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User Guide

Everything Flow Search can do, and how to set it up.

Adding your first widget

  1. Long press an empty area of your home screen
  2. Tap Widgets
  3. Scroll to Flow Search and pick a size
  4. Drag it onto the home screen
  5. The setup screen opens automatically

You can add more than one widget, each with its own buttons, colours and layout.

Widget sizes

Size Shape
4x1 Standard search bar
5x1 Wide search bar
4x2 Search bar plus a second row
5x2 Wide search bar plus a second row

After placing a widget you can resize it with the launcher's own resize handles, down to roughly a 1x1 square.

Choosing buttons

Open the widget's setup screen and pick from the Available Buttons palette. Buttons are grouped into six categories.

Free plan: up to 3 buttons per widget. Pro: up to 10 buttons per widget.

Button What it does
Voice Starts a voice search
Paste and Go Searches whatever is on your clipboard in one tap
History Opens your recent searches
Weather Opens a weather search
URL Opens a web address you configure
Query Runs a search phrase you configure
Lens Opens Google Lens
Discover Opens the Google Discover feed
Translate Opens translation
Provider Switches search engine without leaving the widget
AI Opens the AI assistant you configure
Private Runs the search in a private window

Recents, Notifications and Quick Settings open those system surfaces. These require accessibility access.

Capture

Screenshot, Screen Record, Camera and Recorder. Screenshot needs accessibility access, Screen Record needs screen capture permission, Camera needs camera access and Recorder needs microphone access.

Media

Media, Play and Pause, Next, Previous and Volume. These need notification listener access so the widget can read the active media session.

Utilities

App (launch any app), Speed Dial (call a contact), Calculator, Scan QR and Timer.

Device controls

Lock Screen, Power Menu, Flashlight, Ring Mode, Brightness, Brighten, Dim, Auto-Rotate, Do Not Disturb and Screen Timeout.

Lock Screen and Power Menu require accessibility access. Brightness, Brighten, Dim, Auto-Rotate and Screen Timeout require the Modify System Settings permission. Do Not Disturb requires notification policy access.

Appearance

Open Widget Appearance from the setup screen. The preview at the top updates live.

  • Colour - full hue picker, or a custom colour
  • Widget Color Theme - Light, Dark, System or Custom
  • Style - Material or Lumen
  • Rows - Auto or a single row
  • Transparency - separate sliders for the interface and the background
  • Background blur - blurs whatever is behind the widget

On Android 12 and above, choosing the System theme lets the widget follow your Material You wallpaper palette.

Templates

Templates are complete widget setups you can apply in one tap, such as a music deck, a focus layout or a travel kit. Apply one and then change anything you like.

Tapping the search bar opens the search overlay. Type once and Flow Search looks across:

  • Web suggestions
  • Installed apps
  • Contacts
  • Files and folders
  • Android settings

Search settings

Setting Effect
Search Suggestions Turns Google Suggest autocomplete on or off. With it off, nothing leaves your device while typing
Search History Keeps or stops keeping your recent searches, stored on device
App Suggestions Shows or hides installed apps in results
App Suggestions Alignment Left, centre or right
App Suggestions Layout Single row, multi row or grid

Search engines

Switch engine from the Provider button, or in Settings.

Free: Google, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo.jp, Baidu, Yandex.ru

Pro: Startpage, Brave Search, Ecosia, Qwant, Swisscows, MetaGer, Mojeek, Yandex.com

Custom search prefixes

Set a short prefix so a query goes straight to a specific engine or site. Type the prefix, then your query.

Selected apps

In Settings, Selected apps lets you pick apps to appear as launch tiles in the search overlay. Apps are grouped into categories and you can drag to reorder them. Apps you do not have installed appear dimmed and cannot be selected.

Permissions

Flow Search asks for a permission only when you add a button that needs it. Nothing is requested up front.

The free version shows ads inside the app's own screens. They never appear in the search bar widget or in the search overlay, and Pro removes them completely. On first launch you are asked for ad consent, and you can review that decision at any time from About → Privacy choices.

Permissions

If you deny a permission, only the button that needed it stops working. You can grant it later from Android Settings or by re-adding the button. See the Privacy Policy for exactly what each permission is used for.

Free and Pro

Free Pro
Widget buttons up to 3 up to 10
Search engines 5 all 13
Widgets unlimited unlimited
Appearance options all all
Ads in the app's own screens, never in the widget none