diff --git a/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/ChannelScreen.tsx b/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/ChannelScreen.tsx
index 1ef89b08d..548628317 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/ChannelScreen.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/channels/ui/ChannelScreen.tsx
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ import {
   resolveTimelineLoadingLatch,
   selectTimelineLoadingState,
 } from "@/features/messages/lib/timelineLoadingState";
+import { useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents } from "@/features/messages/useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents";
 import { useFetchOlderMessages } from "@/features/messages/useFetchOlderMessages";
 import { useLoadMissingAncestors } from "@/features/messages/useLoadMissingAncestors";
 import { useChannelTyping } from "@/features/messages/useChannelTyping";
@@ -252,13 +253,22 @@ export function ChannelScreen({
     currentPubkey,
   );
   const joinChannelMutation = useJoinChannelMutation(activeChannelId);
+  // Decrypt deep-link / search-hit targets before the rendered merge: they
+  // arrive raw, so for a DM the ciphertext would render garbled and clobber the
+  // decrypted cache copy on an id collision. This is the single choke point for
+  // every target contributor.
+  const decryptedTargetMessageEvents = useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents(
+    activeChannel,
+    targetMessageEvents,
+    currentPubkey,
+  );
   const resolvedMessages = React.useMemo(() => {
     const currentMessages = messagesQuery.data ?? [];
-    if (!activeChannel || targetMessageEvents.length === 0) {
+    if (!activeChannel || decryptedTargetMessageEvents.length === 0) {
       return currentMessages;
     }
-    return targetMessageEvents.reduce(mergeMessages, currentMessages);
-  }, [activeChannel, messagesQuery.data, targetMessageEvents]);
+    return decryptedTargetMessageEvents.reduce(mergeMessages, currentMessages);
+  }, [activeChannel, messagesQuery.data, decryptedTargetMessageEvents]);
   const messageAuthorPubkeys = React.useMemo(
     () => collectMessageAuthorPubkeys(resolvedMessages),
     [resolvedMessages],
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/messages/ancestorTracking.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/messages/ancestorTracking.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d8f57e02b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/features/messages/ancestorTracking.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+import { shouldResetAncestorTracking } from "@/features/messages/useLoadMissingAncestors";
+
+// useLoadMissingAncestors records fetched ancestor ids so it never re-fetches
+// the same id. That tracking must reset when the IDENTITY scope of the cache
+// bucket changes, not only when the channel changes — otherwise a cold-start
+// ancestor fetched while selfPubkey is undefined (a no-op decrypt that lands
+// raw under the [...,null] bucket) is recorded as "done", and after identity
+// resolves the effect SKIPS it: the ancestor is never re-fetched/re-decrypted
+// into the rendered [...,pubkey] bucket and silently goes missing.
+
+test("ancestor tracking resets when selfPubkey resolves from undefined to a pubkey", () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    shouldResetAncestorTracking(
+      { channelId: "c1", selfPubkey: undefined },
+      { channelId: "c1", selfPubkey: "a".repeat(64) },
+    ),
+    true,
+    "cold-start identity resolution must reset so the ancestor is re-fetched",
+  );
+});
+
+test("ancestor tracking resets when the active channel changes", () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    shouldResetAncestorTracking(
+      { channelId: "c1", selfPubkey: "a".repeat(64) },
+      { channelId: "c2", selfPubkey: "a".repeat(64) },
+    ),
+    true,
+  );
+});
+
+test("ancestor tracking does NOT reset when neither channel nor identity changed", () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    shouldResetAncestorTracking(
+      { channelId: "c1", selfPubkey: "a".repeat(64) },
+      { channelId: "c1", selfPubkey: "a".repeat(64) },
+    ),
+    false,
+    "a stable scope must keep the dedup so the same ancestor is not refetched every render",
+  );
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/messages/useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/messages/useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6b066cb02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/features/messages/useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+import { makeDmIngestDecryptor } from "@/features/messages/lib/dmCrypto";
+import { mergeMessages } from "@/features/messages/hooks";
+
+// Minimal valid NIP-44 v2 envelope (see messageQueryKeys.test.mjs).
+const V2_CIPHERTEXT =
+  "AgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA";
+
+const DM_CHANNEL = {
+  id: "dm-target-channel-id",
+  channelType: "dm",
+  participantPubkeys: ["a".repeat(64), "b".repeat(64)],
+};
+const STREAM_CHANNEL = {
+  id: "stream-target-channel-id",
+  channelType: "stream",
+  participantPubkeys: [],
+};
+const SELF = "a".repeat(64);
+const PEER = "b".repeat(64);
+
+function targetEvent(content) {
+  return {
+    id: "tgt".padEnd(64, "0"),
+    pubkey: PEER,
+    created_at: 5_000,
+    kind: 9,
+    tags: [["h", DM_CHANNEL.id]],
+    content,
+    sig: "mocksig".repeat(20).slice(0, 128),
+  };
+}
+
+// Mirror useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents + ChannelScreen's resolvedMessages
+// reduce: decrypt the target events, then merge them into the (already
+// decrypted) current messages exactly as the render path does. The RED form
+// skips the decrypt and merges the raw target.
+async function resolveRenderedTimeline(
+  channel,
+  selfPubkey,
+  currentMessages,
+  targetMessageEvents,
+) {
+  const decryptIngested = makeDmIngestDecryptor(channel, selfPubkey);
+  const decryptedTargets = await decryptIngested(targetMessageEvents);
+  return decryptedTargets.reduce(mergeMessages, currentMessages);
+}
+
+test("DM route-target event is decrypted before it reaches the rendered timeline, never raw ciphertext", async () => {
+  const rendered = await resolveRenderedTimeline(
+    DM_CHANNEL,
+    SELF,
+    [],
+    [targetEvent(V2_CIPHERTEXT)],
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(rendered.length, 1, "the target row is spliced into the list");
+  assert.notEqual(
+    rendered[0].content,
+    V2_CIPHERTEXT,
+    "a DM route-target must not render raw ciphertext",
+  );
+});
+
+test("DM route-target does not clobber an already-decrypted copy of the same id with ciphertext", async () => {
+  // The decrypted cache already holds plaintext-X (e.g. history fetched it).
+  const decryptedCopy = {
+    ...targetEvent("dinner at 7?"),
+    content: "dinner at 7?",
+  };
+
+  const rendered = await resolveRenderedTimeline(
+    DM_CHANNEL,
+    SELF,
+    [decryptedCopy],
+    [targetEvent(V2_CIPHERTEXT)],
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(rendered.length, 1, "id collision keeps a single row");
+  assert.notEqual(
+    rendered[0].content,
+    V2_CIPHERTEXT,
+    "the raw target must not clobber the decrypted copy",
+  );
+});
+
+test("non-DM route-target with a v2-shaped body passes through verbatim", async () => {
+  const streamTarget = {
+    ...targetEvent(V2_CIPHERTEXT),
+    tags: [["h", STREAM_CHANNEL.id]],
+  };
+
+  const rendered = await resolveRenderedTimeline(
+    STREAM_CHANNEL,
+    SELF,
+    [],
+    [streamTarget],
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(
+    rendered[0].content,
+    V2_CIPHERTEXT,
+    "outside a 2-party DM the decryptor is a no-op and content is untouched",
+  );
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/messages/useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents.ts b/desktop/src/features/messages/useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b93c0b024
--- /dev/null
+++ b/desktop/src/features/messages/useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+import * as React from "react";
+
+import {
+  dmPeerPubkey,
+  makeDmIngestDecryptor,
+} from "@/features/messages/lib/dmCrypto";
+import type { Channel, RelayEvent } from "@/shared/api/types";
+
+/**
+ * Decrypt deep-link / search-hit target events before they reach the rendered
+ * timeline.
+ *
+ * The route layer fetches deep-link targets, thread ancestors, and search hits
+ * as RAW RelayEvents (no decrypt) and threads them down as `targetMessageEvents`.
+ * `ChannelScreen` merges those into the rendered list — so for a DM, where the
+ * body is NIP-44 v2 ciphertext, the raw target would render garbled and, on an
+ * id collision, CLOBBER the decrypted cache copy (the merge keeps the last
+ * writer).
+ *
+ * This is the single choke point for that whole class: every contributor flows
+ * through the one `targetMessageEvents` array, so decrypting it here once covers
+ * the synchronous mount-seed, the cached-search-hit path, and the async fetch
+ * path uniformly — a decrypt split across the individual setters would miss the
+ * synchronous mount-seed and leak on a search-jump first paint.
+ *
+ * Outside a 2-party DM (`dmPeerPubkey` null) there is nothing to decrypt, so the
+ * events pass through synchronously with no held-back frame. Inside a DM the
+ * events are held back (empty) until the async decrypt resolves, so raw
+ * ciphertext never paints.
+ */
+export function useDecryptedTargetMessageEvents(
+  activeChannel: Channel | null,
+  targetMessageEvents: RelayEvent[],
+  selfPubkey: string | undefined,
+): RelayEvent[] {
+  const needsDecrypt =
+    activeChannel !== null && dmPeerPubkey(activeChannel, selfPubkey) !== null;
+
+  const [decryptedEvents, setDecryptedEvents] = React.useState<RelayEvent[]>(
+    [],
+  );
+
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    if (!needsDecrypt || targetMessageEvents.length === 0) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    let isCancelled = false;
+    const decryptIngested = makeDmIngestDecryptor(activeChannel, selfPubkey);
+    void decryptIngested(targetMessageEvents).then((decrypted) => {
+      if (!isCancelled) {
+        setDecryptedEvents(decrypted);
+      }
+    });
+
+    return () => {
+      isCancelled = true;
+    };
+  }, [activeChannel, needsDecrypt, selfPubkey, targetMessageEvents]);
+
+  // Outside a DM there is nothing to decrypt: pass the events through directly so
+  // a non-DM deep-link splices its target on first paint with no held-back frame.
+  return needsDecrypt ? decryptedEvents : targetMessageEvents;
+}
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/messages/useLoadMissingAncestors.ts b/desktop/src/features/messages/useLoadMissingAncestors.ts
index c0337d175..250c456cf 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/messages/useLoadMissingAncestors.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/messages/useLoadMissingAncestors.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,34 @@ import {
 import { getEventById } from "@/shared/api/tauri";
 import type { Channel, RelayEvent } from "@/shared/api/types";
 
+/** The scope that the requested-ancestor dedup set is valid for. */
+interface AncestorScope {
+  channelId: string | null;
+  selfPubkey: string | undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether the requested-ancestor dedup tracking must reset.
+ *
+ * The dedup set keys "ancestor already fetched" by id, but a fetched ancestor
+ * lands in `channelMessagesKey(channelId, selfPubkey)` — a bucket scoped by
+ * BOTH channel AND identity. So the set is only valid within a single
+ * (channel, identity) scope. On a cold start an ancestor fetched while
+ * `selfPubkey` is undefined no-op-decrypts into the orphaned `[...,null]`
+ * bucket yet gets recorded as done; without resetting on the identity flip the
+ * effect would skip re-fetching it into the live `[...,pubkey]` bucket and the
+ * ancestor would silently go missing from the thread.
+ */
+export function shouldResetAncestorTracking(
+  previous: AncestorScope,
+  next: AncestorScope,
+): boolean {
+  return (
+    previous.channelId !== next.channelId ||
+    previous.selfPubkey !== next.selfPubkey
+  );
+}
+
 export function useLoadMissingAncestors(
   activeChannel: Channel | null,
   resolvedMessages: RelayEvent[],
@@ -18,16 +46,22 @@ export function useLoadMissingAncestors(
 ) {
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
   const requestedAncestorIdsRef = React.useRef<Set<string>>(new Set());
-  const previousChannelIdRef = React.useRef<string | null>(null);
+  const previousScopeRef = React.useRef<AncestorScope>({
+    channelId: null,
+    selfPubkey: undefined,
+  });
 
   React.useEffect(() => {
-    const activeChannelId = activeChannel?.id ?? null;
-    if (previousChannelIdRef.current === activeChannelId) {
+    const scope: AncestorScope = {
+      channelId: activeChannel?.id ?? null,
+      selfPubkey,
+    };
+    if (!shouldResetAncestorTracking(previousScopeRef.current, scope)) {
       return;
     }
-    previousChannelIdRef.current = activeChannelId;
+    previousScopeRef.current = scope;
     requestedAncestorIdsRef.current.clear();
-  }, [activeChannel?.id]);
+  }, [activeChannel?.id, selfPubkey]);
 
   React.useEffect(() => {
     if (!activeChannel || activeChannel.channelType === "forum") {