Keyboard and Screen Reader Accessibility in Wispr Flow

Last updated: April 30, 2026

Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android

Navigate Flow with your keyboard, work with screen readers like VoiceOver, NVDA, JAWS, or TalkBack, and respect your system's reduced motion preference. Accessibility features are built in and active by default — no setup required.

What it is

Wispr Flow includes built-in accessibility features that let you control the app with your keyboard, work seamlessly with screen readers, and follow your system's reduced motion preferences. These features are always active — no configuration needed.

How it works in Flow

Keyboard navigation

Navigate Flow's interface entirely with your keyboard. A visible focus ring shows which element is currently selected.

  • Tab: Move focus between interactive elements.

  • Space or Enter: Activate the focused item.

  • Escape: Close menus and return to previous focus.

  • Cmd+[ / Cmd+] (Mac) or Ctrl+[ / Ctrl+] (Windows): Navigate back and forward in Hub history.

  • Option+2/3/4/5 (Mac) or Win+Alt+2/3/4/5 (Windows): Apply a repolish style to selected text — including options like Prompt Engineer and Turn to list.

  • View changes hotkey (Mac): Customizable in the keyboard shortcuts settings dialog.

Note: Repolish shortcuts are not registered until you first visit the Transforms tab, click "Try it out," or toggle Transforms on. Until then, Option+key characters on international keyboards (such as ñ, ö) work normally.

Screen reader support

Flow uses semantic HTML and ARIA attributes for screen reader compatibility. It works with VoiceOver (Mac), NVDA and JAWS (Windows), and TalkBack (Android).

  • Interactive elements: States are announced correctly (expanded, collapsed, disabled).

  • Navigation landmarks: Main and secondary navigation regions help you understand page structure.

  • Active page: Announced via aria-current for orientation.

  • Focus management: Logical reading order is maintained throughout the app.

  • Decorative images: Hidden from screen readers to reduce noise.

  • Disabled controls: Communicated via both the HTML disabled attribute and aria-disabled. Loading states show a "Loading" label for screen readers.

  • Help menu: Uses a full ARIA dialog pattern — the Help button announces its expanded/collapsed state, the menu panel is announced as a dialog, and menu items are keyboard-focusable only when the menu is open.

Android-specific behaviors

Several Android screens are optimized for TalkBack accessibility.

  • Accessibility setup guide: The guide image shown during accessibility settings setup is announced by TalkBack with a proper description.

  • Styles screen: Uses standard Material3 components. Cancel and Save in the style editing sheet are not semantically marked as buttons, so TalkBack may not announce them with standard button affordances.

  • Dictionary screen: Search, word list, add/edit/delete actions, and filter chips (enterprise users only) are accessible with TalkBack. Swipe-to-edit and swipe-to-delete icons have proper labels.

  • Back button behavior: On the main Dashboard, pressing back first closes the navigation drawer if it's open. If the drawer is closed and you're on a non-home tab, the first back press dismisses the keyboard and the second returns you to the Home tab. On the Home tab, back dismisses the keyboard or exits the app as normal.

  • Navigation drawer and keyboard: Opening the navigation drawer automatically hides the on-screen keyboard to prevent overlap.

  • Flow Bubble visibility: The Flow Bubble appears when your on-screen keyboard opens and disappears when it closes. With an external keyboard, the on-screen keyboard does not open, so the bubble does not appear.

  • Accessibility permission recovery: On some Android devices — particularly OnePlus, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung — the operating system can silently disable Flow's accessibility permission even though it still appears enabled in Settings. Flow detects this automatically and sends a notification ("Wispr Flow needs attention") with a direct link to Accessibility Settings so you can re-enable it in one tap.

iOS keyboard behaviors

The Wispr QWERTY keyboard on iOS includes improvements that make typing more accessible and forgiving.

  • Tap accuracy: Tapping in the gap between keys activates the nearest key instead of doing nothing.

  • Autocorrect: Automatically corrects misspelled words when you press space, return, or punctuation — for example, typing "teh" produces "the." Acronyms and words containing digits are left unchanged. Toggle Keyboard Autocorrect on or off in Settings (disabled by default).

  • Keyboard layout: The Shift and Delete keys are smaller with gaps separating them from the letter keys. The spacebar fills the full width of the bottom row. Double-tapping Space inserts a period followed by a space.

  • Globe button (small-screen iPhones): A globe (🌐) button appears on the bottom row on small-screen iPhone models such as iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation). Tap it to switch to another installed keyboard.

  • Space bar timing: The space bar inserts a space when you lift your finger, matching the native iOS keyboard. Long-pressing the space bar to move the cursor still works as expected.

  • Typing performance: Reduced lag and fewer dropped keys during rapid typing.

  • Swipe back to activate mic (iOS 26.4 and later): When you need to swipe back to your previous app to activate the microphone, Flow shows a "Swipe back to your app" screen with a prompt that reads "Swipe right on the bottom bar" and an animation guiding the gesture.

Reduced motion

Flow respects your system's reduced motion preference. When enabled, animations are minimized — including the onboarding hold toast and the animated glow ring around the Start Flow button on the keyboard.

To enable reduced motion:

  • Mac: System Settings → Accessibility → Display → enable Reduce Motion.

  • Windows: Settings → Accessibility → Visual effects → turn off Animation effects.

Tip: Flow detects this preference automatically — no configuration needed in the app.

Examples

Navigating the Help menu with the keyboard

You do: Press Tab to the Help icon and press Space or Enter to open the menu. Tab through menu options and press Enter to select.

Result: The menu opens and each option receives focus in sequence. Press Escape to close the menu and return focus to the Help button.

Using Flow with VoiceOver on Mac

You do: Enable VoiceOver (Cmd+F5) and navigate to the Flow Bar.

Flow announces: Navigation landmarks, interactive element states, and the currently active page — letting you orient yourself without visual cues.

Editing a writing style with TalkBack on Android

You do: Open the Styles screen and use the category picker to browse style groups. Tap a style to open the editing sheet.

Flow announces: The sheet header with Cancel and Save buttons. Swipe to the Save button and double-tap to apply, or swipe to Cancel to discard changes.

Using the back button to dismiss the keyboard on Android

You do: On a non-home tab in the Dashboard, tap a text field so the keyboard appears, then press the back button.

Result: The first back press dismisses the keyboard. Pressing back again returns you to the Home tab.

Using autocorrect on the iOS keyboard

You do: Type "teh " (with a space) on the Wispr QWERTY keyboard.

Result: Flow corrects it to "the." To disable this, go to Settings and turn off the Keyboard Autocorrect toggle.

Switching keyboards on an iPhone SE using the globe button

You do: Tap the globe (🌐) button on the bottom row of the Wispr QWERTY keyboard on an iPhone SE (2nd or 3rd generation).

Result: Your device switches to the next installed keyboard, just like the system globe button on larger iPhones.

Applying a repolish style with a keyboard shortcut

You do: Select some text, then press Option+2 (Mac) or Win+Alt+2 (Windows).

Result: Flow applies the selected polishing style (such as Prompt Engineer or Turn to list) without lifting your hands from the keyboard. Use Option/Win+Alt+3, +4, or +5 for the other available styles.

FAQs

Can I use keyboard navigation alongside voice input?

Yes. Keyboard navigation and voice-to-text work independently. Use keyboard shortcuts to navigate the interface while using voice input for dictation.

The Help menu isn't closing when I press Escape. What should I do?

Make sure the Help menu has focus before pressing Escape. Tab to it first, then press Escape. If it still doesn't close, click elsewhere in the app to dismiss the menu.

Why do I see a warning about accessibility shortcuts on Android?

During Android onboarding, Flow warns you not to enable the accessibility shortcut. If the shortcut is already enabled, an error screen appears with an "Open settings" button to take you to your device's Accessibility Settings. Turn the shortcut off and onboarding resumes automatically.

The Flow bubble and text insertion stopped working on my Android even though the accessibility permission looks enabled. What's happening?

Some Android devices — especially OnePlus, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung — can silently disable Flow's accessibility permission in the background, even when it appears enabled in Settings. Flow detects this automatically and sends a notification ("Wispr Flow needs attention"). Tap it to go directly to Accessibility Settings and re-enable the service.

Can I turn off autocorrect on the iOS keyboard?

Yes. Go to Settings in Wispr Flow and toggle off Keyboard Autocorrect. The toggle is only visible when the Wispr QWERTY keyboard is active, and autocorrect is disabled by default.

I can't switch away from the Wispr keyboard on my iPhone SE. What can I do?

Tap the globe (🌐) button on the bottom row of the Wispr keyboard. Make sure you have at least one other keyboard installed in Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards.

I don't see the repolish keyboard shortcuts. Why not?

The repolish shortcuts are available on Mac and Windows only. They activate after you first visit the Transforms tab, click "Try it out," or toggle Transforms on.

My Option+key special characters stopped working on an international keyboard. What happened?

Visiting the Transforms tab, clicking "Try it out," or toggling Transforms on activates the Transforms shortcuts (Option+1, Option+2, etc.). If these conflict with your layout's special characters (such as ñ or ö), customize or disable the Transforms shortcuts in the keyboard shortcuts settings dialog.

Limitations and notes

  • Tested screen readers: VoiceOver (Mac), NVDA and JAWS (Windows), and TalkBack (Android). Other screen readers have not been tested.

  • Hub top bar: Controls (sidebar toggle, account panel, notifications) are not yet keyboard-accessible.

  • Collapsed sidebar: The floating tooltip that appears on hover is mouse-only and does not appear on keyboard focus. Item labels remain in the DOM, so screen readers can still read them.

  • Tab controls: Tab controls throughout the app (e.g., Stats dialog tabs) are not yet keyboard-navigable or properly announced by screen readers. The Settings sidebar navigation also lacks keyboard accessibility and ARIA roles.

  • Icon-only buttons: Some icon-only buttons (e.g., Dictionary search and sort) lack accessible labels for screen readers.

  • Help menu focus: Clicking outside the Help menu closes it but does not return focus to the Help button. Press Escape instead to close the menu and properly return focus.

  • Hub stats bar: The streaks/words/WPM stats bar is not keyboard-accessible — it cannot be focused via Tab or activated via Enter.

  • Android accessibility shortcut error screen: The alert icon on this screen has a non-descriptive label ("Image") for TalkBack users.

  • Start Flow button glow ring: The animated glow ring around the Start Flow button is only visible when the QWERTY keyboard option is enabled.

  • iOS autocorrect: Autocorrect applies only when using the Wispr QWERTY keyboard. The Keyboard Autocorrect toggle only appears for users enrolled in the Wispr QWERTY keyboard rollout.

  • Disabled tabs: Disabled tabs (e.g., "Coming soon" tabs) are only visually indicated — no aria-disabled attribute is communicated to screen readers.

  • Android Styles screen: The Save button's disabled state is not communicated to accessibility services.

  • Globe button availability: The globe (🌐) button only appears on small-screen iPhone models (iPhone SE 2nd and 3rd generation, 4.7" screens). On larger iPhones, the system globe button is already available.

  • Repolish shortcuts: Available on Mac and Windows only.

  • Android back button behavior: The predictable back button behavior (closing the drawer, dismissing the keyboard, returning to Home tab) applies to the main Dashboard screen only.

  • Swipe back screen: The "Swipe back to your app" screen is available on iOS 26.4 and later only.

  • Android version requirement: Wispr Flow requires Android 13 or later.

  • Accessibility permission recovery notifications: Available on Android 13 and later, and most relevant on OnePlus, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung devices.