diff --git a/bitchat/Services/PrivateChatManager.swift b/bitchat/Services/PrivateChatManager.swift
index c5579125..e7d924db 100644
--- a/bitchat/Services/PrivateChatManager.swift
+++ b/bitchat/Services/PrivateChatManager.swift
@@ -39,9 +39,10 @@ final class PrivateChatManager: ObservableObject {
     /// - Parameters:
     ///   - peerID: The target peer ID to consolidate messages into
     ///   - peerNickname: The peer's display name (lowercased for matching)
+    ///   - persistedReadReceipts: The persisted read receipts set from ChatViewModel (UserDefaults-backed)
     /// - Returns: True if any unread messages were found during consolidation
     @MainActor
-    func consolidateMessages(for peerID: PeerID, peerNickname: String) -> Bool {
+    func consolidateMessages(for peerID: PeerID, peerNickname: String, persistedReadReceipts: Set<String>) -> Bool {
         guard let meshService = meshService else { return false }
         var hasUnreadMessages = false
 
@@ -74,9 +75,10 @@ final class PrivateChatManager: ObservableObject {
                         privateChats[peerID]?.append(updatedMessage)
 
                         // Check for recent unread messages (< 60s, not sent by us, not already read)
+                        // Use persistedReadReceipts to correctly identify already-read messages after app restart
                         if message.senderPeerID != meshService.myPeerID {
                             let messageAge = Date().timeIntervalSince(message.timestamp)
-                            if messageAge < 60 && !sentReadReceipts.contains(message.id) {
+                            if messageAge < 60 && !persistedReadReceipts.contains(message.id) {
                                 hasUnreadMessages = true
                             }
                         }
diff --git a/bitchat/ViewModels/ChatViewModel.swift b/bitchat/ViewModels/ChatViewModel.swift
index 2cc75de3..9533d8bb 100644
--- a/bitchat/ViewModels/ChatViewModel.swift
+++ b/bitchat/ViewModels/ChatViewModel.swift
@@ -2560,7 +2560,8 @@ final class ChatViewModel: ObservableObject, BitchatDelegate, CommandContextProv
         }
 
         // Consolidate messages from different peer ID representations (stable Noise key, temp Nostr IDs)
-        _ = privateChatManager.consolidateMessages(for: peerID, peerNickname: peerNickname)
+        // Pass persisted sentReadReceipts to correctly identify already-read messages after app restart
+        _ = privateChatManager.consolidateMessages(for: peerID, peerNickname: peerNickname, persistedReadReceipts: sentReadReceipts)
 
         // Trigger handshake if needed (mesh peers only). Skip for Nostr geohash conv keys.
         if !peerID.isGeoDM && !peerID.isGeoChat {