diff --git a/apps/mobile/src/screens/BrowserScreen.tsx b/apps/mobile/src/screens/BrowserScreen.tsx
index 8615ec0..dec2448 100644
--- a/apps/mobile/src/screens/BrowserScreen.tsx
+++ b/apps/mobile/src/screens/BrowserScreen.tsx
@@ -120,7 +120,9 @@ export function BrowserScreen({ isActive = true }: { isActive?: boolean }) {
         ref={webRef}
         source={{ uri }}
         style={styles.web}
-        onLoadStart={() => setLoading(true)}
+        // Android also emits load-start for history updates after loading ends.
+        // iOS emits start before allowing navigation, so retain its start flag.
+        onLoadStart={(event) => setLoading(Platform.OS === 'android' ? event.nativeEvent.loading : true)}
         onLoadEnd={() => setLoading(false)}
         onNavigationStateChange={(state) => {
           setAddress(state.url);
diff --git a/apps/mobile/test/browser-loading.test.tsx b/apps/mobile/test/browser-loading.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d51059
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/mobile/test/browser-loading.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+/**
+ * Render the real BrowserScreen/App and drive public WebView callbacks.
+ * Android RNCWebViewClient.doUpdateVisitedHistory emits a loading-start event
+ * even when loading=false; WebViewShared forwards it to onLoadStart. Such a
+ * history update need not have a later load-end event. Native dispatch itself
+ * is not executed by these component tests.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import App from '../App';
+import { BrowserScreen } from '../src/screens/BrowserScreen';
+import { fire, hosts, hostWhere, renderScreen, switchTab } from './harness';
+import { Platform } from './mocks/react-native';
+import { theWebView, webViewRegistry } from './mocks/react-native-webview';
+
+import type { ReactTestInstance } from 'react-test-renderer';
+
+const webView = (root: ReactTestInstance) =>
+  hostWhere(root, 'WebView', () => true, 'browser WebView');
+
+const navigationEvent = (loading: boolean, url = 'https://example.test/page') => ({
+  nativeEvent: { url, loading, title: '', canGoBack: true, canGoForward: false, target: 1 },
+});
+
+describe('BrowserScreen loading state', () => {
+  it.each(['android', 'ios'] as const)('shows a real pending load and clears it on %s', async (platform) => {
+    Platform.OS = platform;
+    const { root } = await renderScreen(<BrowserScreen />);
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(true));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(1);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadEnd', navigationEvent(false));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it('does not start an endless spinner for an already-completed history update', async () => {
+    const { root } = await renderScreen(<BrowserScreen />);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(true));
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadEnd', navigationEvent(false));
+    // A same-document history update can arrive without a network load/finish.
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(false, 'https://example.test/page#section'));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it('preserves iOS start indication before navigation policy allows the load', async () => {
+    Platform.OS = 'ios';
+    const { root } = await renderScreen(<BrowserScreen />);
+    // iOS samples the current loading flag before allowing the new navigation.
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(false));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(1);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadEnd', navigationEvent(false));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    { code: -2, description: 'net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED', url: 'https://offline.example.test/' },
+    { code: -1, description: 'net::ERR_CLEARTEXT_NOT_PERMITTED', url: 'http://example.test/' },
+    { code: -11, description: 'SSL error: The certificate authority is not trusted', url: 'https://tls.example.test/' },
+  ])('keeps a finished $description load stopped after a history callback', async ({ code, description, url }) => {
+    const { root } = await renderScreen(<BrowserScreen />);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(true, url));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(1);
+    const completed = navigationEvent(false, url);
+    // The WebView library calls onLoadEnd for errors too, before any later
+    // history callback. These are synthetic payloads, not real network errors.
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadEnd', {
+      nativeEvent: { ...completed.nativeEvent, code, description },
+    });
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', completed);
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps hidden completion stopped on tab return and still shows a user-triggered retry', async () => {
+    const { root } = await renderScreen(<App />);
+    const id = theWebView().id;
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(true));
+    await switchTab(root, 'Chat');
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadEnd', navigationEvent(false));
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(false));
+    await switchTab(root, 'Browse');
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(theWebView().id).toBe(id);
+    expect(webViewRegistry()).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    const reload = hostWhere(root, 'TouchableOpacity', (n) => n.props.accessibilityLabel === 'Reload', 'reload button');
+    await fire(reload, 'onPress');
+    expect(theWebView().calls.reload).toBe(1);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadStart', navigationEvent(true));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(1);
+    await fire(webView(root), 'onLoadEnd', navigationEvent(false));
+    expect(hosts(root, 'ActivityIndicator')).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(webViewRegistry()).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+});