Window flowDesktop windows,right in your hand.
Step away from the computer and its windows can come along on your phone or tablet: tap and type right in them, with the sound too, while the window keeps running in the background on the computer. And an Android phone’s apps can open on a computer, for the keyboard and mouse.
Getting started
- 1
Connect
Open Whisper on both devices and connect them. The first time, compare the pairing code.
- 2
Open Flow
Open Device Details at the top right of the conversation and select Flow to see the other device’s windows and apps.
- 3
Open one
Select a window or app and it opens here, ready to use.
Not just to look at. To use.
Use it directly
Tap and swipe on a phone or tablet, or attach a keyboard and mouse. On a computer each window is its own system window, with your keyboard, mouse, and input methods.
The keyboard hides nothing
When the on-screen keyboard comes up, the window on the other device gets shorter, so what you are typing stays in view.
Sound comes along
Sound from the window plays on this side.
Runs in the background
The window keeps running on its computer, off that screen, and goes back where it was afterwards.
Android apps on the computer
Apps on an Android phone can flow to a computer for the keyboard and mouse, while the phone carries on with other things.
Send a window over
Choose Send to in Flow to move one of your windows to another device; it comes back when it is closed there.
Platforms and requirements
- macOSmacOSShares and views
Needs macOS 12.3 or later, with Screen & System Audio Recording and Accessibility allowed in System Settings.
- WindowsWindowsShares and views
Needs Windows 10 (1903) or later; windows running as administrator cannot be shared.
- LinuxLinuxViews; shares on GNOME, KDE
Sharing this computer’s windows needs a Wayland session: GNOME 45 or later, with a one-time helper install from Settings and a fresh login, or KDE Plasma 6, with nothing to install and no permission prompt. FFmpeg also needs an x264 or openh264 encoder. X11 can only view for now. Showing windows needs FFmpeg 4 or later.
- AndroidAndroidViews; apps flow to computers
Needs Android 10 or later. The first time, connect the phone by cable to a computer with adb installed, USB debugging on; after that other computers need no cable. App sound needs Android 13 or later.
Questions
How is this different from remote desktop?
Remote desktop brings over the whole screen; flow brings one window or app at a time, which fills this screen and is sized for it, while the other computer’s screen stays as it is. It only works on your local network, for your own devices nearby.
Does it use a lot of network?
Quality has four levels, Smooth, Standard, High, and Best; higher looks sharper and uses more. Pause stops the picture when you are not watching; phones and tablets pause a window when you leave it and close it after 10 minutes paused.
Does it work while the computer is locked?
No. Nothing can be captured while the computer is locked; unlock it first.
Which windows cannot be shared?
Windows running as administrator, and windows and apps that block screen capture, such as some banking apps. A few Windows apps cannot run in the background and are shared in place.
Does the Android phone need to stay plugged in?
No. After it is started once over a cable from a computer running Whisper with adb (Android SDK Platform-Tools) installed, the phone’s window flow service keeps running and your other trusted computers need no cable; after the phone restarts, connect it once more. Xiaomi phones also need “USB debugging (Security settings)” in Developer options, then a restart.
Still curious?