What is a Live Activity?
A Live Activity is an iOS element that appears on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island and updates itself in real time while something is happening. Bliro uses Live Activities for two separate things: to show a transcription that is currently running and to remind you that a meeting is happening. Both appear without you opening the Bliro app.
Live Activities are not the same as Bliro Widgets. A Live Activity appears on its own, shows live status and disappears again; a Widget is something you place on your Lock Screen yourself and it stays there permanently.
You need iOS 18 or later - Bliro Live Activities rely on Apple APIs that are not available on iOS 17. For meeting reminders you also need at least one connected calendar.
The Live Activity during a transcription
While a Bliro transcription is running on your iPhone, a Live Activity appears on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island showing the elapsed transcription time. You do not have to open the app to see that Bliro is working.
The Bliro transcription Live Activity shows one of the following states:
State | What you see | What you can do |
Running | The elapsed transcription time, counting up, event title (if missing, it just says "Taking notes")
| End the transcription |
Paused | The elapsed transcription time, standing still | Resume the transcription |
Paused because of a phone call | A note that a phone call on your iPhone has paused the transcription | End the transcription cleanly |
Interrupted | A note that the transcription was interrupted | Open Bliro to check |
Reminders for upcoming meetings on your Lock Screen
Bliro can remind you on your Lock Screen shortly before a calendar meeting starts, so you remember to start your transcription. This reminder is opt-in.
To switch on Lock Screen reminders for upcoming meetings:
Open the Bliro app on your iPhone.
Tap your profile and open the Account page.
Go to Notification Settings.
Switch on Notify me for upcoming meetings on the lock screen.
You do not need to open the app for the reminder to appear. Bliro starts the Live Activity on your Lock Screen automatically before the meeting begins.
Which meetings trigger a reminder?
Which meetings you get reminded about is controlled by your reminder preferences, and those preferences are shared across your devices: the choice you make in the Bliro desktop app also applies to your iPhone.
Always - you are reminded for every calendar event, including your own blockers.
On invited participants - you are only reminded when other people are invited. Solo blockers and events with only you as attendee do not trigger a reminder.
On external participants - you are only reminded when other people are invited and at least one of them is outside your organization.
You set these options in the desktop app under Settings → Reminders. You can read more about it here. Meetings that were cancelled or deleted in your calendar no longer trigger a reminder at all.
When Bliro detects no speech
If Bliro has not picked up any speech for a while, the Live Activity switches to a warning state and the transcription stops. On your Lock Screen you see the meeting name with the note that no speech was detected, plus two buttons: Dismiss to keep going and clear the warning, or Open Bliro to jump straight into the app and check. In the Dynamic Island the same warning appears with Transcription stopped and an Open Bliro button; on your Home Screen a small warning icon in the Dynamic Island is enough to tell you something needs your attention. This state usually means your iPhone is not picking up the conversation - check where the phone is placed and whether anything is covering the microphone.
When a phone call interrupts your transcription
Bliro cannot transcribe while a phone call or other meeting software, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet, is active on your iPhone. As soon as a call comes in, the Live Activity switches to Paused - Phone Call Active with the note that it is waiting to resume, and you can end the transcription from there with End. If you open the app during the call you see a banner telling you that transcription is unavailable and will resume when the call ends, with the status Transcription paused. Once the call is over, Bliro picks the transcription back up on its own - no action needed. The app then shows a note that a phone call interrupted the transcription, so you know there is a gap in your transcript for the length of the call.
When you missed a meeting
If a connected calendar event has passed and you have not started a transcription for that event, Bliro turns the reminder into a Missed Event notice with a Record voice memo button, on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. That way you can still capture what happened without opening the app first: tap the button and Bliro starts a voice memo right away, so you can talk through the meeting afterwards from memory. Once it is running, the Live Activity switches to the normal live state with the elapsed time and an End button.
Live Activities and Bliro Widgets - what is the difference?
Both live on your Lock Screen, which is why they are easy to mix up. This table shows which one does what:
| Live Activity | Bliro Widget |
Appears | On its own, during a transcription or before a meeting | Only after you add it yourself |
Visible | Only while something is happening | Permanently |
Shows | Live status, for example the elapsed transcription time | A fixed shortcut |
Used for | Following along and reacting | Starting something quickly |
If you want a permanent Bliro shortcut on your Lock Screen, see this article here.
If the Live Activity is missing, report it directly from the app: tap your profile, then Report a bug. That sends us the technical details we need.
If you have further questions, you can also reach us at [email protected].