diff --git a/css/style.css b/css/style.css
index 3f61eb93..456ca6c6 100644
--- a/css/style.css
+++ b/css/style.css
@@ -1144,12 +1144,6 @@ button:not(.icon-button):focus {
   display: flex;
 }
 
-.watch-history-status {
-  display: inline-flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 0.5rem;
-}
-
 .status-spinner--inline {
   animation: spin 1s linear infinite;
   border: 0.125rem solid rgba(96, 165, 250, 0.35);
@@ -1160,6 +1154,29 @@ button:not(.icon-button):focus {
   width: 1rem;
 }
 
+.sidebar-loading-wrapper {
+  display: flex;
+  justify-content: center;
+  align-items: center;
+  padding: 3rem 0;
+  width: 100%;
+  grid-column: 1 / -1;
+}
+
+.sidebar-loading-indicator {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 0.75rem;
+  color: #6b7280;
+  font-size: 0.875rem;
+  font-weight: 500;
+  letter-spacing: 0.01em;
+}
+
+.sidebar-loading-text {
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
 .status-banner {
   align-items: center;
   background-color: rgba(31, 41, 55, 0.9);
diff --git a/js/app.js b/js/app.js
index 8fa09e81..e2226a4d 100644
--- a/js/app.js
+++ b/js/app.js
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import {
 } from "./storage/r2-s3.js";
 import { initQuickR2Upload } from "./r2-quick.js";
 import { createWatchHistoryRenderer } from "./historyView.js";
+import { getSidebarLoadingMarkup } from "./sidebarLoading.js";
 import {
   initViewCounter,
   subscribeToVideoViewCount,
@@ -7530,15 +7531,17 @@ class bitvidApp {
       this.videoSubscription = null;
     }
 
+    if (this.videoList) {
+      if (this._lastRenderedVideoListElement !== this.videoList) {
+        this.lastRenderedVideoSignature = null;
+      }
+      this.videoList.innerHTML = getSidebarLoadingMarkup(
+        "Fetching recent videos…"
+      );
+    }
+
     // The rest of your existing logic:
     if (!this.videoSubscription) {
-      if (this.videoList) {
-        this.lastRenderedVideoSignature = null;
-        this.videoList.innerHTML = `
-        <p class="text-center text-gray-500">
-          Loading videos as they arrive...
-        </p>`;
-      }
 
       // Create a new subscription
       this.videoSubscription = nostrClient.subscribeVideos(() => {
diff --git a/js/historyView.js b/js/historyView.js
index 4c306b39..3c5a2b2a 100644
--- a/js/historyView.js
+++ b/js/historyView.js
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { nostrClient } from "./nostr.js";
 import { WATCH_HISTORY_BATCH_RESOLVE } from "./config.js";
 import { subscriptions } from "./subscriptions.js";
 import { accessControl } from "./accessControl.js";
+import { getSidebarLoadingMarkup } from "./sidebarLoading.js";
 
 const DEFAULT_BATCH_SIZE = 20;
 const BATCH_SIZE = WATCH_HISTORY_BATCH_RESOLVE ? DEFAULT_BATCH_SIZE : 1;
@@ -672,14 +673,10 @@ export function createWatchHistoryRenderer(config = {}) {
 
     const nextMessage = typeof message === "string" ? message.trim() : "";
     if (nextMessage) {
-      if (nextMessage === WATCH_HISTORY_LOADING_STATUS) {
-        statusEl.innerHTML =
-          '<span class="watch-history-status watch-history-status--loading"><span class="status-spinner status-spinner--inline" aria-hidden="true"></span><span>' +
-          WATCH_HISTORY_LOADING_STATUS +
-          "</span></span>";
-      } else {
-        statusEl.textContent = nextMessage;
-      }
+      const showSpinner = nextMessage === WATCH_HISTORY_LOADING_STATUS;
+      statusEl.innerHTML = getSidebarLoadingMarkup(nextMessage, {
+        showSpinner,
+      });
       statusEl.classList.remove("hidden");
     } else {
       statusEl.textContent = "";
diff --git a/js/sidebarLoading.js b/js/sidebarLoading.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4e88280d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/js/sidebarLoading.js
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+// js/sidebarLoading.js
+
+function escapeHtml(value) {
+  if (typeof value !== "string") {
+    return "";
+  }
+
+  return value
+    .replace(/&/g, "&amp;")
+    .replace(/</g, "&lt;")
+    .replace(/>/g, "&gt;")
+    .replace(/"/g, "&quot;")
+    .replace(/'/g, "&#39;");
+}
+
+export function getSidebarLoadingMarkup(message = "", options = {}) {
+  const trimmed = typeof message === "string" ? message.trim() : "";
+  const copy = trimmed || "Fetching data…";
+  const safeCopy = escapeHtml(copy);
+  const showSpinner = options?.showSpinner !== false;
+  const spinnerMarkup = showSpinner
+    ? '<span class="status-spinner status-spinner--inline" aria-hidden="true"></span>'
+    : "";
+
+  return `
+    <div class="sidebar-loading-wrapper" role="status" aria-live="polite">
+      <div class="sidebar-loading-indicator">
+        ${spinnerMarkup}
+        <span class="sidebar-loading-text">${safeCopy}</span>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  `;
+}
diff --git a/js/subscriptions.js b/js/subscriptions.js
index a11f5b6e..06d0519d 100644
--- a/js/subscriptions.js
+++ b/js/subscriptions.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   buildSubscriptionListEvent,
   SUBSCRIPTION_LIST_IDENTIFIER,
 } from "./nostrEventSchemas.js";
+import { getSidebarLoadingMarkup } from "./sidebarLoading.js";
 
 function getAbsoluteShareUrl(nevent) {
   if (!nevent) {
@@ -226,6 +227,8 @@ class SubscriptionsManager {
       return;
     }
 
+    container.innerHTML = getSidebarLoadingMarkup("Fetching subscriptions…");
+
     // Gather all videos
     const videos = await this.fetchSubscribedVideos(channelHexes);
     this.renderSameGridStyle(videos, containerId);
diff --git a/views/history.html b/views/history.html
index f5d08587..a6ce1557 100644
--- a/views/history.html
+++ b/views/history.html
@@ -1,21 +1,20 @@
 <!-- views/history.html -->
 <section id="watchHistoryView" class="space-y-6">
-  <div class="flex items-center justify-between">
-    <h2 class="text-2xl font-semibold text-white">Watch History</h2>
-  </div>
-  <div
-    id="watchHistoryLoading"
-    class="flex flex-col items-center justify-center py-12 space-y-4"
-  >
-    <div
-      class="h-10 w-10 border-4 border-blue-500 border-t-transparent rounded-full animate-spin"
-      aria-hidden="true"
-    ></div>
-    <p
-      id="watchHistoryStatus"
-      class="text-gray-300 text-center hidden"
-      aria-live="polite"
-    ></p>
+  <h2 class="text-xl mb-4 text-gray-700">Watch History</h2>
+  <div id="watchHistoryLoading">
+    <div id="watchHistoryStatus">
+      <div class="sidebar-loading-wrapper" role="status" aria-live="polite">
+        <div class="sidebar-loading-indicator">
+          <span
+            class="status-spinner status-spinner--inline"
+            aria-hidden="true"
+          ></span>
+          <span class="sidebar-loading-text"
+            >Fetching watch history from relays…</span
+          >
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
   </div>
   <div id="watchHistoryGrid" class="watch-history-grid hidden"></div>
   <p id="watchHistoryEmpty" class="hidden text-gray-400 text-center py-12">
diff --git a/views/most-recent-videos.html b/views/most-recent-videos.html
index d7b66acb..0f65c6bb 100644
--- a/views/most-recent-videos.html
+++ b/views/most-recent-videos.html
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@
     id="videoList"
     class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-3 gap-8"
   >
-    <!-- Videos will be dynamically inserted here -->
+    <div class="sidebar-loading-wrapper" role="status" aria-live="polite">
+      <div class="sidebar-loading-indicator">
+        <span class="status-spinner status-spinner--inline" aria-hidden="true"></span>
+        <span class="sidebar-loading-text">Fetching recent videos…</span>
+      </div>
+    </div>
   </div>
 </section>
diff --git a/views/subscriptions.html b/views/subscriptions.html
index 309018a0..4f9a6bc9 100644
--- a/views/subscriptions.html
+++ b/views/subscriptions.html
@@ -9,5 +9,12 @@
       gap: 2rem;
       padding: 1.5rem 0;
     "
-  ></div>
+  >
+    <div class="sidebar-loading-wrapper" role="status" aria-live="polite">
+      <div class="sidebar-loading-indicator">
+        <span class="status-spinner status-spinner--inline" aria-hidden="true"></span>
+        <span class="sidebar-loading-text">Fetching subscriptions…</span>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
 </section>