diff --git a/js/app.js b/js/app.js
index 45bf9d79..084be04d 100644
--- a/js/app.js
+++ b/js/app.js
@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ import { buildDmRelayListEvent, buildShareEvent } from "./nostrEventSchemas.js";
 import {
   publishEventToRelays,
   assertAnyRelayAccepted,
+  describePublishOutcome,
+  readRelayPublishSummary,
 } from "./nostrPublish.js";
 import {
   getActiveSigner,
@@ -3061,8 +3063,15 @@ class Application {
       return false;
     }
 
+    let relaySummary = null;
     try {
-      await this.nostrService.publishVideoNote(publishPayload, this.pubkey);
+      const publishResult = await this.nostrService.publishVideoNote(
+        publishPayload,
+        this.pubkey,
+      );
+      // The legacy (kind 30078) event carries the relay tally attached by
+      // publishVideo (non-enumerable, so it never hit the wire).
+      relaySummary = readRelayPublishSummary(publishResult?.legacy) || null;
     } catch (err) {
       devLogger.error("Failed to publish video:", err);
       this.showError("Failed to share video. Please try again later.");
@@ -3089,7 +3098,15 @@ class Application {
       );
     }
 
-    this.showSuccess("Video shared successfully!");
+    // Tell the user how many relays actually accepted the video, so a partial
+    // (or relay-list-wide) failure isn't hidden behind a generic confirmation.
+    const outcome = describePublishOutcome(relaySummary || {});
+    if (outcome.tone === "warning") {
+      this.showSuccess(outcome.message);
+      this.showStatus(outcome.message, { autoHideMs: 8000, showSpinner: false });
+    } else {
+      this.showSuccess(outcome.message);
+    }
 
     if (loadVideosError) {
       this.showStatus(
diff --git a/js/nostr/client.js b/js/nostr/client.js
index fb522f14..d4f37555 100644
--- a/js/nostr/client.js
+++ b/js/nostr/client.js
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ import {
   publishEventToRelay,
   publishEventToRelays,
   assertAnyRelayAccepted,
+  attachRelayPublishSummary,
 } from "../nostrPublish.js";
 import {
   signEventWithPrivateKey,
@@ -2725,12 +2726,20 @@ export class NostrClient {
 
     try {
       // 1. Publish the primary Video Note (Kind 30078)
-      const { signedEvent } = await this.signAndPublishEvent(context.event, {
-        context: "video note",
-        logName: "Video note",
-        devLogLabel: "video note",
-        resolveActiveSigner: (p) => this.signerManager.resolveActiveSigner(p),
-      });
+      const { signedEvent, summary } = await this.signAndPublishEvent(
+        context.event,
+        {
+          context: "video note",
+          logName: "Video note",
+          devLogLabel: "video note",
+          resolveActiveSigner: (p) => this.signerManager.resolveActiveSigner(p),
+        },
+      );
+
+      // Stash a compact relay tally on the returned event (non-enumerable so it
+      // never leaks into serialization/relay logic) so the UI can report how
+      // many relays actually accepted the video.
+      attachRelayPublishSummary(signedEvent, summary);
 
       // 2. Publish NIP-94 Mirror (Kind 1063) if a hosted URL is present.
       await handlePublishNip94(this, signedEvent, context);
diff --git a/js/nostrPublish.js b/js/nostrPublish.js
index 87b11c93..5b561d55 100644
--- a/js/nostrPublish.js
+++ b/js/nostrPublish.js
@@ -263,6 +263,78 @@ export function summarizePublishResults(results = []) {
   return { accepted, failed };
 }
 
+// Non-enumerable key so the tally rides along with a signed event without ever
+// polluting JSON.stringify / relay payloads.
+export const RELAY_PUBLISH_SUMMARY_KEY = "__relayPublishSummary";
+
+/**
+ * Reduce a {accepted, failed} publish summary to a compact {accepted, total}
+ * tally and stash it on the event (non-enumerable). Best-effort: a frozen or
+ * non-object event is left untouched.
+ */
+export function attachRelayPublishSummary(event, summary) {
+  if (!event || typeof event !== "object") {
+    return event;
+  }
+  const accepted = Array.isArray(summary?.accepted) ? summary.accepted.length : 0;
+  const failed = Array.isArray(summary?.failed) ? summary.failed.length : 0;
+  try {
+    Object.defineProperty(event, RELAY_PUBLISH_SUMMARY_KEY, {
+      value: { accepted, total: accepted + failed },
+      enumerable: false,
+      configurable: true,
+      writable: true,
+    });
+  } catch (_) {
+    // ignore — the tally is purely informational.
+  }
+  return event;
+}
+
+/** Read back the compact tally attached by attachRelayPublishSummary, if any. */
+export function readRelayPublishSummary(event) {
+  if (!event || typeof event !== "object") {
+    return null;
+  }
+  const tally = event[RELAY_PUBLISH_SUMMARY_KEY];
+  return tally && typeof tally === "object" ? tally : null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Turn a relay-publish tally into a user-facing message + tone, so the UI can
+ * tell the user how many relays actually accepted their video instead of an
+ * opaque "shared successfully" that hides partial/total failure.
+ *
+ * @param {{ accepted?: number, total?: number }} tally
+ * @returns {{ tone: "success"|"warning"|"error", message: string }}
+ */
+export function describePublishOutcome({ accepted = 0, total = 0 } = {}) {
+  const a = Number.isFinite(accepted) ? Math.max(0, Math.floor(accepted)) : 0;
+  const t = Number.isFinite(total) ? Math.max(0, Math.floor(total)) : 0;
+
+  // No relay count available — fall back to the generic confirmation.
+  if (t <= 0) {
+    return { tone: "success", message: "Video shared successfully!" };
+  }
+  if (a <= 0) {
+    return {
+      tone: "error",
+      message:
+        "Video could not be published to any relay. Check your relay list and try again.",
+    };
+  }
+  if (a < t) {
+    return {
+      tone: "warning",
+      message: `Video published to ${a} of ${t} relays — some relays rejected it.`,
+    };
+  }
+  return {
+    tone: "success",
+    message: `Video published to ${a} ${a === 1 ? "relay" : "relays"}!`,
+  };
+}
+
 export function assertAnyRelayAccepted(results = [], options = {}) {
   const summary = summarizePublishResults(results);
   if (summary.accepted.length > 0) {
diff --git a/tests/publish-outcome-message.test.mjs b/tests/publish-outcome-message.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cf49cabc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/publish-outcome-message.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+// After publishing a video bitvid must tell the user how many relays actually
+// accepted it, instead of an opaque "shared successfully" that hides a partial
+// or total relay failure. describePublishOutcome maps the relay tally to a
+// message + tone; attach/readRelayPublishSummary carry the tally from the
+// signed event to the UI without polluting the serialized event.
+
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+import {
+  describePublishOutcome,
+  attachRelayPublishSummary,
+  readRelayPublishSummary,
+  RELAY_PUBLISH_SUMMARY_KEY,
+} from "../js/nostrPublish.js";
+
+test("full acceptance reports the relay count as success", () => {
+  const out = describePublishOutcome({ accepted: 4, total: 4 });
+  assert.equal(out.tone, "success");
+  assert.match(out.message, /4 relays/);
+});
+
+test("singular relay is not pluralized", () => {
+  const out = describePublishOutcome({ accepted: 1, total: 1 });
+  assert.equal(out.tone, "success");
+  assert.match(out.message, /1 relay\b/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(out.message, /1 relays/);
+});
+
+test("partial acceptance is surfaced as a warning with both counts", () => {
+  const out = describePublishOutcome({ accepted: 2, total: 8 });
+  assert.equal(out.tone, "warning");
+  assert.match(out.message, /2 of 8/);
+});
+
+test("zero acceptance is an error telling the user nothing landed", () => {
+  const out = describePublishOutcome({ accepted: 0, total: 8 });
+  assert.equal(out.tone, "error");
+  assert.match(out.message, /any relay/i);
+});
+
+test("missing tally falls back to the generic success message", () => {
+  const out = describePublishOutcome({});
+  assert.equal(out.tone, "success");
+  // No fabricated relay count when we don't actually know one.
+  assert.doesNotMatch(out.message, /\d+ of \d+/);
+});
+
+test("attached tally round-trips and stays out of serialization", () => {
+  const event = { id: "abc", kind: 30078, content: "{}" };
+  attachRelayPublishSummary(event, {
+    accepted: [{ url: "wss://a" }, { url: "wss://b" }],
+    failed: [{ url: "wss://c" }],
+  });
+
+  const tally = readRelayPublishSummary(event);
+  assert.deepEqual(tally, { accepted: 2, total: 3 });
+
+  // The tally must never leak into the event the relays/JSON see.
+  assert.ok(
+    !Object.keys(event).includes(RELAY_PUBLISH_SUMMARY_KEY),
+    "summary key must be non-enumerable",
+  );
+  assert.ok(
+    !JSON.stringify(event).includes(RELAY_PUBLISH_SUMMARY_KEY),
+    "summary must not appear in the serialized event",
+  );
+});
+
+test("reading a summary off an event without one returns null", () => {
+  assert.equal(readRelayPublishSummary({ id: "x" }), null);
+  assert.equal(readRelayPublishSummary(null), null);
+});