diff --git a/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx b/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx
index cb601fa7..9d809773 100644
--- a/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ describe('post community address compatibility', () => {
     expect(container.textContent).toContain('ID: ReplyKid');
   });
 
-  it('falls back to the reply cid when published reply author metadata is missing', async () => {
+  it('shows a pending ID while published reply author metadata is missing', async () => {
     testState.pseudonymityMode = 'per-post';
     const post = makeLegacyThread();
     const reply = post.replies?.pages?.new?.comments?.[0];
@@ -560,10 +560,10 @@ describe('post community address compatibility', () => {
     reply.author = {};
 
     await renderWithRoute(createElement(PostDesktop, { post, showAllReplies: true }), '/mu/thread/post-1');
-    expect(container.textContent).toContain('ID: Qmb4NxbR');
+    expect(container.textContent).toContain('ID: Pending');
 
     await renderWithRoute(createElement(PostMobile, { post, showAllReplies: true }), '/mu/thread/post-1');
-    expect(container.textContent).toContain('ID: Qmb4NxbR');
+    expect(container.textContent).toContain('ID: Pending');
   });
 
   it('forwards Pretext-backed reply estimates into Virtuoso for desktop and mobile thread views', async () => {
diff --git a/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx b/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx
index 75eeb0f5..9529fefe 100644
--- a/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx
+++ b/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ const PostInfo = ({
                 t('removed')
               ) : purged ? (
                 t('purged')
-              ) : !cid && pseudonymityMode ? (
+              ) : !userID && pseudonymityMode ? (
                 <span className={styles.pendingCid}>{hasFailedState ? '?' : capitalize(t('pending'))}</span>
               ) : (
                 <Tooltip
diff --git a/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx b/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx
index f36de83a..30403d41 100644
--- a/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx
+++ b/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ const PostInfoAndMedia = ({
                   lowerCase(t('deleted'))
                 ) : purged ? (
                   lowerCase(t('purged'))
-                ) : !cid && pseudonymityMode ? (
+                ) : !userID && pseudonymityMode ? (
                   <span className={styles.pendingCid}>{hasFailedState ? '?' : capitalize(t('pending'))}</span>
                 ) : (
                   <Tooltip
diff --git a/src/lib/utils/__tests__/author-post-counts.test.ts b/src/lib/utils/__tests__/author-post-counts.test.ts
index d8343cb1..528358c3 100644
--- a/src/lib/utils/__tests__/author-post-counts.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/utils/__tests__/author-post-counts.test.ts
@@ -27,14 +27,14 @@ describe('getThreadPostCountsByAuthor', () => {
     expect(counts.get('author-b')).toBe(2);
   });
 
-  it('uses cid fallback for comments without author metadata', () => {
+  it('skips comments without author metadata', () => {
     const counts = getThreadPostCountsByAuthor(
       { cid: 'post-1', author: { shortAddress: 'author-a' } } as any,
       [{ cid: 'reply-1' }, { author: { shortAddress: 'author-b' } }] as any[],
     );
 
     expect(counts.get('author-a')).toBe(1);
-    expect(counts.get('reply-1')).toBe(1);
+    expect(counts.has('reply-1')).toBe(false);
     expect(counts.has('author-b')).toBe(false);
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/lib/utils/__tests__/comment-user-id-utils.test.ts b/src/lib/utils/__tests__/comment-user-id-utils.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8d4a090a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/utils/__tests__/comment-user-id-utils.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { getCommentUserID } from '../comment-user-id-utils';
+
+describe('getCommentUserID', () => {
+  it('uses resolved author identity data for per-post user IDs', () => {
+    expect(getCommentUserID({ author: { address: 'poster.bso', shortAddress: 'short-poster' } } as any)).toBe('poster.bso');
+    expect(getCommentUserID({ author: { shortAddress: 'short-poster' } } as any)).toBe('short-poster');
+  });
+
+  it('does not fall back to the comment cid while author metadata is missing', () => {
+    expect(getCommentUserID({ cid: 'QmQU6BiPkB77b3rAkdj973ptTp5A6X77tfPrwTvCQDL9cq' } as any)).toBe('');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/utils/comment-user-id-utils.ts b/src/lib/utils/comment-user-id-utils.ts
index 97db017e..4bac5f8b 100644
--- a/src/lib/utils/comment-user-id-utils.ts
+++ b/src/lib/utils/comment-user-id-utils.ts
@@ -3,5 +3,5 @@ import getShortAddress from '../get-short-address';
 
 export function getCommentUserID(comment: Comment | undefined): string {
   const { address, shortAddress } = comment?.author || {};
-  return (address ? getShortAddress(address) : '') || shortAddress || comment?.cid || '';
+  return (address ? getShortAddress(address) : '') || shortAddress || '';
 }