Snooze the Dictation Bubble

Last updated: September 7, 2026

Available on: Android

Need the Flow Bubble out of the way for a screenshot, a video, or a focused task? Drag it to the bottom of the screen to snooze it for 10 minutes. Shake your phone or tap End snooze now in the app to bring it back early.

When to use it

Use snooze when you want to:

  • Clear screen space for reading or watching content.

  • Take screenshots without the bubble appearing.

  • Avoid accidental taps during gaming or other full-screen activities.

How it works in Flow

Key behaviors

  • Snoozing the bubble: Drag the Flow Bubble to the bottom of the screen and release it into the snooze zone; a toast confirms "Wispr Flow is snoozed for 10 min. Shake your phone to bring it back." Releasing away from the target cancels.

  • When snooze is available: Only when the bubble is idle and waiting on a text field. Mid-dictation or while Flow is processing, the snooze target won't appear — finish or cancel dictation first.

  • Shake to un-snooze: With your phone unlocked, shake firmly back and forth a couple of times; a single light shake won't trigger it. The bubble reappears with haptic feedback and the toast "Wispr Flow is back!"

  • End snooze from the app: Tap End snooze now on the Wispr Flow home screen. The bubble reappears the next time you tap into a text field, with the toast "Flow Bubble is back and will appear next time you are in a text box."

  • Text fields stay ignored: While snoozed, tapping into a text field does not bring the bubble back.

  • Snooze yields to accessibility repair: You can't snooze a bubble that is prompting you to re-grant accessibility permission, and losing accessibility while snoozed cancels the snooze so the repair prompt stays visible.

Best practices

  • Finish any active dictation first. Android dictation sessions are capped at 5 minutes, with a warning toast at 1 minute remaining, so a long dictation ends on its own before you can snooze.

  • Use snooze for short interruptions like screenshots or a quick video; for longer breaks, turn off the Flow Bubble service instead.

Note: Snooze fully hides the bubble for 10 minutes; shrink reduces it to a small icon while keeping it visible and active. Settings → Flow Bubble Size holds a size slider with Reset, plus the shrink toggles: "Shrink the bubble when not in use" (master), "Shrink to a dot" and "Shrink the bubble in search fields" (both greyed out until the master toggle is on).

Examples

Snoozing before taking a screenshot

What you do: Drag the Flow Bubble to the bottom of the screen and release it into the snooze zone.

What happens: The bubble disappears. Take your screenshot, then shake your phone to bring it back.

Bringing the bubble back early with shake

What you do: While Flow is snoozed, unlock your phone and shake it firmly back and forth a couple of times.

What happens: The bubble reappears on the right side of the screen.

FAQs

What happens after 10 minutes?

The bubble comes back automatically and Wispr Flow works normally.

What does the "Bubble is snoozed" card on the home screen say?

It reads "To bring it back shake your phone when you are inside a text box." and includes an End snooze now button.

I saw the "Flow Bubble is back" toast, but I didn't tap End snooze now — why?

That toast also appears when the Flow Bubble service restarts — for example, after tapping Turn Back On from the "Flow Bubble Disabled" card. That is expected.

Does the microphone stay on after I snooze the bubble?

No. Snooze is only available when the bubble is idle, so the microphone is not active when you snooze.

Does shake detection drain my battery?

No. Shake detection runs only while the bubble is snoozed; otherwise Wispr Flow does not check motion sensors.

Why can't I snooze the bubble?

Two accessibility problems block snooze:

  • Permission revoked: You see a "Flow can't insert text" card or a "Wispr Flow needs attention" notification. Re-grant accessibility permission in your device's Settings.

  • Service unresponsive with permission still granted: You see a "Flow isn't responding" notification reading "Tap to restart Wispr Flow." Restart Flow instead of re-granting permission; a "Flow Bubble reconnected." toast confirms recovery.

The bubble is missing but I didn't snooze it — what happened?

Check these causes:

  • Flow Bubble service turned off: Open Wispr Flow and tap Turn Back On on the "Flow Bubble Disabled" card.

  • Shrink active: The bubble may have shrunk to a small icon or dot. Tap or long-press it to restore full size, or adjust Settings → Flow Bubble Size.

  • Low opacity: Open settings and tap Reset next to Flow Bubble Opacity.

  • Missing "Display over other apps" permission: On the "Enable Flow bubble on screen" card, tap Go to Settings.

  • Missing microphone permission: On the "We can't hear you" card, tap Allow Microphone.

  • Battery optimization: On the "Keep Wispr Flow running" card, tap Allow to exempt Wispr Flow.

Limitations and notes

  • Snooze duration is fixed at 10 minutes and cannot be customized. End it early by shaking your phone or tapping End snooze now in the app.

  • Snooze is unavailable while the bubble is prompting you to re-grant accessibility permission.

  • Shake to un-snooze requires an unlocked phone and works only while the bubble is snoozed. It is blocked inside some banking and financial apps, where shaking has no effect and no message is shown.

  • The bubble returns to its default position on the right side of the screen after snooze ends, not to where you left it.

  • Snooze does not survive a force-stop. After a force-stop, Android blocks automatic restart — the bubble only returns the next time you open the Wispr Flow app.

  • When a dictation hits the 5-minute cap, Android posts a "Session ended" notification ("Flow supports up to 5 minutes per session"), plus the "Session ended, 5-minute limit reached" toast.