diff --git a/.eslintrc.json b/.eslintrc.json
index a0c09c18..67087ec0 100644
--- a/.eslintrc.json
+++ b/.eslintrc.json
@@ -266,6 +266,7 @@
     "require": "readonly",
     "routeLayer": "readonly",
     "routeTypeName": "readonly",
+    "scopeCellHtml": "readonly",
     "setupPullToReconnect": "readonly",
     "syncBadgeColors": "readonly",
     "timeAgo": "readonly",
diff --git a/public/packets.js b/public/packets.js
index b5ca9254..90feb101 100644
--- a/public/packets.js
+++ b/public/packets.js
@@ -729,6 +729,31 @@
   let regionMap = {};
   const TYPE_NAMES = SHORT_BY_ID;
   function typeName(t) { return TYPE_NAMES[t] ?? `Type ${t}`; }
+
+  // Column keys that existed before the Scope column (#1852) — the "known"
+  // baseline for a saved array from before packets-visible-cols-known was
+  // ever persisted. A key missing from `saved` is only auto-shown if it's
+  // ALSO missing from `known`; a pre-existing key missing from `saved`
+  // means the user explicitly hid it, and must stay hidden.
+  const LEGACY_COL_KEYS = ['region', 'time', 'hash', 'size', 'type', 'observer', 'path', 'rpt', 'details'];
+
+  // Reconcile a saved column-visibility array (#71) against the current
+  // COL_DEFS, so a since-added column (e.g. "scope") gets shown by default
+  // for returning visitors instead of staying hidden forever — while a
+  // column the user explicitly unchecked (present in `known` but absent
+  // from `saved`) stays hidden. `known` is the column-key set from the last
+  // time prefs were saved; falls back to LEGACY_COL_KEYS when absent
+  // (a visitor whose saved prefs predate persisting it at all).
+  function reconcileVisibleCols(saved, known, colDefs, defaultHidden) {
+    if (!saved) return colDefs.map(c => c.key).filter(k => !defaultHidden.includes(k));
+    const knownSet = new Set(known && known.length ? known : LEGACY_COL_KEYS);
+    const result = saved.slice();
+    for (const c of colDefs) {
+      if (knownSet.has(c.key)) continue;
+      if (!result.includes(c.key) && !defaultHidden.includes(c.key)) result.push(c.key);
+    }
+    return result;
+  }
   const isMobile = window.innerWidth <= 1024;
   const PACKET_LIMIT = isMobile ? 1000 : 50000;
   let savedTimeWindowMin = Number(localStorage.getItem('meshcore-time-window'));
@@ -2021,19 +2046,12 @@
     // badge (#1188) renders on mobile. Without observer in scope the user
     // can't see who heard the packet at all.
     const defaultHidden = isNarrow ? ['region', 'hash', 'path', 'rpt', 'size', 'scope'] : ['region'];
-    let visibleCols;
+    let savedCols, knownCols;
     try {
-      visibleCols = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('packets-visible-cols'));
+      savedCols = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('packets-visible-cols'));
+      knownCols = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('packets-visible-cols-known'));
     } catch {}
-    if (!visibleCols) {
-      visibleCols = COL_DEFS.map(c => c.key).filter(k => !defaultHidden.includes(k));
-    } else {
-      // A saved preference predates a since-added column (e.g. "scope") —
-      // default new columns to visible instead of silently hiding them.
-      for (const c of COL_DEFS) {
-        if (!visibleCols.includes(c.key) && !defaultHidden.includes(c.key)) visibleCols.push(c.key);
-      }
-    }
+    let visibleCols = reconcileVisibleCols(savedCols, knownCols, COL_DEFS, defaultHidden);
     const colMenu = document.getElementById('colToggleMenu');
     const pktTable = document.getElementById('pktTable');
     function applyColVisibility() {
@@ -2041,6 +2059,7 @@
         pktTable.classList.toggle('hide-col-' + c.key, !visibleCols.includes(c.key));
       });
       localStorage.setItem('packets-visible-cols', JSON.stringify(visibleCols));
+      localStorage.setItem('packets-visible-cols-known', JSON.stringify(COL_DEFS.map(c => c.key)));
     }
     colMenu.innerHTML = COL_DEFS.map(c =>
       `<label><input type="checkbox" data-col="${c.key}" ${visibleCols.includes(c.key) ? 'checked' : ''}> ${c.label}</label>`
@@ -3887,6 +3906,7 @@
     window._packetsTestAPI = {
       typeName,
       obsName,
+      reconcileVisibleCols,
       getDetailPreview,
       sortGroupChildren,
       getPathHopCount,
diff --git a/test-frontend-helpers.js b/test-frontend-helpers.js
index bd998942..6e2bdbf3 100644
--- a/test-frontend-helpers.js
+++ b/test-frontend-helpers.js
@@ -1958,6 +1958,27 @@ console.log('\n=== app.js: isTransportRoute + transportBadge ===');
     assert.ok(html.includes('TRANSPORT_FLOOD'), 'should contain route type name in title');
   });
   test('transportBadge(1) returns empty string', () => assert.strictEqual(transportBadge(1), ''));
+
+  const scopeCellHtml = ctx.scopeCellHtml;
+  test('scopeCellHtml non-transport route returns em-dash', () => {
+    assert.strictEqual(scopeCellHtml(1, 'dk'), '—');
+    assert.strictEqual(scopeCellHtml(2, ''), '—');
+  });
+  test('scopeCellHtml transport route with resolved scope shows the region name', () => {
+    const html = scopeCellHtml(0, 'dk-oj');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('badge-scope'), 'should contain badge-scope class');
+    assert.ok(!html.includes('badge-scope-unknown'), 'resolved scope should not use the unknown modifier');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('dk-oj'), 'should contain the region name');
+  });
+  test('scopeCellHtml transport route with no match shows muted unknown', () => {
+    const html = scopeCellHtml(3, '');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('badge-scope-unknown'), 'should contain the unknown modifier class');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('unknown'), 'should contain the word unknown');
+  });
+  test('scopeCellHtml escapes region names', () => {
+    const html = scopeCellHtml(0, '<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>');
+    assert.ok(!html.includes('<img'), 'should not contain raw injected markup');
+  });
 }
 
 // ===== ANALYTICS.JS: Channel Sort =====
diff --git a/test-packets.js b/test-packets.js
index ee8a9100..72d782c9 100644
--- a/test-packets.js
+++ b/test-packets.js
@@ -1019,6 +1019,58 @@ console.log('\n=== packets.js: page registration ===');
   });
 }
 
+console.log('\n=== packets.js: reconcileVisibleCols (column-prefs backfill) ===');
+{
+  const ctx = loadPacketsSandbox();
+  const api = ctx._packetsTestAPI;
+  const COL_DEFS = [
+    { key: 'region' }, { key: 'time' }, { key: 'hash' }, { key: 'size' },
+    { key: 'type' }, { key: 'scope' }, { key: 'observer' }, { key: 'path' },
+    { key: 'rpt' }, { key: 'details' },
+  ];
+  const defaultHidden = ['region'];
+
+  test('reconcileVisibleCols is exported', () => {
+    assert(typeof api.reconcileVisibleCols === 'function');
+  });
+
+  test('no saved prefs: falls back to all columns minus defaultHidden', () => {
+    const result = api.reconcileVisibleCols(null, null, COL_DEFS, defaultHidden);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(result, COL_DEFS.map(c => c.key).filter(k => k !== 'region'));
+  });
+
+  test('legacy saved prefs (no known-cols baseline yet) get the scope column backfilled', () => {
+    // Reproduces a real saved localStorage value from before the Scope
+    // column (#1852) existed, and before packets-visible-cols-known was
+    // ever persisted — must not stay permanently hidden.
+    const legacy = ['time', 'hash', 'size', 'type', 'observer', 'path', 'rpt', 'details'];
+    const result = api.reconcileVisibleCols(legacy, null, COL_DEFS, defaultHidden);
+    assert.ok(result.includes('scope'), 'scope column should be backfilled into a legacy saved array');
+  });
+
+  test('a column the user explicitly hid (present in known, absent from saved) stays hidden', () => {
+    const known = ['region', 'time', 'hash', 'size', 'type', 'scope', 'observer', 'path', 'rpt', 'details'];
+    const saved = ['time', 'hash', 'size', 'type', 'scope', 'path', 'rpt', 'details']; // observer unchecked by user
+    const result = api.reconcileVisibleCols(saved, known, COL_DEFS, defaultHidden);
+    assert.ok(!result.includes('observer'), 'user-hidden column must not be resurrected');
+  });
+
+  test('a genuinely new column (absent from known) gets backfilled even with a known-cols baseline', () => {
+    const known = ['region', 'time', 'hash', 'size', 'type', 'observer', 'path', 'rpt', 'details']; // no scope yet
+    const saved = ['time', 'hash', 'size', 'type', 'observer', 'path', 'rpt', 'details'];
+    const result = api.reconcileVisibleCols(saved, known, COL_DEFS, defaultHidden);
+    assert.ok(result.includes('scope'), 'a column absent from the known baseline should be backfilled');
+  });
+
+  test('a column in defaultHidden is not force-added even if missing from saved and known', () => {
+    const legacy = ['time', 'hash', 'type', 'observer', 'path', 'rpt', 'details']; // no size, no scope
+    const narrowDefaultHidden = ['region', 'size', 'scope'];
+    const result = api.reconcileVisibleCols(legacy, null, COL_DEFS, narrowDefaultHidden);
+    assert.ok(!result.includes('scope'), 'columns in defaultHidden should not be backfilled');
+    assert.ok(!result.includes('size'), 'columns in defaultHidden should not be backfilled');
+  });
+}
+
 console.log('\n=== packets.js: _invalidateRowCounts / _refreshRowCountsIfDirty (#410) ===');
 {
   const ctx = loadPacketsSandbox();