diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt
index 42b67dc1e..6e09d9180 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt
@@ -9,6 +9,53 @@ const val STRAW_SDK_TARGET = 35
 
 // Sulkta fork — Straw
 //
+// vc=91 / 0.1.0-CY — reliability + security fix sprint (straw audit 2026-07-04):
+//   * The in-app updater no longer self-bricks on a routine cert renewal. It
+//     used to pin the fdroid.sulkta.com leaf SPKI + the LE "E7" intermediate,
+//     but the leaf rotates every ~90-day renewal and LE rotates intermediates
+//     from a pool (they explicitly say don't pin them), so a normal renewal was
+//     GUARANTEED to miss both pins — silently killing the ONLY update path,
+//     with the fix reachable only through the channel the break just killed.
+//     Dropped pinning: default system-CA validation still blocks a MITM, and a
+//     swapped APK can't install over Straw anyway (the package installer
+//     verifies it against our signing key). Also: the check now distinguishes
+//     "couldn't reach the index" from "up to date" (no more "checked just now /
+//     up to date" while actually blind), added a 30s call timeout + a bounded
+//     index read, guarded the API-26 NotificationChannel (was a crash on 7.x),
+//     and setOnlyAlertOnce so a pending update doesn't re-nag every tick.
+//   * Android 13+ update/media notifications actually appear now:
+//     POST_NOTIFICATIONS was manifest-declared but never requested at runtime,
+//     so nm.notify() was a silent no-op on 13+. Requested once on cold start.
+//   * The published APK is no longer debuggable (isDebuggable=false on the
+//     shipped debug variant) — closes an ADB/USB `run-as` dump of watch/search
+//     history + the subscription list. No package-id cutover; updates in place.
+//   * Crash fixes: (a) opening a video whose channel repeats a videoId in its
+//     first ~20 entries hard-crashed Compose on a duplicate LazyColumn key —
+//     moreFromChannel + related now distinctBy url; (b) in-app back died
+//     permanently after one back-to-Home on Android 12+ (moveTaskToBack doesn't
+//     destroy the activity, so the disabled callback never re-enabled) — the
+//     callback is now driven by live nav depth instead of disable-and-redispatch;
+//     (c) the local-playlists store was uncapped, so a hostile NewPipe import
+//     could persist a huge blob that ANR'd every cold start — added per-store
+//     caps (playlists / items / string length) + off-main hydration like
+//     ResumePositionsStore; (d) a SponsorBlock fetch that resolves after you
+//     skip to another video no longer hijacks the now-playing item (staleness
+//     fence).
+//   * Cache-size caps that first-launch defaulted to "Unlimited" (100k rows,
+//     because nearest() was exact-match-or-Unlimited over a set the defaults
+//     weren't in) now snap up to the nearest finite cap.
+//   * The RYD + SponsorBlock FFI shims wrap the uniffi call, so a core panic
+//     (now catchable — see below) is swallowed to null/empty per their contract
+//     instead of crashing video-detail load.
+//   * Rust FFI wrapper: release profile is panic="unwind" (was "abort" — abort
+//     defeated UniFFI's catch_unwind + tokio's spawn_blocking JoinError capture,
+//     turning ANY panic in the extractor core into a whole-app SIGABRT), and
+//     every blocking extractor call is wrapped in a 60s wall-clock timeout so a
+//     wedged JS/HTTP path unblocks the caller instead of spinning forever and
+//     piling detached threads toward tokio's 512 blocking-pool cap. Pairs with
+//     the strawcore-core reliability fix (bounded rquickjs 64MiB/2MiB/5s +
+//     invalidate-on-failure player.js self-heal).
+//
 // vc=90 / 0.1.0-CX — cold-start hydration + status-bar bleed fix + RYD FFI slim:
 //   * ResumePositionsStore + EnrichmentStore no longer JSON-decode on the main
 //     thread in Application.onCreate. Resume was the heaviest cold-start cost in
@@ -312,6 +359,6 @@ const val STRAW_SDK_TARGET = 35
 // vc=19 / 0.1.0-AE — rust pipeline cutover. Extraction via
 // strawcore-core (Sulkta-OSS/strawcore) via the UniFFI wrapper; no
 // NewPipeExtractor in the runtime path.
-const val STRAW_VERSION_CODE = 90
-const val STRAW_VERSION_NAME = "0.1.0-CX"
+const val STRAW_VERSION_CODE = 91
+const val STRAW_VERSION_NAME = "0.1.0-CY"
 const val STRAW_APPLICATION_ID = "com.sulkta.straw"
diff --git a/rust/Cargo.toml b/rust/Cargo.toml
index 2f1ce3924..a35ae1124 100644
--- a/rust/Cargo.toml
+++ b/rust/Cargo.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,14 @@ repository = "https://git.sulkta.com/Sulkta-OSS/straw"
 strip = true
 lto = "thin"
 codegen-units = 1
-panic = "abort"
+# unwind (NOT abort): panic=abort defeats UniFFI's catch_unwind AND tokio's
+# spawn_blocking JoinError capture, turning ANY panic in the extractor core
+# (which chews weekly-rotating, attacker-influenced YouTube payloads) into an
+# instant whole-app SIGABRT. unwind restores both safety nets so a core panic
+# surfaces as a caught StrawcoreException instead of crashing the app. The
+# unwind-table size cost is a rounding error against the 4-ABI jniLibs payload.
+# (straw + FFI-wrapper audits, 2026-07-04.)
+panic = "unwind"
 opt-level = "z"
 
 # `url` crate for video-id extraction in stream.rs.
diff --git a/rust/strawcore/src/channel.rs b/rust/strawcore/src/channel.rs
index 6f9554f66..71cf43610 100644
--- a/rust/strawcore/src/channel.rs
+++ b/rust/strawcore/src/channel.rs
@@ -33,11 +33,8 @@ pub async fn channel_info(input: String) -> Result<ChannelInfo, StrawcoreError>
     log::info!("strawcore::channel_info input_len={}", input.len());
     crate::runtime::ensure_initialized();
     let identifier = resolve_channel_identifier(&input)?;
-    let core = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || core_channel_info(identifier))
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| StrawcoreError::Extractor {
-            msg: format!("join: {e}"),
-        })??;
+    let core = crate::runtime::run_extract("channel_info", move || core_channel_info(identifier))
+        .await?;
     Ok(map_channel(core))
 }
 
@@ -63,11 +60,10 @@ pub async fn channel_videos_continuation(token: String) -> Result<Page, Strawcor
         token.len()
     );
     crate::runtime::ensure_initialized();
-    let page = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || core_channel_continuation(&token))
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| StrawcoreError::Extractor {
-            msg: format!("join: {e}"),
-        })??;
+    let page = crate::runtime::run_extract("channel_videos_continuation", move || {
+        core_channel_continuation(&token)
+    })
+    .await?;
     Ok(page_from_core(page))
 }
 
diff --git a/rust/strawcore/src/runtime.rs b/rust/strawcore/src/runtime.rs
index 336d6b4bb..eb5fc40aa 100644
--- a/rust/strawcore/src/runtime.rs
+++ b/rust/strawcore/src/runtime.rs
@@ -17,12 +17,14 @@
 
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicU64, Ordering};
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
-use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
+use std::time::{Duration, SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
 
 use strawcore_core::downloader::ReqwestDownloader;
 use strawcore_core::localization::{ContentCountry, Localization};
 use strawcore_core::newpipe::NewPipe;
 
+use crate::error::StrawcoreError;
+
 static INITIALIZED: AtomicBool = AtomicBool::new(false);
 static LAST_ATTEMPT_MS: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
 // Guards the actual init attempt so concurrent calls don't all try
@@ -94,3 +96,47 @@ pub fn ensure_initialized() {
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// Wall-clock ceiling on a single blocking extractor call. Core bounds each
+/// HTTP request to 30s and (since the 2026-07-04 reliability fix) the JS
+/// deobfuscation runtime to a 5s interrupt, so a legitimate multi-round-trip
+/// extraction on a slow connection stays comfortably under this; anything
+/// past it is a wedge (a pathological player.js, a black-holed CDN) and we'd
+/// rather surface a timeout to the Kotlin caller than spin forever.
+const EXTRACT_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(60);
+
+/// Run a blocking strawcore-core call on the tokio blocking pool, bounded by
+/// [`EXTRACT_TIMEOUT`]. Replaces the raw `spawn_blocking(..).await??` pattern
+/// at every FFI entry point so a hung extraction unblocks the Kotlin suspend
+/// instead of (a) spinning the spinner forever and (b) piling detached
+/// blocking threads toward tokio's 512-thread cap, after which *all*
+/// spawn_blocking-based FFI calls would queue behind the wedged ones for the
+/// process lifetime.
+///
+/// Caveat (documented, not a bug): `spawn_blocking` tasks are not abortable,
+/// so on timeout the detached thread keeps running until the core call
+/// returns on its own — core's per-request (30s) + JS-interrupt (5s) bounds
+/// cap how long that is. The win here is unblocking the *caller* and bounding
+/// retry pileup, not reclaiming the thread instantly.
+pub(crate) async fn run_extract<T, E, F>(what: &'static str, f: F) -> Result<T, StrawcoreError>
+where
+    F: FnOnce() -> Result<T, E> + Send + 'static,
+    T: Send + 'static,
+    E: Send + 'static,
+    StrawcoreError: From<E>,
+{
+    match tokio::time::timeout(EXTRACT_TIMEOUT, tokio::task::spawn_blocking(f)).await {
+        // Timed out waiting on the blocking task.
+        Err(_elapsed) => Err(StrawcoreError::Extractor {
+            msg: format!("timeout: {what} exceeded {}s", EXTRACT_TIMEOUT.as_secs()),
+        }),
+        // Blocking task finished within the deadline but the join failed —
+        // panic (only under a non-abort profile) or cancellation.
+        Ok(Err(join)) => Err(StrawcoreError::Extractor {
+            msg: format!("join: {join}"),
+        }),
+        // Blocking task returned; propagate its own error via the existing
+        // `From<ExtractionError>` mapping.
+        Ok(Ok(inner)) => inner.map_err(StrawcoreError::from),
+    }
+}
diff --git a/rust/strawcore/src/search.rs b/rust/strawcore/src/search.rs
index 308bacdda..726019a96 100644
--- a/rust/strawcore/src/search.rs
+++ b/rust/strawcore/src/search.rs
@@ -84,13 +84,10 @@ pub async fn search(query: String) -> Result<Page, StrawcoreError> {
     // the hot entry points. Now every extractor entry re-asserts
     // — cheap when INITIALIZED is true (single Acquire load).
     crate::runtime::ensure_initialized();
-    let result = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+    let result = crate::runtime::run_extract("search", move || {
         search_extractor::search(&query, SearchFilter::Videos)
     })
-    .await
-    .map_err(|e| StrawcoreError::Extractor {
-        msg: format!("join: {e}"),
-    })??;
+    .await?;
     // Page 1 carries the first continuation token (None once YT stops
     // handing them out). The Kotlin SearchViewModel passes it back to
     // `search_continuation` on scroll.
@@ -106,10 +103,9 @@ pub async fn search(query: String) -> Result<Page, StrawcoreError> {
 pub async fn search_continuation(token: String) -> Result<Page, StrawcoreError> {
     log::info!("strawcore::search_continuation token_len={}", token.len());
     crate::runtime::ensure_initialized();
-    let page = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || search_extractor::search_continuation(&token))
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| StrawcoreError::Extractor {
-            msg: format!("join: {e}"),
-        })??;
+    let page = crate::runtime::run_extract("search_continuation", move || {
+        search_extractor::search_continuation(&token)
+    })
+    .await?;
     Ok(page_from_core(page))
 }
diff --git a/rust/strawcore/src/stream.rs b/rust/strawcore/src/stream.rs
index e95c313ea..09eb19cfd 100644
--- a/rust/strawcore/src/stream.rs
+++ b/rust/strawcore/src/stream.rs
@@ -78,11 +78,10 @@ pub async fn stream_info(input: String) -> Result<StreamInfo, StrawcoreError> {
     crate::runtime::ensure_initialized();
     let video_id = resolve_video_id(&input)?;
     let video_id_for_call = video_id.clone();
-    let core = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || core_stream_info(&video_id_for_call))
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| StrawcoreError::Extractor {
-            msg: format!("join: {e}"),
-        })??;
+    let core = crate::runtime::run_extract("stream_info", move || {
+        core_stream_info(&video_id_for_call)
+    })
+    .await?;
     Ok(map_stream_info(video_id, core))
 }
 
@@ -95,11 +94,10 @@ pub async fn stream_metadata(input: String) -> Result<(i64, i64), StrawcoreError
     log::info!("strawcore::stream_metadata input_len={}", input.len());
     crate::runtime::ensure_initialized();
     let video_id = resolve_video_id(&input)?;
-    let core = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || core_stream_metadata(&video_id))
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| StrawcoreError::Extractor {
-            msg: format!("join: {e}"),
-        })??;
+    let core = crate::runtime::run_extract("stream_metadata", move || {
+        core_stream_metadata(&video_id)
+    })
+    .await?;
     Ok((clamp_nonneg(core.view_count), core.duration_seconds.max(0)))
 }
 
diff --git a/strawApp/build.gradle.kts b/strawApp/build.gradle.kts
index bf1bdbed2..ed3b5df02 100644
--- a/strawApp/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/strawApp/build.gradle.kts
@@ -66,7 +66,15 @@ configure<ApplicationExtension> {
         // strawApp/proguard-rules.pro cover UniFFI + JNA +
         // kotlinx-serialization companions.
         debug {
-            isDebuggable = true
+            // NOT debuggable, even though this is the `debug` buildType: the
+            // debug variant is what we PUBLISH to fdroid.sulkta.com, and a
+            // shipped debuggable APK lets any ADB/USB attacker `run-as` the
+            // package and dump watch/search history + the full subscription
+            // list — defeating allowBackup=false / dataExtractionRules on a
+            // privacy-focused client. Flipping this needs no package-id
+            // cutover: signing + the `.debug` suffix below are unchanged, so
+            // in-place fdroid updates keep working.
+            isDebuggable = false
             // Keep the `.debug` applicationId suffix (package stays
             // com.sulkta.straw.debug) so in-place fdroid updates + the in-app
             // auto-updater keep working and nobody loses their subs/history.
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/StrawActivity.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/StrawActivity.kt
index fbc39d27c..d69e2b918 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/StrawActivity.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/StrawActivity.kt
@@ -5,12 +5,16 @@
 
 package com.sulkta.straw
 
+import android.Manifest
 import android.content.Intent
+import android.content.pm.PackageManager
+import android.os.Build
 import android.os.Bundle
 import androidx.activity.ComponentActivity
 import androidx.activity.OnBackPressedCallback
 import androidx.activity.compose.setContent
 import androidx.activity.enableEdgeToEdge
+import androidx.activity.result.contract.ActivityResultContracts
 import androidx.compose.foundation.isSystemInDarkTheme
 import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
 import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxSize
@@ -20,6 +24,7 @@ import androidx.compose.runtime.Composable
 import androidx.compose.runtime.CompositionLocalProvider
 import androidx.compose.runtime.DisposableEffect
 import androidx.compose.runtime.LaunchedEffect
+import androidx.compose.runtime.SideEffect
 import androidx.compose.runtime.collectAsState
 import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
 import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
@@ -27,6 +32,7 @@ import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
 import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
 import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
 import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
+import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat
 import androidx.media3.common.util.UnstableApi
 import com.sulkta.straw.data.Settings
 import com.sulkta.straw.data.ThemeMode
@@ -62,10 +68,23 @@ class StrawActivity : ComponentActivity() {
      */
     private val pendingDeepLink = MutableStateFlow<String?>(null)
 
+    /**
+     * Android 13+ gates every `notify()` (media controls + the
+     * update-available notice) behind a runtime POST_NOTIFICATIONS grant.
+     * Registered here (before the activity is STARTED, as the API requires)
+     * and launched once on cold start. The result is intentionally ignored:
+     * Android won't re-prompt after a permanent choice, and both playback
+     * and the update surface degrade gracefully without it (the passive
+     * Settings "Update available" text still shows).
+     */
+    private val notificationPermissionLauncher =
+        registerForActivityResult(ActivityResultContracts.RequestPermission()) { }
+
     @OptIn(UnstableApi::class)
     override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
         enableEdgeToEdge()
         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
+        maybeRequestNotificationPermission()
 
         val startUrl = pickYouTubeUrl(intent)
 
@@ -100,25 +119,39 @@ class StrawActivity : ComponentActivity() {
                         expanded = true
                     }
 
-                    DisposableEffect(nav) {
-                        val cb = object : OnBackPressedCallback(true) {
+                    // Intercept back ONLY when there's an in-app action to take:
+                    // collapse an expanded player, or pop the browse stack. At
+                    // the browse root with nothing open the callback is disabled
+                    // so the system handles back natively (moveTaskToBack on
+                    // A12+). The previous version disabled the callback and
+                    // re-dispatched to the system at root — but on A12+
+                    // moveTaskToBack does NOT destroy the activity, so the
+                    // composition (and the now-disabled callback) survived and
+                    // DisposableEffect(nav) never re-ran to re-enable it, killing
+                    // all in-app back permanently after one back-to-Home.
+                    // Driving isEnabled from live nav/expanded state fixes that.
+                    val canGoBack = expanded || nav.stack.size > 1
+                    val backCallback = remember {
+                        object : OnBackPressedCallback(canGoBack) {
                             override fun handleOnBackPressed() {
-                                // Back order: the true-fullscreen Player pops
-                                // first; an expanded player collapses to the
-                                // minibar; otherwise pop the browse stack (or
-                                // exit at root).
+                                // The true-fullscreen Player is a nav screen, so
+                                // it pops via the stack branch; an expanded
+                                // (non-fullscreen) player collapses first.
                                 if (nav.current !is Screen.Player && expanded) {
                                     expanded = false
-                                    return
-                                }
-                                if (!nav.pop()) {
-                                    isEnabled = false
-                                    this@StrawActivity.onBackPressedDispatcher.onBackPressed()
+                                } else {
+                                    // Guaranteed poppable: enabled only when
+                                    // expanded || stack.size > 1, and the
+                                    // expanded case is handled above.
+                                    nav.pop()
                                 }
                             }
                         }
-                        onBackPressedDispatcher.addCallback(cb)
-                        onDispose { cb.remove() }
+                    }
+                    SideEffect { backCallback.isEnabled = canGoBack }
+                    DisposableEffect(onBackPressedDispatcher) {
+                        onBackPressedDispatcher.addCallback(backCallback)
+                        onDispose { backCallback.remove() }
                     }
 
                     // Open the deep-linked video into the expandable player on
@@ -173,6 +206,18 @@ class StrawActivity : ComponentActivity() {
         pickYouTubeUrl(intent)?.let { pendingDeepLink.value = it }
     }
 
+    /** Ask for POST_NOTIFICATIONS on API 33+ if it isn't already granted. */
+    private fun maybeRequestNotificationPermission() {
+        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) return
+        val granted = ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(
+            this,
+            Manifest.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS,
+        ) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED
+        if (!granted) {
+            notificationPermissionLauncher.launch(Manifest.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS)
+        }
+    }
+
     @Composable
     private fun ScreenContent(
         nav: Navigator,
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/PlaylistsStore.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/PlaylistsStore.kt
index 22b381868..05fd20840 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/PlaylistsStore.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/PlaylistsStore.kt
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import android.content.SharedPreferences
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.MutableStateFlow
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.StateFlow
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.asStateFlow
+import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.update
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.updateAndGet
 import kotlinx.serialization.Serializable
 import kotlinx.serialization.json.Json
@@ -45,6 +46,24 @@ data class Playlist(
 private const val PREFS = "straw_playlists"
 private const val KEY = "playlists_v1"
 
+// Caps so a hostile/oversized NewPipe import (SettingsImport permitted up to
+// 256 playlists × 5000 items with no length bound) can't persist a
+// hundreds-of-MB blob that then re-decodes on every cold start → ANR/OOM
+// crash-loop recoverable only by clearing app data. Realistic use is a
+// handful of playlists with tens–hundreds of short-string items, so these
+// bound the pathological case while leaving normal use untouched.
+private const val MAX_PLAYLISTS = 100
+private const val MAX_ITEMS_PER_PLAYLIST = 1000
+private const val MAX_NAME_LEN = 100
+private const val MAX_TITLE_LEN = 300
+private const val MAX_URL_LEN = 512
+private const val MAX_UPLOADER_LEN = 100
+
+// Refuse to even decode a persisted blob larger than this (chars). A capped
+// legitimate export is a few MB at most; anything past this is corrupt or a
+// pre-fix poison blob, and we'd rather start empty than OOM decoding it.
+private const val MAX_BLOB_CHARS = 8_000_000
+
 class PlaylistsStore(context: Context) {
     private val sp: SharedPreferences = context.getSharedPreferences(PREFS, Context.MODE_PRIVATE)
     private val json = Json { ignoreUnknownKeys = true }
@@ -53,17 +72,43 @@ class PlaylistsStore(context: Context) {
     // list so disk converges to the latest in-memory state.
     private val writer = PrefsWriter(sp)
 
-    private val _playlists = MutableStateFlow(load())
+    // Seed empty + hydrate OFF the main thread (mirrors ResumePositionsStore).
+    // The old MutableStateFlow(load()) decoded the whole playlists blob
+    // synchronously in the constructor, which runs in StrawApp.onCreate on
+    // Main — a large (even capped) blob blocked cold start. The hydrate shares
+    // the PrefsWriter FIFO dispatcher (enqueued before this store is published)
+    // so it always runs before any write's persist, and mutations that arrive
+    // before it finishes defer themselves (see the `hydrated` guard below).
+    private val _playlists = MutableStateFlow<List<Playlist>>(emptyList())
     val playlists: StateFlow<List<Playlist>> = _playlists.asStateFlow()
 
+    @Volatile private var hydrated = false
+
+    init {
+        writer.serial {
+            try {
+                val loaded = load()
+                if (loaded.isNotEmpty()) {
+                    _playlists.update { live ->
+                        // Deferral keeps `live` empty at hydrate time, so this
+                        // is normally just `loaded`; merge-by-id (live wins) is
+                        // the belt-and-suspenders path if a create slipped in.
+                        if (live.isEmpty()) loaded else capPlaylists(mergeById(loaded, live))
+                    }
+                }
+            } finally {
+                hydrated = true
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     fun create(name: String): Playlist {
         val pl = Playlist(
             id = UUID.randomUUID().toString(),
-            name = name.trim().ifBlank { "Untitled" },
+            name = clampName(name).ifBlank { "Untitled" },
             createdAt = System.currentTimeMillis(),
         )
-        _playlists.updateAndGet { it + pl }
-        persist()
+        insert(pl)
         return pl
     }
 
@@ -76,32 +121,42 @@ class PlaylistsStore(context: Context) {
      */
     fun importPlaylist(name: String, items: List<PlaylistItem>): Playlist {
         val stampNow = System.currentTimeMillis()
-        // Dedup within the import + stamp addedAt once.
+        // Dedup within the import, clamp string lengths, stamp addedAt once,
+        // and stop at the per-playlist item cap.
         val seen = HashSet<String>()
-        val deduped = ArrayList<PlaylistItem>(items.size)
-        for (it in items) {
-            if (it.streamUrl.isBlank()) continue
-            if (!seen.add(it.streamUrl)) continue
-            deduped.add(it.copy(addedAt = if (it.addedAt == 0L) stampNow else it.addedAt))
+        val deduped = ArrayList<PlaylistItem>(minOf(items.size, MAX_ITEMS_PER_PLAYLIST))
+        for (raw in items) {
+            if (raw.streamUrl.isBlank()) continue
+            val clamped = clampItem(raw).let { if (it.addedAt == 0L) it.copy(addedAt = stampNow) else it }
+            if (!seen.add(clamped.streamUrl)) continue
+            deduped.add(clamped)
+            if (deduped.size >= MAX_ITEMS_PER_PLAYLIST) break
         }
         val pl = Playlist(
             id = UUID.randomUUID().toString(),
-            name = name.trim().ifBlank { "Untitled" },
+            name = clampName(name).ifBlank { "Untitled" },
             createdAt = stampNow,
             items = deduped,
         )
-        _playlists.updateAndGet { it + pl }
-        persist()
+        insert(pl)
         return pl
     }
 
+    private fun insert(pl: Playlist) {
+        if (!hydrated) { writer.serial { insert(pl) }; return }
+        _playlists.updateAndGet { capPlaylists(it + pl) }
+        persist()
+    }
+
     fun delete(id: String) {
+        if (!hydrated) { writer.serial { delete(id) }; return }
         _playlists.updateAndGet { cur -> cur.filterNot { it.id == id } }
         persist()
     }
 
     fun rename(id: String, newName: String) {
-        val trimmed = newName.trim().ifBlank { return }
+        val trimmed = clampName(newName).ifBlank { return }
+        if (!hydrated) { writer.serial { rename(id, newName) }; return }
         _playlists.updateAndGet { cur ->
             cur.map { if (it.id == id) it.copy(name = trimmed) else it }
         }
@@ -109,11 +164,14 @@ class PlaylistsStore(context: Context) {
     }
 
     fun addItem(playlistId: String, item: PlaylistItem) {
-        val stamped = item.copy(addedAt = System.currentTimeMillis())
+        val stamped = clampItem(item).copy(addedAt = System.currentTimeMillis())
+        if (stamped.streamUrl.isBlank()) return
+        if (!hydrated) { writer.serial { addItem(playlistId, item) }; return }
         _playlists.updateAndGet { cur ->
             cur.map { pl ->
                 if (pl.id != playlistId) pl
                 else if (pl.items.any { it.streamUrl == stamped.streamUrl }) pl
+                else if (pl.items.size >= MAX_ITEMS_PER_PLAYLIST) pl
                 else pl.copy(items = pl.items + stamped)
             }
         }
@@ -121,6 +179,7 @@ class PlaylistsStore(context: Context) {
     }
 
     fun removeItem(playlistId: String, streamUrl: String) {
+        if (!hydrated) { writer.serial { removeItem(playlistId, streamUrl) }; return }
         _playlists.updateAndGet { cur ->
             cur.map { pl ->
                 if (pl.id != playlistId) pl
@@ -136,9 +195,37 @@ class PlaylistsStore(context: Context) {
         writer.write { putString(KEY, json.encodeToString(_playlists.value)) }
     }
 
+    private fun clampName(s: String): String = s.trim().take(MAX_NAME_LEN)
+
+    private fun clampItem(item: PlaylistItem): PlaylistItem = item.copy(
+        streamUrl = item.streamUrl.take(MAX_URL_LEN),
+        title = item.title.take(MAX_TITLE_LEN),
+        thumbnail = item.thumbnail?.take(MAX_URL_LEN),
+        uploader = item.uploader.take(MAX_UPLOADER_LEN),
+    )
+
+    /** Keep the newest MAX_PLAYLISTS (new ones are appended). */
+    private fun capPlaylists(list: List<Playlist>): List<Playlist> =
+        if (list.size <= MAX_PLAYLISTS) list else list.takeLast(MAX_PLAYLISTS)
+
+    /** live entries win on id collision; loaded's remainder is appended. */
+    private fun mergeById(loaded: List<Playlist>, live: List<Playlist>): List<Playlist> {
+        val liveIds = live.mapTo(HashSet()) { it.id }
+        return live + loaded.filterNot { it.id in liveIds }
+    }
+
     private fun load(): List<Playlist> = runCatching {
         val s = sp.getString(KEY, null) ?: return emptyList()
+        // Don't decode an implausibly huge (corrupt/hostile/legacy-poison) blob.
+        if (s.length > MAX_BLOB_CHARS) return emptyList()
         json.decodeFromString<List<Playlist>>(s)
+            .takeLast(MAX_PLAYLISTS)
+            .map { pl ->
+                pl.copy(
+                    name = clampName(pl.name),
+                    items = pl.items.take(MAX_ITEMS_PER_PLAYLIST).map { clampItem(it) },
+                )
+            }
     }.getOrDefault(emptyList())
 }
 
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/SettingsStore.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/SettingsStore.kt
index 86b3643f6..9fe25bee0 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/SettingsStore.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/data/SettingsStore.kt
@@ -83,8 +83,19 @@ enum class CacheCap(val label: String, val value: Int) {
     Unlimited("Unlimited", Int.MAX_VALUE);
 
     companion object {
+        /**
+         * Resolve a stored/raw cap value to an enum. Snaps UP to the
+         * smallest offered cap that is >= target, so a value that isn't an
+         * exact enum member (a legacy default like 20/30/500, or a stored
+         * value from a build with different granularity) resolves to a real
+         * FINITE cap that covers it — not silently to Unlimited. Only a
+         * target larger than every finite cap resolves to Unlimited (which
+         * is exactly what a stored Int.MAX_VALUE "Unlimited" selection is).
+         * The prior exact-match-or-Unlimited version turned every non-enum
+         * default into an effective no-cap (100k rows) on fresh installs.
+         */
         fun nearest(target: Int): CacheCap =
-            entries.firstOrNull { it.value == target } ?: Unlimited
+            entries.filter { it.value >= target }.minByOrNull { it.value } ?: Unlimited
     }
 }
 
@@ -277,26 +288,29 @@ class SettingsStore(context: Context) {
      * takes effect immediately (next write trims to the new cap; reads
      * are unbounded since they're already in memory).
      *
-     * Defaults match the earlier hardcoded constants so first-launch
-     * behavior is unchanged from prior versions.
+     * Defaults are real enum values (not the old 20/30/500 non-enum
+     * literals, which — because nearest() used to be exact-match-or-Unlimited
+     * — silently resolved to Unlimited on every fresh install and made the
+     * effective cap the hard ceiling). nearest() now snaps up, so even a
+     * legacy stored non-enum value lands on a finite cap.
      */
     private val _historyWatchesCap = MutableStateFlow(
-        CacheCap.nearest(sp.getInt(KEY_CACHE_HISTORY_WATCHES, 50)),
+        CacheCap.nearest(sp.getInt(KEY_CACHE_HISTORY_WATCHES, CacheCap.Tiny.value)),
     )
     val historyWatchesCap: StateFlow<CacheCap> = _historyWatchesCap.asStateFlow()
 
     private val _historySearchesCap = MutableStateFlow(
-        loadCap(KEY_CACHE_HISTORY_SEARCHES, default = 20),
+        loadCap(KEY_CACHE_HISTORY_SEARCHES, default = CacheCap.Tiny.value),
     )
     val historySearchesCap: StateFlow<CacheCap> = _historySearchesCap.asStateFlow()
 
     private val _resumePositionsCap = MutableStateFlow(
-        loadCap(KEY_CACHE_RESUME_POSITIONS, default = 500),
+        loadCap(KEY_CACHE_RESUME_POSITIONS, default = CacheCap.Medium.value),
     )
     val resumePositionsCap: StateFlow<CacheCap> = _resumePositionsCap.asStateFlow()
 
     private val _searchCacheCap = MutableStateFlow(
-        loadCap(KEY_CACHE_SEARCH, default = 30),
+        loadCap(KEY_CACHE_SEARCH, default = CacheCap.Tiny.value),
     )
     val searchCacheCap: StateFlow<CacheCap> = _searchCacheCap.asStateFlow()
 
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/dataimport/SettingsImport.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/dataimport/SettingsImport.kt
index 979c4dcbc..39657b91e 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/dataimport/SettingsImport.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/dataimport/SettingsImport.kt
@@ -321,8 +321,11 @@ object SettingsImport {
         openDb(dbFile).use { db ->
             val playlistRows = mutableListOf<Pair<Long, String>>()
             // Hard caps so a malicious export with millions of rows
-            // doesn't walk an unbounded cursor into memory.
-            db.rawQuery("SELECT uid, name FROM playlists LIMIT 256", null).use { c ->
+            // doesn't walk an unbounded cursor into memory. Matched to
+            // PlaylistsStore's MAX_PLAYLISTS/MAX_ITEMS_PER_PLAYLIST (the store
+            // is the real enforcement point; this just avoids materializing
+            // rows it would drop anyway).
+            db.rawQuery("SELECT uid, name FROM playlists LIMIT 100", null).use { c ->
                 while (c.moveToNext()) {
                     val uid = c.getLong(0)
                     val name = c.getString(1) ?: "Untitled"
@@ -338,7 +341,7 @@ object SettingsImport {
                     JOIN streams s ON s.uid = j.stream_id
                     WHERE j.playlist_id = ?
                     ORDER BY j.join_index
-                    LIMIT 5000
+                    LIMIT 1000
                     """.trimIndent(),
                     arrayOf(uid.toString()),
                 ).use { c ->
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/detail/VideoDetailViewModel.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/detail/VideoDetailViewModel.kt
index dbc8d8e5b..cb67041c4 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/detail/VideoDetailViewModel.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/detail/VideoDetailViewModel.kt
@@ -197,18 +197,24 @@ class VideoDetailViewModel : ViewModel() {
                     rydDeferred.await() to sbDeferred.await()
                 }
 
-                val related = info.related.map { r ->
-                    StreamItem(
-                        url = r.url,
-                        title = r.title.ifBlank { "(no title)" },
-                        uploader = r.uploader,
-                        uploaderUrl = r.uploaderUrl,
-                        thumbnail = r.thumbnail,
-                        durationSeconds = r.durationSeconds,
-                        viewCount = r.viewCount,
-                        uploadDateRelative = r.uploadDateRelative,
-                    )
-                }
+                // Dedup by url: the related list is keyed "rel:"+url in the
+                // LazyColumn, so a duplicate would hard-crash Compose. Empty
+                // today (core returns no related), but arm the path now so it
+                // can't regress the moment core starts populating it.
+                val related = info.related
+                    .distinctBy { it.url }
+                    .map { r ->
+                        StreamItem(
+                            url = r.url,
+                            title = r.title.ifBlank { "(no title)" },
+                            uploader = r.uploader,
+                            uploaderUrl = r.uploaderUrl,
+                            thumbnail = r.thumbnail,
+                            durationSeconds = r.durationSeconds,
+                            viewCount = r.viewCount,
+                            uploadDateRelative = r.uploadDateRelative,
+                        )
+                    }
 
                 // More from this channel via strawcore.channelInfo — one
                 // Rust round-trip returns the channel's Videos tab pre-mapped.
@@ -262,6 +268,13 @@ class VideoDetailViewModel : ViewModel() {
                             subscriberCount = ch.subscriberCount,
                             videos = ch.videos
                                 .filter { it.url != streamUrl }
+                                // A repeated videoId within the first 20
+                                // channel-tab entries would produce a
+                                // duplicate LazyColumn key ("mfc:"+url) and
+                                // hard-crash Compose on opening the video.
+                                // Core doesn't dedup channel videos, so gate
+                                // it here (ChannelViewModel does the same).
+                                .distinctBy { it.url }
                                 .take(20)
                                 .map { v ->
                                     StreamItem(
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/NowPlaying.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/NowPlaying.kt
index a1f8bb619..be7b6e5c9 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/NowPlaying.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/NowPlaying.kt
@@ -75,6 +75,26 @@ object NowPlaying {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Attach richer data (e.g. late-arriving SponsorBlock segments) to the
+     * currently-playing item ONLY if it is still `item`'s streamUrl. Unlike
+     * [claim], this NEVER replaces a *different* current — so an async fetch
+     * that resolves after the user skipped to another video can't hijack
+     * NowPlaying back to the old one (which would apply stale segments,
+     * flip the collapsed-follow video, and pollute the resume store). No-op
+     * if playback has moved on. Race-free: only ever CAS-swaps a same-url
+     * item, so a concurrent writer flipping `current` to a new url makes the
+     * next loop's guard bail instead of clobbering it.
+     */
+    fun refreshIfCurrent(item: NowPlayingItem) {
+        while (true) {
+            val cur = _current.value ?: return
+            if (cur.streamUrl != item.streamUrl) return
+            if (cur == item) return
+            if (_current.compareAndSet(cur, item)) return
+        }
+    }
+
     fun clear() {
         _current.value = null
     }
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/PlaybackService.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/PlaybackService.kt
index 8bd570751..3df7e4ff1 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/PlaybackService.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/player/PlaybackService.kt
@@ -258,7 +258,12 @@ class PlaybackService : MediaSessionService() {
                     SponsorBlockClient.fetch(videoId, cats)
                 }
                 if (segments.isNotEmpty()) {
-                    NowPlaying.claim(item.copy(segments = segments))
+                    // Staleness fence: this SB fetch is a network RTT during
+                    // which the player may have skipped to another track.
+                    // refreshIfCurrent only attaches the segments if `item` is
+                    // STILL the playing video — it will not hijack NowPlaying
+                    // back to this (now-previous) one the way claim() would.
+                    NowPlaying.refreshIfCurrent(item.copy(segments = segments))
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/AppUpdateClient.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/AppUpdateClient.kt
index 2800500cf..06160d238 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/AppUpdateClient.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/AppUpdateClient.kt
@@ -21,12 +21,10 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
 import kotlinx.coroutines.withContext
 import kotlinx.serialization.Serializable
 import kotlinx.serialization.json.Json
-import okhttp3.CertificatePinner
 import okhttp3.OkHttpClient
 import okhttp3.Request
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
 
-private const val INDEX_HOST = "fdroid.sulkta.com"
 private const val INDEX_URL = "https://fdroid.sulkta.com/fdroid/repo/index-v2.json"
 private const val REPO_BASE = "https://fdroid.sulkta.com/fdroid/repo"
 
@@ -46,38 +44,56 @@ private val APK_NAME_RE = Regex("""^/[A-Za-z0-9._-]+\.apk$""")
  */
 private const val MAX_PLAUSIBLE_VC = 10_000_000L
 
+/**
+ * Hard cap on the index body we'll buffer. The straw repo's index-v2.json
+ * is a few KB; 8 MiB is unreachable organically but stops a ballooned or
+ * hostile body from OOMing the update check.
+ */
+private const val MAX_INDEX_BYTES = 8L * 1024 * 1024
+
 data class UpdateInfo(
     val versionCode: Long,
     val versionName: String,
     val apkUrl: String,
 )
 
-object AppUpdateClient {
-    /**
-     * Pin two Subject-Public-Key-Info SHA-256 hashes against
-     * fdroid.sulkta.com so an off-tree CA misissue can't ship the
-     * user an attacker-signed index.
-     *
-     *  - sha256/8ofd... — current leaf SPKI. Rotates every ~90 days
-     *    with each Let's Encrypt renewal; an app update before the
-     *    next rotation refreshes this pin.
-     *  - sha256/y7xV... — Let's Encrypt E7 intermediate SPKI. Stable
-     *    for years; serves as the rotation-safety pin while we push
-     *    a new leaf hash.
-     *
-     * When the leaf pin no longer matches (post-rotation), OkHttp
-     * still accepts the chain because the E7 intermediate pin
-     * matches. The next app release rolls the leaf forward.
-     */
-    private val pinner: CertificatePinner = CertificatePinner.Builder()
-        .add(INDEX_HOST, "sha256/8ofdiPS6TAiUx9zb2O7Qa9IKZQ3D2i+18teKCrz/MqA=")
-        .add(INDEX_HOST, "sha256/y7xVm0TVJNahMr2sZydE2jQH8SquXV9yLF9seROHHHU=")
-        .build()
+/**
+ * Outcome of an index check. Distinguishes "couldn't reach/parse the index"
+ * (indeterminate — must NOT be reported as up-to-date) from "reached it and
+ * there is genuinely nothing newer".
+ */
+sealed interface UpdateResult {
+    /** Reached + parsed the highest published entry for this package. */
+    data class Found(val info: UpdateInfo) : UpdateResult
 
+    /** Reached + parsed, but no usable published entry exists. */
+    object None : UpdateResult
+
+    /** Could not reach or parse the index — retry without lying "up to date". */
+    object Failed : UpdateResult
+}
+
+object AppUpdateClient {
+    // No certificate pinning — deliberately. We used to pin the
+    // fdroid.sulkta.com leaf SPKI plus the Let's Encrypt "E7" intermediate,
+    // but that inverted the risk: the leaf rotates on every ~90-day certbot
+    // renewal and LE rotates issuing intermediates from a pool (and
+    // explicitly documents "don't pin our intermediates"), so a routine
+    // renewal was guaranteed to miss both pins — silently bricking the ONLY
+    // in-app update path, with the fix reachable only THROUGH the channel the
+    // break just killed. The threat pinning defended (a CA misissue serving a
+    // forged index) is already backstopped: a swapped APK cannot install over
+    // Straw because the Android package installer verifies it against our
+    // signing key (bb9ca96b…), and the index only names an APK URL. Default
+    // system-CA validation still blocks a plain MITM. So we drop the
+    // self-brick and keep the real integrity control (the signature gate).
     private val http: OkHttpClient = OkHttpClient.Builder()
         .connectTimeout(15, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
         .readTimeout(15, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
-        .certificatePinner(pinner)
+        // Absolute ceiling on the whole call (connect + write + read +
+        // redirects) so a slow-drip server can't keep the request — and the
+        // WorkManager job behind it — alive indefinitely.
+        .callTimeout(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
         .build()
     private val json = Json { ignoreUnknownKeys = true }
 
@@ -86,19 +102,27 @@ object AppUpdateClient {
      * for THIS app's package. Returns null on network/parse failure (the
      * caller treats null as "no update available, try again later").
      */
-    suspend fun fetchLatest(): UpdateInfo? = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
+    suspend fun fetchLatest(): UpdateResult = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
         runCatchingCancellable {
             val req = Request.Builder().url(INDEX_URL).build()
             val raw = http.newCall(req).execute().use { resp ->
-                if (!resp.isSuccessful) return@runCatchingCancellable null
+                if (!resp.isSuccessful) return@runCatchingCancellable UpdateResult.Failed
+                // Bounded read: request() buffers up to the cap without
+                // consuming it, so a within-cap body still string()s in full,
+                // but an attacker-/misconfig-ballooned index is refused
+                // instead of OOMing the process.
+                if (resp.body.source().request(MAX_INDEX_BYTES + 1)) {
+                    strawLogW("StrawUpdate") { "index exceeds $MAX_INDEX_BYTES-byte cap — refusing" }
+                    return@runCatchingCancellable UpdateResult.Failed
+                }
                 resp.body.string()
             }
             val index = json.decodeFromString<FdroidIndex>(raw)
             val pkg = index.packages[BuildConfig.APPLICATION_ID]
-                ?: return@runCatchingCancellable null
+                ?: return@runCatchingCancellable UpdateResult.None
             val best = pkg.versions.values
                 .maxByOrNull { it.manifest.versionCode }
-                ?: return@runCatchingCancellable null
+                ?: return@runCatchingCancellable UpdateResult.None
             // Reject implausible versionCodes outright — see
             // MAX_PLAUSIBLE_VC.
             if (best.manifest.versionCode <= 0 ||
@@ -106,7 +130,7 @@ object AppUpdateClient {
                 strawLogW("StrawUpdate") {
                     "rejecting implausible versionCode=${best.manifest.versionCode}"
                 }
-                return@runCatchingCancellable null
+                return@runCatchingCancellable UpdateResult.None
             }
             // Strict APK-basename match before we hand this off to
             // ACTION_VIEW. Anything else gets logged + dropped.
@@ -115,14 +139,16 @@ object AppUpdateClient {
                 strawLogW("StrawUpdate") {
                     "rejecting unsafe file.name=${fileName.take(80)}"
                 }
-                return@runCatchingCancellable null
+                return@runCatchingCancellable UpdateResult.None
             }
-            UpdateInfo(
-                versionCode = best.manifest.versionCode,
-                versionName = best.manifest.versionName.orEmpty(),
-                apkUrl = "$REPO_BASE$fileName",
+            UpdateResult.Found(
+                UpdateInfo(
+                    versionCode = best.manifest.versionCode,
+                    versionName = best.manifest.versionName.orEmpty(),
+                    apkUrl = "$REPO_BASE$fileName",
+                )
             )
-        }.getOrNull()
+        }.getOrElse { UpdateResult.Failed }
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/UpdateCheckWorker.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/UpdateCheckWorker.kt
index 758fdabdc..55ab485fc 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/UpdateCheckWorker.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/feature/update/UpdateCheckWorker.kt
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import android.app.PendingIntent
 import android.content.Context
 import android.content.Intent
 import android.net.Uri
+import android.os.Build
 import androidx.core.app.NotificationCompat
 import androidx.work.CoroutineWorker
 import androidx.work.WorkerParameters
@@ -36,23 +37,37 @@ import com.sulkta.straw.util.strawLogI
  * Touched by both the scheduled worker AND the "Check now" Settings
  * button so behavior stays identical regardless of trigger.
  */
-suspend fun runUpdateCheck(context: Context): UpdateInfo? {
-    val info = AppUpdateClient.fetchLatest()
-    Settings.get().setLastUpdateCheck(System.currentTimeMillis())
-    if (info == null) {
-        strawLogI("update", "check: network/parse failure, will retry")
-        return null
+suspend fun runUpdateCheck(context: Context): UpdateInfo? =
+    when (val result = AppUpdateClient.fetchLatest()) {
+        // Indeterminate — do NOT advance the last-check timestamp, or a
+        // permanently-failing checker would read "checked just now / up to
+        // date" while it's actually blind. Retry on the next tick.
+        is UpdateResult.Failed -> {
+            strawLogI("update", "check: network/parse failure, will retry (timestamp not advanced)")
+            null
+        }
+        // Reached the repo; it has nothing usable for this package.
+        is UpdateResult.None -> {
+            Settings.get().setLastUpdateCheck(System.currentTimeMillis())
+            Settings.get().setLatestKnownVersion(0L, "")
+            strawLogI("update", "check: no published build for this package")
+            null
+        }
+        is UpdateResult.Found -> {
+            val info = result.info
+            Settings.get().setLastUpdateCheck(System.currentTimeMillis())
+            if (info.versionCode <= BuildConfig.VERSION_CODE) {
+                strawLogI("update", "check: up to date (latest=${info.versionCode})")
+                Settings.get().setLatestKnownVersion(0L, "")
+                null
+            } else {
+                strawLogI("update", "check: ${BuildConfig.VERSION_CODE} → ${info.versionCode} available")
+                Settings.get().setLatestKnownVersion(info.versionCode, info.versionName)
+                postUpdateNotification(context, info)
+                info
+            }
+        }
     }
-    if (info.versionCode <= BuildConfig.VERSION_CODE) {
-        strawLogI("update", "check: up to date (latest=${info.versionCode})")
-        Settings.get().setLatestKnownVersion(0L, "")
-        return null
-    }
-    strawLogI("update", "check: ${BuildConfig.VERSION_CODE} → ${info.versionCode} available")
-    Settings.get().setLatestKnownVersion(info.versionCode, info.versionName)
-    postUpdateNotification(context, info)
-    return info
-}
 
 class UpdateCheckWorker(
     context: Context,
@@ -74,14 +89,19 @@ private const val NOTIF_ID = 23
 
 private fun postUpdateNotification(context: Context, info: UpdateInfo) {
     val nm = context.getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE) as NotificationManager
-    val channel = NotificationChannel(
-        NOTIF_CHANNEL_ID,
-        "Straw updates",
-        NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_DEFAULT,
-    ).apply {
-        description = "Notifies when a newer Straw build is on fdroid.sulkta.com."
+    // NotificationChannel is API 26+; minSdk is 24, so guard it or a 7.x
+    // device crashes (NoClassDefFoundError) the moment an update is found.
+    // Pre-O, NotificationCompat.Builder ignores the channel id and posts fine.
+    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
+        val channel = NotificationChannel(
+            NOTIF_CHANNEL_ID,
+            "Straw updates",
+            NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_DEFAULT,
+        ).apply {
+            description = "Notifies when a newer Straw build is on fdroid.sulkta.com."
+        }
+        nm.createNotificationChannel(channel)
     }
-    nm.createNotificationChannel(channel)
 
     // ACTION_VIEW on the APK URL — Chrome / system browser fetches it
     // via DownloadManager and the user taps it to install. No
@@ -102,6 +122,10 @@ private fun postUpdateNotification(context: Context, info: UpdateInfo) {
         .setContentTitle("Straw $name available")
         .setContentText("Tap to download from fdroid.sulkta.com.")
         .setAutoCancel(true)
+        // Only sound/vibrate the first time we surface a given version — the
+        // check re-runs on every cadence tick and would otherwise re-nag for
+        // the same pending update until the user installs it.
+        .setOnlyAlertOnce(true)
         .setContentIntent(pending)
         .build()
     nm.notify(NOTIF_ID, notif)
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/RydClient.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/RydClient.kt
index 400127de3..e47fe8d13 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/RydClient.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/RydClient.kt
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 package com.sulkta.straw.net
 
+import com.sulkta.straw.util.runCatchingCancellable
 import kotlinx.serialization.Serializable
 
 @Serializable
@@ -23,13 +24,18 @@ object RydClient {
     /** Suspends on the Rust async runtime; call from a coroutine. Returns
      *  null on any failure (transport / non-2xx / bad JSON), same contract
      *  the old blocking client had. Only likes/dislikes are carried — RYD's
-     *  rating/viewCount were dead, redundant overlay data (audit #2 L-9). */
+     *  rating/viewCount were dead, redundant overlay data (audit #2 L-9).
+     *  The uniffi call is wrapped: a core panic now unwinds to a UniFFI
+     *  InternalException (panic=unwind), which this shim's "null on failure"
+     *  contract must swallow rather than crash the detail screen. */
     suspend fun fetch(videoId: String): RydVotes? =
-        uniffi.strawcore.fetchRydVotes(videoId)?.let { v ->
-            RydVotes(
-                id = v.id,
-                likes = v.likes,
-                dislikes = v.dislikes,
-            )
-        }
+        runCatchingCancellable {
+            uniffi.strawcore.fetchRydVotes(videoId)?.let { v ->
+                RydVotes(
+                    id = v.id,
+                    likes = v.likes,
+                    dislikes = v.dislikes,
+                )
+            }
+        }.getOrNull()
 }
diff --git a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/SponsorBlockClient.kt b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/SponsorBlockClient.kt
index f15a6ef6d..662db3eea 100644
--- a/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/SponsorBlockClient.kt
+++ b/strawApp/src/main/kotlin/com/sulkta/straw/net/SponsorBlockClient.kt
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
 package com.sulkta.straw.net
 
+import com.sulkta.straw.util.runCatchingCancellable
 import kotlinx.serialization.Serializable
 
 @Serializable
@@ -28,17 +29,22 @@ data class SbSegment(
 object SponsorBlockClient {
     /** Suspends on the Rust async runtime; call from a coroutine. Returns
      *  an empty list on any failure, same contract the old blocking client
-     *  had. `categories` are the SB category keys to request. */
+     *  had. `categories` are the SB category keys to request. The uniffi
+     *  call is wrapped so a core panic (now unwinding to a UniFFI
+     *  InternalException under panic=unwind) is swallowed to an empty list
+     *  rather than crashing video-detail load. */
     suspend fun fetch(
         videoId: String,
         categories: List<String> = listOf("sponsor"),
     ): List<SbSegment> =
-        uniffi.strawcore.fetchSponsorSegments(videoId, categories).map { s ->
-            SbSegment(
-                UUID = s.uuid,
-                category = s.category,
-                segment = listOf(s.startSec, s.endSec),
-                actionType = s.actionType,
-            )
-        }
+        runCatchingCancellable {
+            uniffi.strawcore.fetchSponsorSegments(videoId, categories).map { s ->
+                SbSegment(
+                    UUID = s.uuid,
+                    category = s.category,
+                    segment = listOf(s.startSec, s.endSec),
+                    actionType = s.actionType,
+                )
+            }
+        }.getOrDefault(emptyList())
 }