Request to Delay Shadow App Updates During Meetings
Serious Propaganda
It would be extremely helpful if Shadow did not launch its update process immediately when opening the app. I need to start recording as soon as the meeting begins, and the forced update delays this critical step.
Currently, launching Shadow triggers an immediate update, which prevents me from starting the meeting recording on time. If updates could be postponed until after the session or scheduled separately from app launch, it would greatly improve reliability and workflow. Capturing the full meeting without missing early conversations is essential.
Steven Chu
THIS!! I was about to write this exact post. It completely disrupted a day full of important meetings.
Jay Song — I’m sorry man, you know I love Shadow, but this update rollout really wrecked me.
It’s not just about load time—it’s that the update triggers a banner that prevents recording from starting at all. And once you’re mid-sentence in a meeting, there’s no clean way to stop and troubleshoot a surprise message while presenting to people.
The worst part? The banner wouldn’t go away.
I had four critical back-to-backs. I missed the first three before realizing it was going to keep happening. First time, flustered. Second time, frustrated. Third time… 😡
Constructive suggestion: **The meeting trigger should always take precedence over halt-to-a-freeze notifications. Imagine a plane getting a “you need to update” pop-up right as it’s lifting off... but the pop up is coming from behind the pilot's chair. That’s how it felt, i'm sorry!.
Would love to see a “meeting-safe mode” or auto-snooze when mic or calendar activity is detected. Shadow is amazing—this is just a fix that’ll help it stay rock solid when it matters most.
Jay Song
Thanks for the feedback!
Unfortunately, it's actually loading resources that are already downloaded on your machine and it’s a system limitation due to Shadow’s transcription process being handled locally. We will try make loading process shorter, so you don't miss anything!
Steven Chu
Jay Song Just chiming in here with a recent experience that added to the stress of a time-sensitive meeting.
This morning, I manually hit “Start Recording” (even though auto-record is enabled) just to be extra sure it was capturing—because I couldn’t risk missing the call. About 45 minutes in, I noticed there was no floating recording indicator bubble, so I switched windows to check, and… it wasn’t recording at all. 😞
I tried hitting Start Recording again, and got this message (attached):
“Sorry. I’m currently gathering necessary resources. Please try again in a moment.”
No transcript, no recording. It never kicked in. Not sure if this was also tied to the post-upgrade state from earlier today or some other internal stall, but it really broke my confidence in the app’s reliability for high-stakes moments.
⸻
Feature request ideas:
1. Immediate feedback after clicking Start Recording — something like “Initializing, please wait” or “Recording failed: out of resources” would at least give users clarity.
*** overtake the primary window with the system prompt box - if it fails, it shouldnt fail in the background, it should pop to the forefront immediately.
2. Fallback auto-save if recording fails to initialize—maybe a banner prompt offering to retry or auto-capture audio until things are stable?
3. Visible recording state confirmation right after clicking—some kind of check or color change to confirm it’s working (or not).
4. Prioritize shadow stability over upgrades when launching for a meeting.
I just want to feel like it’s got my back when I hit “record.”
Lmk thoughts and ideas!
Jay Song
Hey Steven Chu— really appreciate you always taking the time to share such thoughtful feedback 🙏
I 100% agree with you. Our priority isn’t to ship more features, but to make sure Shadow never fails—especially in high-stakes moments. That said, since a lot of Shadow runs locally, we know it’s impossible to guarantee 100%, which is why your ideas are spot on with what we’re working on right now.
We’re currently building improvements so you’ll immediately know if something goes wrong at the start or during a meeting. And if it does fail mid-session, we’re making sure the data up to that point is still saved. That should roll out in about two weeks.
Sorry again for the failed recording—and huge thanks for calling it out.
Oh, and we just switched our feedback board!