diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/HubBar.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/HubBar.svelte
index 8a37c37..22e31a4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/HubBar.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/HubBar.svelte
@@ -3,11 +3,17 @@
   // /onthisday, /art, /play). Full horizontal nav on wide screens; a hamburger + drop panel
   // on phones so the bar stays clean. `active` highlights the current section.
   // News now lives at /news (the hub is `/`). `newsHref` stays overridable for safety.
-  import { auth } from '$lib/auth.svelte.js';
+  import { onMount } from 'svelte';
+  import { auth, refresh as refreshAuth } from '$lib/auth.svelte.js';
   import Avatar from './Avatar.svelte';
   let { active = '', newsHref = '/news' } = $props();
   let open = $state(false);
 
+  // auth.user paints immediately from its localStorage cache; revalidate once if no
+  // page has yet (e.g. the hub is the entry point) so the avatar + signed-in state are
+  // correct everywhere the bar shows, not just on the feed/account pages.
+  onMount(() => { if (!auth.ready) refreshAuth(); });
+
   // Close the menu when we cross into desktop width, so it can't linger open and reappear
   // if the viewport shrinks back to mobile (the CSS hide alone left `open` stale).
   $effect(() => {