diff --git a/js/nostr.js b/js/nostr.js
index e0aca71c..197d4e97 100644
--- a/js/nostr.js
+++ b/js/nostr.js
@@ -1100,12 +1100,15 @@ class NostrClient {
   }
 
   async decryptWatchHistoryEvent(pointerEvent, actorPubkey) {
+    const fallbackItems = extractPointerItemsFromEvent(pointerEvent);
+    const fallbackPayload = { version: 0, items: fallbackItems };
+
     const normalizedActor =
       typeof actorPubkey === "string" && actorPubkey.trim()
         ? actorPubkey.trim().toLowerCase()
         : "";
     if (!normalizedActor) {
-      return { version: 0, items: extractPointerItemsFromEvent(pointerEvent) };
+      return fallbackPayload;
     }
 
     const ciphertext =
@@ -1114,7 +1117,7 @@ class NostrClient {
         : "";
 
     if (!ciphertext) {
-      return { version: 0, items: extractPointerItemsFromEvent(pointerEvent) };
+      return fallbackPayload;
     }
 
     const normalizedLogged =
@@ -1131,7 +1134,10 @@ class NostrClient {
           ciphertext
         );
         const parsed = parseWatchHistoryPayload(plaintext);
-        return parsed;
+        if (parsed.items.length || fallbackItems.length === 0) {
+          return parsed;
+        }
+        return { ...parsed, items: fallbackItems };
       } catch (error) {
         if (isDevMode) {
           console.warn(
@@ -1164,7 +1170,10 @@ class NostrClient {
           ciphertext
         );
         const parsed = parseWatchHistoryPayload(plaintext);
-        return parsed;
+        if (parsed.items.length || fallbackItems.length === 0) {
+          return parsed;
+        }
+        return { ...parsed, items: fallbackItems };
       } catch (error) {
         if (isDevMode) {
           console.warn(
@@ -1175,7 +1184,7 @@ class NostrClient {
       }
     }
 
-    return { version: 0, items: extractPointerItemsFromEvent(pointerEvent) };
+    return fallbackPayload;
   }
 
   cancelWatchHistoryRepublish(actor) {
@@ -1300,9 +1309,18 @@ class NostrClient {
       return encryptionResult;
     }
 
+    const pointerTags = trimmedItems.map((item) => {
+      const tag = [item.type, item.value];
+      if (item.relay) {
+        tag.push(item.relay);
+      }
+      return tag;
+    });
+
     const tags = [
       ["d", WATCH_HISTORY_LIST_IDENTIFIER],
       ["encrypted", "nip04"],
+      ...pointerTags,
     ];
 
     const event = {
diff --git a/tests/watch-history.test.mjs b/tests/watch-history.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2bff7e48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/watch-history.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+import "./test-helpers/setup-localstorage.mjs";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+
+if (typeof globalThis.window === "undefined") {
+  globalThis.window = {};
+}
+
+if (!globalThis.window.NostrTools) {
+  globalThis.window.NostrTools = {};
+}
+
+globalThis.window.NostrTools.getEventHash = (event) => {
+  const payload = `${event.kind}:${event.pubkey}:${event.created_at}`;
+  return `hash-${Buffer.from(payload).toString("hex")}`;
+};
+
+globalThis.window.NostrTools.signEvent = (event, privateKey) =>
+  `sig-${privateKey.slice(0, 8)}-${event.created_at}`;
+
+delete globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip04;
+delete globalThis.window.nostr;
+
+const { nostrClient } = await import("../js/nostr.js");
+
+function createPublishingClient(actorPubkey) {
+  const client = new nostrClient.constructor();
+  client.pool = {
+    publish(urls, event) {
+      return {
+        on(eventName, handler) {
+          if (eventName === "ok" || eventName === "seen") {
+            setTimeout(handler, 0);
+          }
+        },
+      };
+    },
+  };
+  client.relays = ["wss://unit.test"];
+  client.pubkey = "";
+  client.sessionActor = { pubkey: actorPubkey, privateKey: "unit-secret" };
+  client.ensureSessionActor = async () => actorPubkey;
+  client.encryptWatchHistoryPayload = async () => ({
+    ok: true,
+    ciphertext: "ciphertext",
+  });
+  client.persistWatchHistoryEntry = () => {};
+  client.cancelWatchHistoryRepublish = () => {};
+  client.scheduleWatchHistoryRepublish = () => {};
+  return client;
+}
+
+function createDecryptClient(actorPubkey) {
+  const client = new nostrClient.constructor();
+  client.sessionActor = { pubkey: actorPubkey, privateKey: "unit-secret" };
+  client.ensureSessionActor = async () => actorPubkey;
+  return client;
+}
+
+const ACTOR = "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef";
+const POINTER_A = {
+  type: "a",
+  value: `30078:${ACTOR}:watch-history`,
+  relay: "wss://relay.unit",
+};
+const POINTER_E = { type: "e", value: "event-id-123", relay: null };
+
+const publishingClient = createPublishingClient(ACTOR);
+const publishResult = await publishingClient.publishWatchHistorySnapshot(
+  ACTOR,
+  [POINTER_A, POINTER_E]
+);
+
+assert.equal(publishResult.ok, true, "publish should report success");
+
+const pointerTags = publishResult.event.tags.filter((tag) =>
+  tag && (tag[0] === "a" || tag[0] === "e")
+);
+assert.deepEqual(pointerTags, [
+  ["a", POINTER_A.value, POINTER_A.relay],
+  ["e", POINTER_E.value],
+]);
+
+assert.deepEqual(
+  publishResult.items.map((item) => ({
+    type: item.type,
+    value: item.value,
+    relay: item.relay || null,
+  })),
+  [
+    { type: "a", value: POINTER_A.value, relay: POINTER_A.relay },
+    { type: "e", value: POINTER_E.value, relay: null },
+  ]
+);
+
+delete globalThis.window.nostr;
+delete globalThis.window.NostrTools.nip04;
+
+const decryptClient = createDecryptClient(ACTOR);
+const decrypted = await decryptClient.decryptWatchHistoryEvent(
+  publishResult.event,
+  ACTOR
+);
+
+assert.deepEqual(decrypted, {
+  version: 0,
+  items: [
+    { type: "a", value: POINTER_A.value, relay: POINTER_A.relay },
+    { type: "e", value: POINTER_E.value, relay: null },
+  ],
+});
+
+console.log("watch history tests passed");