Longer dictation sessions — now up to 20 minutes

Last updated: July 4, 2026

Available on: Mac, Windows

Dictation sessions now run up to 20 minutes on desktop. Draft long emails, capture meeting notes, or think through an essay out loud — Flow keeps up the entire time.

What it is

The maximum length of a single dictation session is now 20 minutes on Mac and Windows. There's nothing to configure — start dictating and Flow handles the rest.

How it works in Flow

Key behaviors

  • One-minute warning: At the 19-minute mark, Flow shows an in-app notice letting you know you have less than a minute left before reaching the 20-minute limit.

  • Automatic submission at 20 minutes: Flow ends the session, transcribes what you said, and pastes it into your active text field. A "Transcription session ended" notification confirms the session ended and includes a Recover text button that re-pastes the last transcript.

  • Other ways to recover the last transcript: Re-paste the last transcript any time via the tray menu ("Paste last transcript") or the keyboard shortcut (Cmd+Ctrl+V on Mac, Shift+Alt+Z on Windows).

  • No cooldown between sessions: Once the previous transcript finishes processing (usually a few seconds), press your dictation hotkey to start again.

Best practices

  • Speak naturally — Flow handles pauses, filler words, and corrections.

  • Use voice commands like "new line" or "new paragraph" to structure your text as you go.

  • Wait for the previous transcript to finish before starting a new session. If you trigger dictation too early, Flow shows a "Flow was processing your last transcript" notice — let processing finish, then start again.

FAQs

Does this apply to all plans?

Yes. The 20-minute session limit applies to both Basic (free) and Pro plans on Mac and Windows.

What about iOS and Android?

This update applies to desktop only. On iOS, the session limit is 5 minutes. Android does not enforce a maximum session duration.

Can I dictate for longer than 20 minutes?

Yes. Start a new session as soon as the previous one finishes processing — there's no cooldown.

Limitations and notes

  • This update applies to Mac and Windows only. Mobile session limits are unchanged.

  • Basic (free) plan customers on desktop have a soft weekly word limit of 2,000 words — after this, Flow shows upgrade prompts but does not throttle dictation. A hard cap of 5,000 words on desktop blocks dictation entirely until the weekly limit resets.

  • Basic (free) customers on iOS have a separate weekly word allowance; see our pricing page for current limits.

  • The weekly word limit resets each Sunday evening (UTC).