diff --git a/public/channels.js b/public/channels.js
index 964bfa87..08faded7 100644
--- a/public/channels.js
+++ b/public/channels.js
@@ -55,6 +55,59 @@
     // can mutate freely without leaking changes back to the input.
     return survivors.length ? restMsgs.concat(survivors) : restMsgs.slice();
   }
+  // #2095 — loadChannels() replaces `channels` with the server snapshot, and
+  // the snapshot knows nothing about state that only ever lived in this tab:
+  // unread counts, and activity the WS handler applied while the request was
+  // in flight. mergeWsAppendedIntoRest above does the same job for `messages`
+  // (#1498); this is its counterpart for `channels`.
+  //
+  // Deliberately enriches ONLY rows the snapshot already contains. Carrying a
+  // missing row over would resurrect channels the region filter just excluded,
+  // which is a worse bug than the one being fixed. A channel genuinely dropped
+  // by a race re-appears on its next packet.
+  //
+  // Returns a fresh array of fresh objects; never aliases or mutates an input.
+  function mergeClientChannelState(freshChannels, prevChannels) {
+    if (!Array.isArray(freshChannels)) return [];
+    if (!Array.isArray(prevChannels) || prevChannels.length === 0) {
+      return freshChannels.map(function (c) { return Object.assign({}, c); });
+    }
+    var prevByHash = new Map();
+    for (var i = 0; i < prevChannels.length; i++) {
+      var p = prevChannels[i];
+      if (p && p.hash) prevByHash.set(p.hash, p);
+    }
+    return freshChannels.map(function (c) {
+      var out = Object.assign({}, c);
+      var prev = out.hash ? prevByHash.get(out.hash) : null;
+      return prev ? carryClientChannelState(out, prev) : out;
+    });
+  }
+
+  // Copies the client-only fields of `prev` onto `out` and returns `out`.
+  // Shared by mergeClientChannelState (server-known rows) and
+  // mergeUserChannels (PSK rows, which no server snapshot contains).
+  function carryClientChannelState(out, prev) {
+    // Unread is counted in this tab and exists nowhere else. Carried when
+    // the property is present, including an explicit 0: dropping that would
+    // leave the row with undefined, which is a different thing from "read".
+    if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(prev, 'unread')) out.unread = prev.unread;
+    // The user's own marks, re-derived from storage by mergeUserChannels()
+    // straight after this, but carried here so a row is never briefly wrong.
+    if (prev.userAdded) out.userAdded = true;
+    if (prev.userLabel) out.userLabel = prev.userLabel;
+    // A WS batch that landed while the request was in flight is newer than
+    // the snapshot. Keep the whole set together: a sender without its
+    // message reads as a different message.
+    if ((prev.lastActivityMs || 0) > (out.lastActivityMs || 0)) {
+      out.lastActivityMs = prev.lastActivityMs;
+      out.lastSender = prev.lastSender;
+      out.lastMessage = prev.lastMessage;
+      if ((prev.messageCount || 0) > (out.messageCount || 0)) out.messageCount = prev.messageCount;
+    }
+    return out;
+  }
+
   let autoScroll = true;
   let nodeCache = {};
   let selectedNode = null;
@@ -511,7 +564,16 @@
   // If a stored key matches a server-known channel, mark that channel as
   // userAdded so the close button appears // EMOJI-OK: prior glyph reference — otherwise the user has no way to
   // remove a key they added but that the server already knows about.
-  function mergeUserChannels() {
+  //
+  // `prevChannels` is the list a refresh is replacing. A PSK row is never in
+  // the server snapshot, so this is where its unread and activity survive.
+  function mergeUserChannels(prevChannels) {
+    var prevByHash = new Map();
+    if (Array.isArray(prevChannels)) {
+      for (var k = 0; k < prevChannels.length; k++) {
+        if (prevChannels[k] && prevChannels[k].hash) prevByHash.set(prevChannels[k].hash, prevChannels[k]);
+      }
+    }
     var keys = ChannelDecrypt.getStoredKeys();
     var labels = (typeof ChannelDecrypt.getLabels === 'function') ? ChannelDecrypt.getLabels() : {};
     var names = Object.keys(keys);
@@ -529,7 +591,7 @@
         }
       }
       if (!matched) {
-        channels.push({
+        var row = {
           hash: 'user:' + name,
           name: name,
           userLabel: label,
@@ -539,7 +601,13 @@
           lastMessage: 'Encrypted — click to decrypt',
           encrypted: true,
           userAdded: true
-        });
+        };
+        var prev = prevByHash.get(row.hash);
+        if (prev) {
+          carryClientChannelState(row, prev);
+          row.userLabel = label; // storage wins over the label the row had
+        }
+        channels.push(row);
       }
     }
   }
@@ -1662,10 +1730,19 @@
       if (showEnc) params.push('includeEncrypted=true');
       const qs = params.length ? '?' + params.join('&') : '';
       const data = await api('/channels' + qs, { ttl: CLIENT_TTL.channels });
-      channels = (data.channels || []).map(ch => {
+      const fresh = (data.channels || []).map(ch => {
         ch.lastActivityMs = ch.lastActivity ? new Date(ch.lastActivity).getTime() : 0;
         return ch;
-      }).sort((a, b) => (b.lastActivityMs || 0) - (a.lastActivityMs || 0));
+      });
+      // #2095 — carry client-only state across the replacement, then re-derive
+      // the user's PSK rows from storage. Both must happen BEFORE
+      // reconcileSelectionAfterChannelRefresh(), which evicts the selection
+      // when it cannot find selectedHash: a user:* hash is never in the server
+      // snapshot, so without this a refresh closed the open conversation.
+      const prevChannels = channels;
+      channels = mergeClientChannelState(fresh, prevChannels)
+        .sort((a, b) => (b.lastActivityMs || 0) - (a.lastActivityMs || 0));
+      if (typeof ChannelDecrypt !== 'undefined' && ChannelDecrypt) mergeUserChannels(prevChannels);
       renderChannelList();
       reconcileSelectionAfterChannelRefresh();
     } catch (e) {
@@ -2316,6 +2393,7 @@
   window._channelsSelectChannelForTest = selectChannel;
   window._channelsRefreshMessagesForTest = refreshMessages;
   window._channelsMergeWsAppendedIntoRestForTest = mergeWsAppendedIntoRest;
+  window._channelsMergeClientChannelStateForTest = mergeClientChannelState;
   window._channelsLoadChannelsForTest = loadChannels;
   window._channelsBeginMessageRequestForTest = beginMessageRequest;
   window._channelsIsStaleMessageRequestForTest = isStaleMessageRequest;
diff --git a/test-all.sh b/test-all.sh
index 88932702..5d8a8e41 100755
--- a/test-all.sh
+++ b/test-all.sh
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ node tests/unit/test-issue-1997-distance-building.js
 node tests/unit/test-issue-2042-recent-adverts-label.js
 node tests/unit/test-issue-2001-map-scope-state.js
 node tests/unit/test-issue-2012-clear-filters-selection.js
+node tests/unit/test-issue-2095-channels-client-state.js
 node tests/unit/test-live-anims.js
 node tests/unit/test-live-dt-cap-1524.js
 node tests/unit/test-live-legend-helper.js
diff --git a/tests/unit/test-issue-2095-channels-client-state.js b/tests/unit/test-issue-2095-channels-client-state.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3559b7b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test-issue-2095-channels-client-state.js
@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+/**
+ * #2095 — loadChannels() replaced the channel array and discarded every
+ * client-only field on it.
+ *
+ * Two consequences, one root cause. The array assignment at loadChannels()
+ * carries nothing across, and mergeUserChannels() only ran from init(), so a
+ * region-filter change or the show-encrypted toggle destroyed the My Channels
+ * section, every unread badge, and the user's own labels — and evicted the
+ * selected channel if it was a PSK row, closing the open conversation.
+ *
+ * Part 1 tests the pure helper directly. Part 2 drives loadChannels() through
+ * its test hook with a stubbed api(), which is what proves the helper is
+ * actually wired in rather than merely present.
+ *
+ * Sandbox pattern copied from test-channels-merge-1498-unit.js.
+ */
+'use strict';
+const vm = require('vm');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const assert = require('assert');
+
+const noop = () => {};
+const fakeEl = {
+  addEventListener: noop, removeEventListener: noop, querySelector: () => fakeEl,
+  querySelectorAll: () => [], classList: { add: noop, remove: noop, toggle: noop, contains: () => false },
+  appendChild: noop, removeChild: noop, setAttribute: noop, getAttribute: () => null,
+  textContent: '', innerHTML: '', style: {}, dataset: {}, scrollTop: 0, scrollHeight: 0,
+};
+const doc = {
+  readyState: 'complete', createElement: () => ({ ...fakeEl }), head: fakeEl, body: fakeEl,
+  getElementById: () => null, querySelector: () => null, querySelectorAll: () => [],
+  addEventListener: noop, removeEventListener: noop,
+};
+
+// Stored PSK keys the user added. mergeUserChannels() reads these, so they are
+// what makes the My Channels section exist at all.
+let storedKeys = {};
+let storedLabels = {};
+
+const ctx = {
+  window: { addEventListener: noop, removeEventListener: noop },
+  document: doc, console, Date, Math, JSON, Set, Map, Array, Object, Promise,
+  Response: function () {}, Error, Number, String, Boolean, isNaN, parseInt, parseFloat,
+  setTimeout, clearTimeout, setInterval, clearInterval,
+  history: { replaceState: noop, pushState: noop },
+  location: { hash: '', href: '', pathname: '/' },
+  navigator: { userAgent: 'node' },
+  localStorage: { getItem: () => null, setItem: noop, removeItem: noop },
+  RegionFilter: { getRegionParam: () => '', onChange: () => noop },
+  CLIENT_TTL: { channels: 15000 },
+  ChannelDecrypt: {
+    getStoredKeys: () => storedKeys,
+    getLabels: () => storedLabels,
+  },
+  truncate: (s) => s,
+  formatHashHex: (h) => String(h),
+  channelDisplayName: (c) => (c && (c.userLabel || c.name)) || '',
+  escapeHtml: (s) => String(s),
+  getSenderColor: () => '#000',
+  registerPage: noop,
+  fetch: () => Promise.resolve({ json: () => Promise.resolve({}) }),
+};
+
+// The server snapshot loadChannels() will receive. Reassigned per test.
+let apiChannels = [];
+ctx.api = () => Promise.resolve({ channels: apiChannels.map(c => ({ ...c })) });
+
+vm.createContext(ctx);
+try {
+  vm.runInContext(fs.readFileSync('public/channels.js', 'utf8'), ctx);
+} catch (e) {
+  // The IIFE may throw on missing DOM further down; the hooks we need are
+  // exported before that point.
+}
+
+const merge = ctx.window._channelsMergeClientChannelStateForTest;
+const loadChannels = ctx.window._channelsLoadChannelsForTest;
+const setState = ctx.window._channelsSetStateForTest;
+const getState = ctx.window._channelsGetStateForTest;
+
+for (const [name, fn] of Object.entries({ merge, loadChannels, setState, getState })) {
+  if (typeof fn !== 'function') {
+    console.error(`FATAL: ${name} not exported by channels.js`);
+    process.exit(2);
+  }
+}
+
+let passed = 0, failed = 0;
+function test(name, fn) {
+  try { fn(); console.log(`  PASS  ${name}`); passed++; }
+  catch (e) { console.log(`  FAIL  ${name}\n        ${e.message}`); failed++; }
+}
+async function atest(name, fn) {
+  try { await fn(); console.log(`  PASS  ${name}`); passed++; }
+  catch (e) { console.log(`  FAIL  ${name}\n        ${e.message}`); failed++; }
+}
+
+console.log('\n=== #2095 part 1: mergeClientChannelState() ===');
+
+test('carries unread across the replacement', () => {
+  const prev = [{ hash: 'a', unread: 3 }, { hash: 'b', unread: 0 }];
+  const fresh = [{ hash: 'a' }, { hash: 'b' }];
+  const out = merge(fresh, prev);
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].unread, 3, 'unread on a was dropped');
+  assert.strictEqual(out[1].unread, 0);
+});
+
+test('keeps WS-fresher activity fields when the snapshot is older', () => {
+  // The WS handler already applied a newer message before the REST snapshot
+  // landed. Reverting to the snapshot is the flicker in #2095 finding 2.
+  const prev = [{ hash: 'a', lastActivityMs: 2000, lastSender: 'ON8AR', lastMessage: 'new', messageCount: 8 }];
+  const fresh = [{ hash: 'a', lastActivityMs: 1000, lastSender: 'OLD', lastMessage: 'old', messageCount: 7 }];
+  const out = merge(fresh, prev);
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].lastActivityMs, 2000);
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].lastSender, 'ON8AR');
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].lastMessage, 'new');
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].messageCount, 8);
+});
+
+test('the server wins when its snapshot is the newer one', () => {
+  const prev = [{ hash: 'a', lastActivityMs: 1000, lastSender: 'STALE', lastMessage: 'stale', messageCount: 2 }];
+  const fresh = [{ hash: 'a', lastActivityMs: 5000, lastSender: 'FRESH', lastMessage: 'fresh', messageCount: 9 }];
+  const out = merge(fresh, prev);
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].lastActivityMs, 5000);
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].lastSender, 'FRESH');
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].messageCount, 9);
+});
+
+test('does not resurrect a channel the snapshot left out', () => {
+  // A region-filter change legitimately narrows the list. Carrying survivors
+  // over would defeat the filter, which is why this helper only enriches rows
+  // that are already in the fresh snapshot.
+  const prev = [{ hash: 'a', unread: 1 }, { hash: 'gone', unread: 9 }];
+  const fresh = [{ hash: 'a' }];
+  const out = merge(fresh, prev);
+  assert.strictEqual(out.length, 1, 'a filtered-out channel came back');
+  assert.strictEqual(out[0].hash, 'a');
+});
+
+test('never aliases or mutates its inputs', () => {
+  const prev = [{ hash: 'a', unread: 4 }];
+  const fresh = [{ hash: 'a' }];
+  const out = merge(fresh, prev);
+  assert.notStrictEqual(out, fresh, 'returned the input array itself');
+  out[0].unread = 99;
+  assert.strictEqual(prev[0].unread, 4, 'mutating the result reached prev');
+});
+
+test('tolerates empty and missing inputs', () => {
+  // Not deepStrictEqual: an array built inside the vm realm has a different
+  // Array.prototype, which that assertion compares and rejects.
+  assert.strictEqual(merge([], []).length, 0);
+  assert.strictEqual(merge(null, null).length, 0);
+  assert.strictEqual(merge([{ hash: 'a' }], null).length, 1);
+  assert.strictEqual(merge([{ hash: 'a' }], undefined).length, 1);
+});
+
+test('ignores rows with no hash rather than matching them together', () => {
+  const prev = [{ unread: 5 }, { hash: '', unread: 6 }];
+  const fresh = [{ hash: 'a' }, { hash: '' }];
+  const out = merge(fresh, prev);
+  assert.ok(!out[0].unread, 'a hashless prev row leaked onto a real channel');
+});
+
+console.log('\n=== #2095 part 2: loadChannels() keeps client state ===');
+
+(async function () {
+  await atest('a refresh keeps the My Channels rows', async () => {
+    // The bug: the user has a PSK channel, the server does not know it, and any
+    // refresh replaced the array with the server snapshot, so the row vanished.
+    storedKeys = { 'MyPSK': 'deadbeef' };
+    storedLabels = { 'MyPSK': 'Mijn kanaal' };
+    apiChannels = [{ hash: 'public1', name: 'public1', lastActivity: null }];
+    setState({ channels: [], messages: [], selectedHash: null });
+
+    await loadChannels(true);
+
+    const after = getState().channels;
+    const mine = after.filter(c => c.userAdded === true);
+    assert.strictEqual(mine.length, 1, `My Channels lost on refresh (got ${JSON.stringify(after.map(c => c.hash))})`);
+    assert.strictEqual(mine[0].hash, 'user:MyPSK');
+    assert.strictEqual(mine[0].userLabel, 'Mijn kanaal', 'the user label was dropped');
+  });
+
+  await atest('a refresh keeps unread badges', async () => {
+    storedKeys = {};
+    storedLabels = {};
+    apiChannels = [{ hash: 'public1', name: 'public1', lastActivity: null }];
+    setState({ channels: [{ hash: 'public1', name: 'public1', unread: 7 }], messages: [], selectedHash: null });
+
+    await loadChannels(true);
+
+    const ch = getState().channels.find(c => c.hash === 'public1');
+    assert.ok(ch, 'the channel disappeared');
+    assert.strictEqual(ch.unread, 7, 'the unread badge reset to 0 on refresh');
+  });
+
+  await atest('a refresh does not close an open PSK conversation', async () => {
+    // The worst of the two: reconcileSelectionAfterChannelRefresh() did not
+    // find the user:* hash in the server snapshot, so it nulled the selection,
+    // emptied messages and rewrote the URL.
+    storedKeys = { 'MyPSK': 'deadbeef' };
+    storedLabels = {};
+    apiChannels = [{ hash: 'public1', name: 'public1', lastActivity: null }];
+    setState({
+      channels: [{ hash: 'user:MyPSK', name: 'MyPSK', userAdded: true }],
+      messages: [{ text: 'hello' }],
+      selectedHash: 'user:MyPSK',
+    });
+
+    await loadChannels(true);
+
+    const st = getState();
+    assert.strictEqual(st.selectedHash, 'user:MyPSK', 'the open PSK channel was deselected');
+    assert.strictEqual(st.messages.length, 1, 'the open conversation was emptied');
+  });
+
+  await atest('a refresh keeps unread and activity on a PSK-only row', async () => {
+    // A user:* row is never in the server snapshot, so mergeClientChannelState
+    // has nothing to enrich; mergeUserChannels() rebuilds it from storage and
+    // must carry what the tab counted, or a live PSK message's badge and
+    // preview reset on every region change.
+    storedKeys = { 'MyPSK': 'deadbeef' };
+    storedLabels = {};
+    apiChannels = [{ hash: 'public1', name: 'public1', lastActivity: null }];
+    setState({
+      channels: [{
+        hash: 'user:MyPSK', name: 'MyPSK', userAdded: true, encrypted: true, unread: 4,
+        lastActivityMs: 9000, lastSender: 'ON8AR', lastMessage: 'decrypted text', messageCount: 3,
+      }],
+      messages: [], selectedHash: null,
+    });
+
+    await loadChannels(true);
+
+    const ch = getState().channels.find(c => c.hash === 'user:MyPSK');
+    assert.ok(ch, 'the PSK row disappeared');
+    assert.strictEqual(ch.unread, 4, 'the PSK unread badge reset on refresh');
+    assert.strictEqual(ch.lastActivityMs, 9000);
+    assert.strictEqual(ch.lastSender, 'ON8AR');
+    assert.strictEqual(ch.lastMessage, 'decrypted text', 'the PSK preview went back to the placeholder');
+    assert.strictEqual(ch.messageCount, 3);
+  });
+
+  await atest('a refresh does not keep a PSK row whose key was removed', async () => {
+    // Storage stays the source of truth for which PSK rows exist.
+    storedKeys = {};
+    storedLabels = {};
+    apiChannels = [{ hash: 'public1', name: 'public1', lastActivity: null }];
+    setState({
+      channels: [{ hash: 'user:Gone', name: 'Gone', userAdded: true, unread: 2 }],
+      messages: [], selectedHash: null,
+    });
+
+    await loadChannels(true);
+
+    const hashes = getState().channels.map(c => c.hash);
+    assert.ok(!hashes.includes('user:Gone'), `a removed key came back: ${JSON.stringify(hashes)}`);
+  });
+
+  await atest('a refresh still drops a channel the server filtered out', async () => {
+    // The fix must not defeat the region filter.
+    storedKeys = {};
+    storedLabels = {};
+    apiChannels = [{ hash: 'in-region', name: 'in-region', lastActivity: null }];
+    setState({
+      channels: [{ hash: 'in-region', name: 'in-region' }, { hash: 'out-of-region', name: 'out-of-region' }],
+      messages: [], selectedHash: null,
+    });
+
+    await loadChannels(true);
+
+    const hashes = getState().channels.map(c => c.hash);
+    assert.ok(!hashes.includes('out-of-region'), `the filter was defeated: ${JSON.stringify(hashes)}`);
+  });
+
+  console.log(`\n${passed} passed, ${failed} failed`);
+  process.exit(failed ? 1 : 0);
+})();