Available on: Android
If Flow suddenly submitted your text mid-thought, or you noticed a "1 minute left" toast message, your dictation session hit the 5-minute limit. Here's how it works and how to keep dictating without losing anything.
Each dictation session on Android has a maximum duration of 5 minutes. When a session reaches that limit, Flow automatically stops recording and submits whatever you've dictated up to that point. This applies to all dictation sessions regardless of the app you're dictating into.
The session timer starts when Flow enters the active listening state, which may be a moment after you tap the bubble. The brief setup time before recording begins does not count against the 5-minute limit. Flow gives you a warning before the limit is reached, then automatically submits your transcription at the 5-minute mark.
4-minute warning: A toast message appears saying "1 minute left before you reach the 5-minute limit," accompanied by a sound alert.
Auto-submit at 5 minutes: Flow stops recording and submits your transcription automatically — no action required from you.
Toast at 5 minutes: A toast message "Session ended, 5-minute limit reached" appears when the session auto-stops.
System notification on session end: A system notification titled "Session ended" appears, with the message "Flow supports up to 5 minutes per session."
Text is inserted at your cursor: The auto-submitted transcription is inserted into the active text field, the same as a normal dictation submission.
Note: Sound effects on Android are always on and cannot be disabled in settings.
Treat the 4-minute toast and sound as your cue to wrap up your current thought before the session submits.
Start a new dictation session immediately after auto-submit if you have more to say — sessions can be chained back-to-back with no cooldown.
Break long content into natural sections (paragraphs, bullet points) so each session covers one complete chunk.
Will I lose any of my dictation when the session auto-submits?
No. Everything you dictated up to the 5-minute mark is transcribed and inserted. If the text field has lost focus when the session auto-stops, Flow places your transcription on the clipboard so you can paste it manually.
Can I dictate more than 5 minutes of content in one sitting?
Yes. After a session auto-submits, start a new session immediately and continue dictating. There is no cooldown between sessions.
Why is there a 5-minute limit?
The limit ensures stable performance and reliable text insertion across apps. Very long continuous sessions increase the chance of processing issues or insertion failures.
Does the 5-minute limit apply on other platforms?
Desktop (Mac and Windows) has a 20-minute session limit. At 19 minutes you see a warning notification — "You have <1 minute left before you reach the 20 minute limit!" — and the session auto-stops at 20 minutes with the notification "Flow supports up to 20 minutes per session."
iOS does not currently enforce a hard session time limit. The specific toast messages and system notifications described in this article are Android-specific.
The 5-minute session limit is Android-specific and was introduced in version 1.3.3.
There is no visible countdown timer or progress indicator on the floating bubble during dictation. The sound and toast message at 4 minutes are the only advance warnings.
Auto-submit inserts text into the active field at the time of submission. If you've switched apps or moved your cursor, insertion may go to a different location than expected.
If your device runs out of storage during a recording, the session stops immediately with an error message — this is separate from the 5-minute time limit.