Using Notes in Wispr Flow for iOS

Last updated: June 26, 2026

Available on: iOS (with Scratchpad integration on Mac)

Capture thoughts by voice from your Lock Screen, Control Center, Siri, or Spotlight — without opening the app. Dictate and search notes on iPhone, then pick them up later from Scratchpad on Mac.

What it is

Notes is a dedicated note-taking surface inside Wispr Flow for iOS. What sets it apart is how many ways you can start a note without opening the app: a Lock Screen widget, Control Center buttons, Siri Shortcuts, the Action Button, and Spotlight search. Notes support markdown, sync across your signed-in devices, and are available in Scratchpad on Mac.

When to use it

Use Notes when you want to:

  • Dictate a quick thought, idea, or memo without typing

  • Capture notes hands-free using Siri — without opening the app

  • Start a new note directly from your Lock Screen, Control Center, or Action Button

  • Search your notes from the iOS home screen via Spotlight

How it works in Flow

Overview

The note editor opens inside Wispr Flow with a microphone button for dictation. Tap it to start speaking — text is inserted at your cursor, and a live waveform confirms Flow is listening.

Key behaviors

  • Editor toolbar: Shows a Back button (left), the note title with a pencil edit icon (center), and a read/edit mode toggle plus sync status indicator (right).

  • Floating mic button: Dictation launches from a circular mic button anchored at the bottom-right of the editor, not from the toolbar. Dictation also auto-starts when entering the editor from a widget.

  • Cursor-aware insertion: Text is inserted at your cursor, which defaults to the end of the note. Tap anywhere to reposition. When appending to a non-empty note, a line break is added first.

  • Dictation controls: A waveform animation confirms Flow is recording. Tap Cancel (✕) to discard or Done (✓) to stop and process.

  • Note titles: Tap the pencil icon in the toolbar to add or edit a title. Titles appear in the navigation bar, notes list, and Spotlight results.

  • Markdown formatting: Type #, ##, or ### followed by a space to create a heading (H1–H3). Type ---, ***, or ___ on its own line to insert a horizontal divider.

  • Ordered list nesting: Nested ordered lists cycle through 5 marker styles — level 1: decimal (1, 2, 3); level 2: uppercase letters (A, B, C); level 3: uppercase Roman (I, II, III); level 4: lowercase letters (a, b, c); level 5+: lowercase Roman (i, ii, iii), then cycling.

  • Preview mode: Tap the preview toggle in the toolbar to switch between editing and a formatted markdown preview.

  • AI summary: Tap the summary button on a note to generate a condensed summary of its contents.

  • Spotlight indexing: Note titles and content are indexed in iOS Spotlight. Tap a result to open and edit the note in Flow.

  • Auto-open on launch: Turn on "Start new note on app open" in Settings to open a new note automatically when you return to the Notes tab.

  • Note management: Notes are sorted by most recently modified and grouped by date. Use the search bar to find notes, swipe left for Share and Delete, or long-press a note for Copy, Edit, Share, and Delete.

  • Empty note auto-delete: If you save a note with no title and no content, it is automatically deleted — no confirmation is shown.

  • Auto-save: Changes save automatically as you work, and again when the app goes to the background.

  • Automatic sync: Notes sync automatically in the background while you use the app. Local edits are never overwritten by a server sync.

  • Manual sync: Pull down on the notes list, or tap the circular arrow (↺) button in the Notes nav bar. Sync requires sign-in and network connectivity, and is unavailable for HIPAA and Privacy Mode accounts.

Warning: Notes created via the Lock Screen widget or Control Center open in a full-screen capture view that does not auto-save and cannot be swiped away. Tap Save (top-right) to keep the note, or X (top-left) to discard. The Save button is disabled while dictation is recording or processing — stop dictation first.

Best practices

  • Add a descriptive title to each note — tap the pencil icon in the toolbar. Titles appear in the notes list and Spotlight results for faster searching.

  • Use heading shortcuts (#, ##, ###) to organize longer notes into sections as you type.

  • Use the preview toggle to check how your formatted markdown looks before sharing.

  • Tap the AI summary button on longer notes to get a condensed overview of key points.

How to set up widgets and shortcuts

Lock Screen widget

Add the Wispr Flow widget to your Lock Screen for one-tap note capture:

  1. Long-press your Lock Screen to enter edit mode.

  2. Tap Customize, then select the Lock Screen widget area.

  3. Tap the + button and search for Wispr Flow.

  4. Select the circular Wispr Flow widget and add it to your Lock Screen.

  5. Tap the widget from your Lock Screen to open a new note with dictation ready.

Note: The Wispr Flow Lock Screen widget is available as a circular widget only.

Control Center buttons

Wispr Flow offers two Control Center controls:

  • Flow Notes: Opens a new note with dictation.

  • Flow Toggle: Starts or stops Flow recording. Shows a stop icon when active and a record icon when inactive.

To add either:

  1. Open Settings → Control Center.

  2. Scroll to More Controls and find Wispr Flow.

  3. Tap + to add it to your Control Center.

Action Button

On iPhones with an Action Button, assign a Wispr Flow shortcut:

  1. Open Settings → Action Button.

  2. Swipe to the Shortcut option.

  3. Select a Wispr Flow shortcut (for example, Dictate a Flow note or Open Flow Notes).

  4. Press and hold the Action Button to confirm it triggers Flow.

Siri Shortcuts

Wispr Flow exposes six Siri Shortcuts:

  • Dictate a Flow note (phrases: "take Flow note", "dictate with Flow") — starts dictation.

  • Quick Dictation to Clipboard (phrases: "quick dictate with Flow", "dictate to clipboard with Flow") — dictates to clipboard.

  • Quick Dictation to Notes (phrases: "quick dictate to notes with Flow", "save note with Flow") — dictates and saves a note.

  • Turn On/Off (phrase: "turn on off Flow") — starts or stops recording.

  • Open Flow Notes (phrases: "Create note with Flow", "Create Flow note", "open Flow note") — opens a new note in the app.

  • Save Flow Note (phrases: "Save Flow note", "Quick Flow note") — fully hands-free: Siri prompts "What should the note say?" and saves without opening the app.

All shortcuts are available as soon as Wispr Flow is installed — no setup required. You can also add them to the Shortcuts app to customize their names or include them in automations.

Spotlight search

Spotlight indexing is enabled automatically for eligible accounts. To find a note:

  1. Swipe down from the middle of your home screen to open Spotlight Search.

  2. Type any word or phrase from a note's title or content.

  3. Tap a Wispr Flow result to open and edit that note in the app.

Scratchpad button in the Flow Bar (Mac)

On Mac, you can add a Scratchpad button to the Flow Bar for quick access to your notes. This is turned off by default — you can enable it at any time:

  1. Open Wispr Flow on Mac and go to Settings.

  2. Navigate to the Notes (or Scratchpad) settings page.

  3. Turn on the Add to Flow Bar toggle.

The Scratchpad button will appear in your Flow Bar immediately. Turn the toggle off at any time to remove it.

Common issues

Bugs fixed in recent updates

The following issues were resolved in recent versions of Wispr Flow for iOS. To apply the fixes:

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

  2. Restart the app after updating.

  • Notes not syncing at the end of a session: Notes and transcriptions could be out of date after finishing a dictation session. Notes now sync automatically when a session ends.

  • Notes missing after a launch problem: Wispr Flow could close unexpectedly when it had trouble loading local storage on launch. It now recovers automatically and opens in a limited mode — synced notes, dictionary words, and transcriptions continue to work, though notes created offline and not yet synced may be unavailable.

  • Live Activity widget showed garbled text: A localization bug caused the widget to display untranslated placeholder text instead of the proper label (for example, the word count). Translated labels now display correctly.

Examples

Dictating a quick meeting recap

You say: "Met with the design team, agreed on the new dashboard layout, next step is to finalize the color palette by Friday."

Flow types: Met with the design team, agreed on the new dashboard layout, next step is to finalize the color palette by Friday.

Starting a note from the Lock Screen

Action: Tap the Wispr Flow widget on your Lock Screen.

Result: A full-screen capture view opens with dictation ready. Speak your note, then tap Save to store it.

FAQs

Why don't I see the AI summary button on my notes?

AI summaries are disabled on accounts with data restrictions (see Limitations and notes). If you're on a standard account and still don't see it, update Wispr Flow to the latest version.

My notes aren't showing up in Spotlight. Why?

Spotlight indexing is disabled on accounts with data restrictions (see Limitations and notes). On a standard account, create a new note and wait a few moments for indexing to update.

Can I use Siri Shortcuts without setting anything up?

Yes. All Wispr Flow Siri Shortcuts are available as soon as the app is installed. Say the phrase to Siri — no additional setup required.

Can I create a note entirely hands-free with Siri?

Yes. Use the Save Flow Note Siri shortcut (phrases: "Save Flow note" or "Quick Flow note"). Siri prompts "What should the note say?", and your response is saved directly as a note without opening the Wispr Flow app.

My notes seem out of date across devices. How can I force a refresh?

Pull down on the notes list, or tap the refresh button in the navigation bar. For a full re-sync, go to Settings → Data & Privacy → Refresh notes from cloud. Local edits are never overwritten.

Can I access my notes from Scratchpad on Mac?

Yes. Scratchpad on Mac integrates with your iOS notes library. Open recent notes from a dropdown in Scratchpad, and any note you create or edit there is saved back to your library. To add a Scratchpad button to the Flow Bar for faster access, go to Settings → Notes (or Scratchpad) on Mac and turn on the Add to Flow Bar toggle.

I have a HIPAA/BAA account — can I use Notes?

Yes. Notes work normally, but they are stored locally only and do not sync across devices. AI summaries are also unavailable on these accounts. See Limitations and notes for the full list of restrictions.

Limitations and notes

  • Notes and all related features (widgets, Siri Shortcuts, Action Button shortcut, Spotlight) are available on iOS only.

  • Accounts with data restrictions — including HIPAA BAA-signed accounts and accounts with Privacy Mode turned on — have AI summaries and Spotlight indexing disabled. These restrictions cannot be changed by individual users when enforced by an organization administrator.

  • HIPAA BAA-signed accounts can create and use Notes, but notes are stored locally only and do not sync across devices. Pull-to-refresh and the manual sync button remain visible but have no effect for these accounts.

  • Lock Screen widgets require iOS 16 or later. Control Center customization requires iOS 18 or later. The Action Button is available on iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models, and all iPhone 17 models (including iPhone Air).

  • Spotlight indexes note titles and a portion of each note's content, so longer notes may not be fully searchable via Spotlight.

  • Spotlight indexing updates can take a few moments to reflect newly created or edited notes.

  • AI-generated summaries are not saved — they are generated on demand each time.

  • Scratchpad integration between iOS and Mac (recent notes dropdown, new note button) is available on Mac only. The Scratchpad button in the Flow Bar is opt-in — enable it via the Add to Flow Bar toggle in Settings on Mac.

  • Heading markdown shortcuts support H1–H3 only (#, ##, ###).

  • If the app has trouble loading local storage on launch, notes created offline and not yet synced may be lost. Synced notes are always recoverable.

Still need help?

Reach out to our support team if:

  • A note you created offline didn't reappear after updating and restarting the app

  • Spotlight, the Lock Screen widget, or a Siri Shortcut isn't working after following the setup steps above

  • Notes aren't syncing between iOS and Scratchpad on Mac on a standard (non-restricted) account

Include your iOS version, iPhone model, Wispr Flow version, and a short description of what you tried. Most issues are resolved in one reply.