when the bubble is idle and unlocks the sub-options below.

  • Shrink to a dot: Reduces the bubble to a minimal dot when Flow is idle, making it nearly invisible until you need it.

  • 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 with autocomplete or keyboard input.

  • Single-tap restore and record: Tapping a shrunken bubble restores its full size and starts dictation in one gesture — no second tap needed.

  • Always full size during dictation: The bubble expands to full size whenever you activate Flow, regardless of your shrink settings.

  • Landscape positioning: The bubble positions itself correctly when you rotate your device to landscape or reverse-landscape orientation, including on devices with navigation bars or display cutouts, and including when shrunk to a dot.

  • Hidden inside Wispr Flow: The bubble is automatically hidden while you're inside Wispr Flow's own app screens, except on the Feedback/Report screen and the Edit Profile dialog.

  • Repair indicators appear when you're typing: The pulsing spinner, retry icon, and warning triangle only appear when a text field is focused. If the accessibility connection drops while no text field is focused, the repair prompt is stored and shows the next time you tap into a text field.

Best practices

  • Enable Shrink to a dot if you want the least visual distraction between dictation sessions.

  • Enable Shrink the bubble in search fields if the full-size bubble overlaps with autocomplete suggestions.

  • Turn on both sub-options together — they apply in different contexts and don't conflict.

How to set it up

  1. Open the Wispr Flow app on your Android device.

  2. Open Settings, then tap Flow Bubble Size in the General section.

  3. Turn on Shrink the bubble when not in use.

  4. Choose your sub-options: Shrink to a dot and/or Shrink the bubble in search fields.

  5. Verify by returning to your home screen and waiting a few seconds. The bubble should shrink on its own. Tap it — it expands back to full size and starts a dictation session, confirming the setting works.

Note: The sub-options only take effect when the master toggle is on. If you turn the master toggle off, the sub-toggles gray out but your choices are preserved — re-enabling the master toggle restores them.

Common issues

Bubble appears active but text stops being inserted into the app

This was caused by some Android devices with aggressive battery-saving or deep-sleep modes dropping Flow's accessibility connection without notice. Fixed in the latest version — Flow now detects the dropped connection immediately and signals it through the bubble (pulsing spinner while reconnecting, warning triangle if it needs your help). Once the connection is restored, you'll see a "Flow Bubble reconnected." message. To apply the fix:

  1. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version from the Play Store.

  2. Restart Flow after updating.

"Wispr Flow needs attention" notification (accessibility permission revoked)

This notification appears only when accessibility permission has been genuinely revoked in system Settings. Tapping it opens the in-app accessibility repair screen. If notifications are denied, Flow shows a toast with the same message instead: "Re-enable accessibility for Wispr Flow to keep working."

"Flow isn't responding" notification (battery-saver disconnected the service)

This notification appears when battery-saver or a manufacturer's deep-sleep mode disconnects Flow's accessibility service while the permission is still granted. Tapping it opens the app home screen (not the permission screen). If notifications are denied, Flow shows a toast with the same message instead: "Wispr Flow isn't responding. Open the app to restart it."

Bugs fixed in recent updates

Several Flow Bubble issues have been resolved in recent releases. If you're seeing any of the symptoms below, update Wispr Flow from the Play Store and restart Flow:

  • Bubble size, opacity, and shrink settings were not saved when signing out and back in, or were shared with a different account on the same device. Fixed — these settings are now saved per account. Signing back in to your own account restores your customizations; a different account on the same device starts with defaults.

  • Bubble clipped or cut off in landscape or reverse-landscape orientation on devices with navigation bars or display cutouts, including when shrunk to a dot. Fixed.

  • Bubble didn't shrink when focused on a search field, or its position was wrong after rotating to landscape. Fixed.

  • Bubble reappeared after being snoozed when the keyboard opened, or the snooze card stayed stuck on screen after force-stopping Flow. Fixed — snooze now persists correctly and the card clears as expected.

  • Shaking the device to unsnooze Flow stopped working. Fixed.

  • Repair prompt (warning triangle) didn't appear on app launch when accessibility was already disabled. Fixed.

  • Repair prompt could be accidentally dismissed by tapping away, shaking the device, or typing. Fixed — it now stays visible until accessibility is re-granted.

  • Snooze and the Repair prompt interfered with each other. Fixed. When the accessibility service drops while Flow is snoozed, Flow now automatically cancels the snooze and surfaces the Repair prompt so you can fix it. Conversely, trying to snooze while the Repair prompt is showing is blocked with a toast: "Snooze is unavailable while accessibility needs attention."

  • Bubble disappeared when microphone permission was revoked at the exact moment Flow was starting up. Fixed — the bubble now stays on screen so you can re-grant the permission without relaunching the app.

  • Bubble didn't shrink immediately when tapping into a search field. Fixed.

  • Shaking the device with the keyboard open moved the bubble to the wrong position. Fixed.

  • Revoking microphone permission caused the app to crash repeatedly on Android 14 and later. Fixed — the bubble now continues running in a non-recording state and prompts you to re-grant the permission instead of crashing.

  • Pulsing spinner or warning triangle was delayed after Flow lost its connection. Fixed — the bubble now signals connection loss reliably. Brief transient drops are still smoothed over so you don't see false alarms during normal reconnects.

  • Bubble didn't appear after enabling accessibility permissions, finishing onboarding, signing back in, or restarting the device. Fixed.

  • Bubble flickered or hid unexpectedly when tapping into a text field. Fixed.

  • Bubble disappeared in browser URL bars or notification reply boxes (such as WhatsApp inline replies). Fixed.

  • Bubble shrank when tapping into a browser URL bar instead of staying full-size. Fixed.

  • Bubble briefly shrank then expanded when tapping to start a recording. Fixed.

  • Recording bubble looked cut off, with the waveform or buttons clipped, after a fresh install or clearing app data. Fixed.

  • Flow Bubble showed a blank screen on some devices. Fixed.

To apply any of these fixes:

  1. Update Wispr Flow to the latest version from the Play Store.

  2. Restart Flow after updating.

FAQs

Will the bubble still expand when I want to dictate?

Yes. The bubble returns to full size as soon as you activate Flow, no matter which shrink options are on.

Can I use both shrink options at the same time?

Yes. 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. They work independently.

Are my bubble size and shrink settings saved when I sign out?

Yes — if you sign back in to the same account, your bubble size, opacity, and shrink preferences are fully restored. If a different account signs in on the same device, that account starts with default settings and does not inherit your customizations.

What does the pulsing bubble with a spinner mean?

Flow temporarily lost its connection to Android's accessibility service and is restoring it. Wait a few seconds — it usually resolves on its own. If reconnection keeps failing, the spinner escalates to the retry icon (tap to restart the connection). The warning triangle only appears if accessibility permission has been revoked in system Settings — it is a separate state, not an escalation of the spinner.

What does the warning triangle on the bubble mean?

The bubble can show three distinct Repair states, each meaning something different:

  • Pulsing spinner (reconnecting): Flow is reconnecting to the accessibility service. Not tappable — it resolves on its own. If reconnection keeps failing, it escalates to the retry icon.

  • Retry icon (service unresponsive): The accessibility service isn't responding. Tap to restart the connection.

  • Warning triangle (permission revoked): Accessibility permission is missing. This is a separate state that appears only when the permission has actually been revoked in system Settings. Tap to open the in-app permission screen, which offers a button to open the system Accessibility Settings.

The Repair indicator stays until the connection is restored — it gets out of the way when you're not typing, and reappears next time you focus a text field.

Why is the bubble still showing after I revoked the microphone permission?

So you can re-grant access without relaunching the app. The bubble stays on screen in a non-recording state — tapping it opens a dedicated permission screen that walks you through re-granting the mic permission. On Android 14 and later, Flow keeps running at reduced capability and resumes full recording automatically once the permission is restored.

Can I snooze Wispr Flow while the warning triangle is showing?

No. Snoozing is not available while the Repair prompt is active. Re-grant accessibility permission first, then snooze will work as normal.

How long does snooze last?

Snooze lasts 10 minutes. When it starts, you'll see a toast: "Wispr Flow is snoozed for 10 min. Shake your phone to bring it back."

What happens if I tap the Wispr icon when an error is showing?

It depends on the error. If Flow failed to paste your text, tapping dismisses the bubble and keeps your text on the clipboard so you can paste it manually. If Flow failed to transcribe, tapping starts a new dictation session right away.

How do I unsnooze Flow early?

Shake your device to exit snooze mode early and bring the bubble back. This works as long as Flow is not in the Repair state (warning triangle) and your device screen is unlocked — shake-to-unsnooze does not work while the device is locked.

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. Flow maintains a list of these apps where the bubble does not appear.

Is this available on iPhone or iPad?

No. Bubble size customization is Android only.

Limitations and notes

  • These settings are available on Android 13 and later — not on older Android versions, Mac, Windows, or iOS.

  • The master toggle Shrink the bubble when not in use must be on before the sub-options take effect.

  • The bubble always expands to full size during active dictation, regardless of shrink settings.

  • Shrink the bubble in search fields does not apply to browser URL bars or notification inline-reply fields (like WhatsApp) — the bubble stays full-size in them.

  • The pulsing spinner and warning triangle (Repair prompt) states override your size and shrink settings temporarily. They are suppressed during active dictation so they don't interrupt a live recording.

  • Snooze persists across keyboard open and close, but does not survive a full force-stop of Flow. If you force-stop the app, the bubble returns to its normal behavior on next launch instead of resuming the snooze countdown.

  • Bubble size, opacity, and shrink preferences are saved per account. Signing back in to the same account restores your settings; a different account signing in on the same device starts with defaults.

Still stuck?

If the bubble still isn't behaving the way you expect, reach out to support. 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.

  • A short description of what you expected vs. what the bubble actually did.