3. The home screen and the bubble
Bubble's home screen
At the top there is a status line, for example Ready · no Google services, and a small spy icon in the corner (the guard, see chapter 10). Below, one row per area:
| Row | Opens |
|---|---|
| Bubble | The state of the bubble, checking it, its fingerprint lock, deleting it |
| Manage apps | The apps inside the bubble, with their internet access (chapter 4, chapter 5) |
| Bubble Apps | Opens the grid to place apps and the widget on the home screen (chapter 7) |
| Meta space | The optional space for Facebook and Instagram (chapter 8) |
| Firewall | The firewall of your normal phone (chapter 9) |
| Settings | Pairing again, the technical log, removing everything, the version |
Pull the screen down to check again. Bubble checks by itself when you open it (at most every couple of minutes) and every ten minutes while it stays open.
Status messages
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ready · no Google services | Everything is as it should be |
| Checking the bubble… | Bubble is asking the bubble for its state |
| There is no bubble yet | Bubble shows the setup assistant |
| Could not check the bubble right now | The bubble did not answer; try again or see troubleshooting |
| Warning: Google services were put in the bubble (N) | Something installed Google services inside; the guard disabled them. To remove them for good, replace the bubble |
| Warning: Google services active in the bubble: N | Open Bubble again so the guard disables them |
| There is a private space … that is not the bubble yet | A Private Space exists but Bubble does not manage it; open Bubble → Bubble to decide |
While the bubble is locked, Bubble shows the last state it read; nothing can be asked inside a locked bubble. While nothing needs attention, home reads Protected 🛡 and locked 🔒 (or and open 🔓). Tap the shield for the details of the protection; tap the padlock to unlock the bubble with Android's fingerprint or PIN prompt, or to lock it at once. Anything that needs the bubble open (its apps, files, photos or Downloads) also asks for the fingerprint by itself.
The Bubble screen
- State and details: the Private Space user number and how many Google services are installed and active inside (both should be 0).
- How to enter: a reminder that the bubble is the Private section at the bottom of the app drawer.
- Check now: asks the bubble for its state.
- Fingerprint: a note on giving the bubble its own lock so its apps can use your fingerprint, with Open security settings (chapter 6).
- Delete and create a new bubble: replaces the bubble. Its apps and data are lost.
- Delete the bubble: removes the bubble without creating another one (chapter 11).
Entering and leaving the bubble
- Enter: app drawer → Private (at the bottom) → unlock. Or open any bubble app from Bubble Apps or the widget (chapter 7); Android asks you to unlock first.
- Leave: use the lock button of the Private section, or just turn the screen off: Bubble locks the bubble by itself when the screen goes off, unless something inside is playing (chapter 6).
When the bubble is locked, Android stops all its apps and keeps its storage encrypted. Its apps do not run, do not use the network and do not notify until you open it again.
The Private section only appears in the app drawer when the bubble has at least one app. Bubble always keeps F-Droid there for this reason.
Using bubble photos and files on the phone
Photos and downloads saved inside the bubble (with Immich or a browser there) stay in the bubble. Bubble lets you reach them from the normal phone without moving the rest:
- Wallpaper from Wallpaper & style: turn on Bubble → Settings → Wallpapers with bubble photos. Then Wallpaper & style → Choose a photo still opens Google Photos, with a Bubble photos button on top: tap it, open a folder and tap a photo. Android's own wallpaper screen opens to crop it and set it on the home screen, the lock screen or both. The Pixel's wallpaper app always asks Google Photos by name, and Google Photos only shows the normal phone's photos, so the button is how the bubble's photos get there. It uses an accessibility service that only sees which screen of those two apps is open, never what is on it.
- Wallpaper from Bubble: Bubble → Bubble → Bubble photos, then the same steps.
- Any app that asks for an image can choose Bubble photos among the apps it offers, or in Android's file picker (menu → Browse → Bubble photos).
- Bubble files: Bubble → Bubble → Bubble files opens Android's file browser inside the bubble, on the bubble's own storage (its Downloads and folders, apart from the phone's).
If the bubble is locked, Android asks for your fingerprint or PIN right there and the photos or files open after it. Only the photo you choose leaves the bubble, and Bubble keeps no copy; the app you give it to may keep its own (Android stores the wallpaper image, for example).