feat: Add floating timer widget for background recording
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Dec 31, 2025 by mkalkere Closed Feb 12, 2026
Summary
When users switch tabs during a browser recording, the recording may be affected by browser throttling of background tabs. A floating timer widget (Picture-in-Picture style) would improve UX by:
- Showing recording status when tab is backgrounded
- Displaying timer and audio level indicator
- Being semi-transparent to not obstruct other work
- Allowing users to click to return to VaultNote
Problem
Browsers throttle setInterval and other timers in background tabs, which can cause:
- Recording duration timer to desync
- Potential early stop of recording
- Users unaware their recording is still active
Current Mitigation
Added a subtle hint text: "For best results, keep this tab visible while recording"
Proposed Solution
Implement a floating mini-player using one of:
- Document Picture-in-Picture API (Chrome) - full mini-window
- CSS position: fixed overlay - appears when tab loses focus
- Browser notifications with live updates
Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Floating widget appears when user switches tabs during recording
- [ ] Shows current recording time
- [ ] Shows audio level indicator (optional)
- [ ] Click to return to VaultNote tab
- [ ] Semi-transparent design
- [ ] Works across major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)
Related
- Issue #360: Tier-based quota system
- Bug #18: Recording stops early when tab is backgrounded (root cause: browser throttling)
This issue has 3 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗