diff --git a/src/app/components/RoomChat.svelte b/src/app/components/RoomChat.svelte
index 67ece432..c0608f12 100644
--- a/src/app/components/RoomChat.svelte
+++ b/src/app/components/RoomChat.svelte
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
   import Login2 from "@assets/icons/login-3.svg?dataurl"
   import {fade, fly} from "@lib/transition"
   import {popKey} from "@lib/implicit"
+  import {documentActive} from "@lib/html"
   import Button from "@lib/components/Button.svelte"
   import Divider from "@lib/components/Divider.svelte"
   import Icon from "@lib/components/Icon.svelte"
@@ -301,8 +302,10 @@
     }
   }
 
-  const onVisibilityChange = () => {
-    if (document.hidden) {
+  // A tab can be `visible` but unfocused (user alt-tabbed to another app), so we
+  // can't rely on document.hidden alone to know the room is actually being watched.
+  const onActiveChange = (active: boolean) => {
+    if (!active) {
       lastVisibleAt = now()
     } else if ($events.some(e => e.pubkey !== $user.pubkey && e.created_at > lastVisibleAt)) {
       newMessagesAfter = lastVisibleAt
@@ -450,12 +453,12 @@
   onMount(() => {
     start()
 
-    document.addEventListener("visibilitychange", onVisibilityChange)
+    const unsubscribeActive = documentActive.subscribe(onActiveChange)
 
     return () => {
       // Wrap in a closure to avoid calling a stale cleanup function
       cleanup?.()
-      document.removeEventListener("visibilitychange", onVisibilityChange)
+      unsubscribeActive()
     }
   })
 </script>
diff --git a/src/lib/html.ts b/src/lib/html.ts
index 3a571ca1..d59e4b58 100644
--- a/src/lib/html.ts
+++ b/src/lib/html.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,32 @@
+import {readable} from "svelte/store"
 import {sleep, randomId} from "@welshman/lib"
 import {Capacitor} from "@capacitor/core"
 export {preventDefault, stopPropagation} from "svelte/legacy"
 
+/** Whether the user is actually looking at this tab right now. Display-only concern,
+ * kept separate from any data store — consult it wherever "is someone watching" should
+ * affect what's rendered. `document.hidden` alone misses window blur: switching to
+ * another app without switching tabs leaves visibilityState "visible", so we also track
+ * focus and require both. */
+export const documentActive = readable(
+  typeof document === "undefined" ? true : !document.hidden && document.hasFocus(),
+  set => {
+    if (typeof document === "undefined") return
+
+    const update = () => set(!document.hidden && document.hasFocus())
+
+    document.addEventListener("visibilitychange", update)
+    window.addEventListener("blur", update)
+    window.addEventListener("focus", update)
+
+    return () => {
+      document.removeEventListener("visibilitychange", update)
+      window.removeEventListener("blur", update)
+      window.removeEventListener("focus", update)
+    }
+  },
+)
+
 // Anchors an @svelte-plugins/datepicker popup with fixed positioning so it
 // escapes scroll-container clipping (e.g. inside modals). Call when the picker
 // opens; returns a cleanup function that removes the listeners.
diff --git a/src/routes/+layout.svelte b/src/routes/+layout.svelte
index cc9f4249..08ad01ac 100644
--- a/src/routes/+layout.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/+layout.svelte
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
   import * as util from "@welshman/util"
   import * as lib from "@welshman/lib"
   import {Logger} from "@welshman/app"
-  import {isMobile} from "@lib/html"
+  import {isMobile, documentActive} from "@lib/html"
   import AppContainer from "@app/components/AppContainer.svelte"
   import ModalContainer from "@app/components/ModalContainer.svelte"
   import {app} from "@app/core"
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
   import {theme} from "@app/theme"
   import {toast, pushToast} from "@app/toast"
   import * as notifications from "@app/notifications"
+  import {notifications as notificationPaths, allNotifications} from "@app/notifications"
   import {Push} from "@app/push"
   import {onPushNotificationAction, pushState} from "@app/push/adapters/common"
   import {syncKeyboard} from "@app/keyboard"
@@ -239,7 +240,12 @@
   })
 
   $effect(() => {
-    document.title = getPageTitle({page: $page, pubkey: $app.user?.pubkey})
+    const title = getPageTitle({page: $page, pubkey: $app.user?.pubkey})
+    // While the tab isn't actively focused the user isn't actually looking at the
+    // active page, so count notifications for it too rather than treating it as read.
+    const unreadCount = $documentActive ? $notificationPaths.size : $allNotifications.size
+
+    document.title = unreadCount > 0 ? `(${unreadCount}) ${title}` : title
   })
 </script>