Using iSpeak on your phone
The phone layout of iSpeak: bottom bar, slim top bar, search sheet, gestures and adding iSpeak to your home screen.
iSpeak is a web app, so it runs in your phone's browser without a store download. Below the tablet size it switches to a layout that feels like a native app. This article explains the bars, the search sheet, the gestures and how to pin iSpeak to your home screen.
The bottom bar
A bar fixed to the bottom of the screen holds five items, left to right:
| Home | Discover schools, or the current school's Community when you are inside a school. The school logo is the icon then |
| Messages | Your chats, with an unread badge |
| Ask | The iSpeak assistant. A raised green button in the centre |
| Notifications | Your notifications, with an unread badge |
| Profile | Your profile. Your avatar with a thin green ring when active |
The active item turns green with its label. The bar respects the safe area at the bottom of modern phones. It hides itself inside a chat thread, in the full-screen lesson player, while you record in Speak with AI, and while the keyboard is open. It never covers the post composer or a feedback card.
The slim top bar
The top bar on a phone keeps only three things:
- ☰ on the left opens the drawer with your language, legal links and support email.
- Your schools in the middle opens the school switcher. On Discovery it reads "iSpeak".
on the right opens the search sheet.
Ask, Messages, Notifications and your avatar are not in the top bar on a phone. They live in the bottom bar. The desktop layout is unchanged.
Back arrow and swipe back
On inner pages, such as a post, a chat thread, a lesson, a class, an event, a Settings section or another member's profile, the left slot of the top bar shows ← Back instead of ☰. It returns you to the previous page, or to the parent page if you arrived from a direct link.
You can also swipe back:
- 1Start a drag within the left edge of the screen.
- 2The page follows your finger and reveals the previous page beneath it.
- 3Release past about a third of the width to go back, or release earlier to snap back.
A mostly vertical drag scrolls instead. Swipe back is off over carousels, the map, the video seek bar and text fields.
Opening the drawer with a swipe
On root pages like Discovery, Community, Messages, Notifications and Profile, the same left-edge drag opens the ☰ drawer. Release past a third to keep it open. Swipe left on the open drawer to close it.
Bars that hide while you read
When you scroll down a long feed, both bars slide away so the content gets the full screen. Any scroll up brings them straight back, and so does reaching the top of the page. Nothing jumps, because the page keeps its padding.
The search sheet
- 1Tap in the top bar.
- 2A sheet slides up to full height with the search field already focused and the keyboard open.
- 3Before you type, you see your recent searches and trending schools.
- 4From two characters on, results appear live, grouped into Schools, Members, Posts, Classes, Courses and Help, with the matching text highlighted.
- 5Tap a result to open it, or Cancel to close the sheet.
Each group has a See all link. You only see results you have the right to see, so posts from schools you have not joined do not appear.
Recent searches are stored on your phone only. Use Clear all in the sheet to remove them.
Add iSpeak to your home screen
- 1Open your avatar menu on a computer, or Profile on the phone, and choose Get iSpeak on your phone.
- 2A dialog shows a QR code for the iSpeak address and step-by-step instructions for iPhone and Android.
- 3Scan the code with your phone camera, or follow the steps in the browser you already have open.
- 4Use the browser's Add to Home Screen action. iSpeak then opens full screen with its own icon.
Nothing is installed from an app store. The home-screen icon simply opens the web app.
Common questions
Why is there no website footer on my phone? The footer is removed on phones to save space. Terms, Privacy, Cookie Policy, cookie preferences and the support email are in the bottom row of the ☰ drawer.
Where did the scroll-to-top button go? It is hidden on phones. Scroll up a little and the bars return; keep scrolling to reach the top.
The keyboard did not open when I tapped search. Tap once more. The field is focused inside the tap, which is what phone browsers need to open the keyboard.
Can I switch language on the phone? Yes. The language row is in the ☰ drawer, with the same three choices as on desktop.
Does the bottom bar show badges? Yes. Messages and Notifications show unread counts, and the counts are announced to screen readers.