Your guide to Blurb.

Get set up, find the right timing, and catch up with less reading.

For the current version of Blurb · Android 12 or newer. Earlier releases may have different options and privacy defaults.

Get started

Open Blurb and follow setup. If you skip, return to Settings to finish.
Grant notification access in the Android settings page, then return to Blurb. Also allow Blurb to post notifications.
Choose cloud or on-device summaries. Validate your cloud key with the sample, or download a local model. Setup can continue during the download; local summaries need the completed model.
Select the messaging apps you want to monitor. Google Messages is the initial selection.
Enable summaries and check the home screen for any permission or setup reminders.

After setup, a small note at the top appears when Android reports restricted background battery use. Tap it to open the relevant phone settings. On OnePlus, open Battery usage and allow background activity or choose Unrestricted. Extra manufacturer restrictions may need a manual check in Settings → Background activity.

Normal app updates preserve your saved settings. You can replay setup from About.

Choose where summaries happen

On your phone

A downloaded Gemma model works offline. E2B uses less storage and memory; E4B is larger. Blurb checks availability and shows download progress. Local processing can use more memory and battery, and quality may differ from cloud summaries.

In the cloud

Choose Gemini, OpenAI or Anthropic and enter your own provider API key. Message text is sent to that provider. A custom HTTPS endpoint is also supported if you have a compatible server. Review your provider’s privacy terms and billing before use.

Where available, Use recommended model follows Blurb’s curated recommendations. Turn it off to choose a model yourself. Previously saved manual choices stay pinned.

Fallback

If you first complete setup with cloud processing and fallback off, a gentle home-screen suggestion appears once after a short delay. Choose Explore fallback to open Processing, or Not now to dismiss it. The suggestion does not download a model or change your processing choice.

Settings → Processing can let one engine take over if the other fails. Cloud-to-device fallback needs a downloaded model. Device-to-cloud fallback sends text to your selected cloud provider.

When does a summary appear?

Minimum length · recommended 300 characters: The first summary waits for enough accumulated new text in that conversation. Each individual message does not need to reach the threshold.
Wait for silence · recommended 20 seconds: Each new message restarts this timer. Shorter waits give faster updates; longer waits let more of the conversation arrive first.
Limit the wait · optional: Start summarizing even during continuous messages. The first-summary length threshold still applies. Model loading and generation take additional time.

If a summary is unread, even a short follow-up can update it after the wait. Blurb combines the previous and new text into one summary.

Restore recommended defaults resets timing and the prompt while keeping keys, models, selected apps and privacy choices.

Read and personalize summaries

Tap a summary to open the original conversation. Original messages on expand is off by default. Turn it on in Settings → Advanced to read originals beneath an expanded summary. Updates preserve an explicitly saved choice. Pending messages still appear when this option is off. Long expanded text may be shortened; open the conversation to read everything. Layout and bold text vary between phone brands.

New messages may be folded into an unread summary with a pending status while Blurb works. History shows saved summaries and errors.

Advanced settings let you change the summary prompt, the small symbol before each summary, and whether originals appear when expanded. Keep {{messages}} in a custom prompt to mark where the conversation belongs.

Which apps work?

Blurb needs message-style notifications with readable content. The picker contains Google Messages, Signal, Discord, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp and Telegram, even before installation. Not every notification from these apps has a supported format.

Google Messages: supported message notifications are the main use case. Recognized MMS processing notices are held while real content downloads.
Signal: set notification privacy to show names and message content.
Discord, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp and Telegram: supported when they provide message-style notifications with readable content.
Other apps, including Messenger and Slack: not currently supported. Older saved selections for unsupported apps are ignored.

Image-message summarization is not currently supported.

Free access and Blurb Pro

Google Messages summaries are unlimited and free. Signal, Discord, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp and Telegram share a preview of 10 successfully displayed summaries per installation. Failed attempts and sample tests do not use the preview. Once it runs out, Google Messages continues working and new notifications from the other apps stay in their original apps.

Open Settings → Blurb Pro for a permanent, one-time unlock of all supported apps. There is no recurring Blurb subscription. Google Play supplies the localized price shown on the purchase button. Pro does not include a cloud API key or provider credits; any provider charges are separate. Both cloud and on-device processing are available with the free tier and Pro.

Use Restore purchase with the Google Play account that bought Pro after reinstalling or changing phones. A pending payment grants access only after completion and verification. A temporary connection failure preserves confirmed access; a successful ownership check can remove access after revocation. Buying Pro does not change notification compatibility or reveal hidden message content.

Troubleshooting

No summaries appear

Follow any recovery action on the home screen. Check that summaries are enabled, notification access is granted, Blurb can post notifications, and the source app is selected. Its notifications must contain readable message content. Short conversations may still be below the minimum length.

Android hid some notification text

Android can replace sensitive notification text with a hidden-content notice, including when it detects a verification code. Blurb skips that hidden text rather than summarizing the notice. The home screen can show Android hid some notification text; choose View log for details. Blurb cannot recover text Android withheld. Open the original conversation to read it.

Summaries stop in the background

Tap the background battery note at the top of Blurb, or open Settings → Background activity. Allow background battery use; on phones with extra controls, open Battery usage and allow background activity or choose Unrestricted. The note refreshes when you return. Some manufacturer restrictions are not visible to apps, so also check those controls if summaries still stop.

Summaries take too long

Check Wait for silence. Continuous messages restart it; Limit the wait can help. Loading a local model or retrying a busy cloud provider adds time after the timer.

A cloud request fails

Check the connection, provider, model and key. Read the error in History. On-device fallback can help during provider outages if you have a model downloaded.

The local model will not run

Check that the download is complete and the phone has enough storage and available memory. Try the smaller E2B model. If GPU processing fails, try CPU under model options.

Test with fictional messages

Open Settings → Test a summary and choose an example. Send test checks the engine; Post test notification also checks notification access and timing. Use a sample long enough to meet your threshold.

The launcher icon has not changed

Launchers may cache icons. Give it a moment; you may need to remove and re-add the home-screen shortcut.

Still stuck? Email support@blurb.fyi with the app version (Settings → About Blurb), your phone, Android version and a fictional example. You can also report a bug on GitHub; GitHub reports are public, so omit private messages, keys and sensitive screenshots.

Your privacy choices

Redact before upload tries to remove identifiers on your phone before cloud requests. It can miss sensitive details and does not guarantee anonymity.

Settings → Privacy has one sharing control. Share usage diagnostics starts on for new installations in configured builds. Existing choices are preserved across updates; an upgrade without a saved choice starts off. Reports include reliability and usage information, device manufacturer/model, a random installation identifier and foreground session information, but not message text or summaries. It is separate from cloud or local summaries, and you can turn it off at any time.

History is stored locally and can be cleared. Read the privacy policy for details about storage, cloud providers, diagnostics, downloads and configuration checks.