diff --git a/js/constants.js b/js/constants.js
index 5610718b..0cb467bd 100644
--- a/js/constants.js
+++ b/js/constants.js
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ const DEFAULT_FLAGS = Object.freeze({
   FEATURE_PUBLISH_NIP71: false,
   FEATURE_HASHTAG_PREFERENCES: false,
   FEATURE_TRUST_SEEDS: true, // Rollback: disable to drop baseline trust seeds without code changes.
-  FEATURE_TRUSTED_HIDE_CONTROLS: true,
+  FEATURE_TRUSTED_HIDE_CONTROLS: true,\n  FEATURE_IMPROVED_COMMENT_FETCHING: true, // Default true for comment persistence fixes
   TRUSTED_MUTE_HIDE_THRESHOLD: DEFAULT_TRUSTED_MUTE_HIDE_THRESHOLD,
   TRUSTED_SPAM_HIDE_THRESHOLD: DEFAULT_TRUSTED_SPAM_HIDE_THRESHOLD,
   WSS_TRACKERS: DEFAULT_WSS_TRACKERS,
diff --git a/js/services/commentThreadService.js b/js/services/commentThreadService.js
index 06027413..eee83334 100644
--- a/js/services/commentThreadService.js
+++ b/js/services/commentThreadService.js
@@ -630,3 +630,4 @@ export default class CommentThreadService {
     this.resetInternalState();
   }
 }
+// New fetchThread with caching for improved persistence\n  async fetchThread(target, options = {}) {\n    if (!FEATURE_IMPROVED_COMMENT_FETCHING) {\n      return await this.fetchVideoComments(target, options);\n    }\n\n    const videoEventId = target.videoEventId || target.eventId;\n    if (!videoEventId) return [];\n\n    let comments = this.getCachedComments(videoEventId);\n    if (!comments) {\n      comments = await this.fetchVideoComments(target, { ...options, since: 0 });\n      this.cacheComments(videoEventId, comments);\n    }\n\n    devLogger.info(`Fetched ${comments.length} comments for ${videoEventId} (cached: ${!!this.getCachedComments(videoEventId)})`);\n    return comments;\n  }\n\n  getCachedComments(videoEventId) {\n    const cacheKey = `comments:${videoEventId}`;\n    const cached = localStorage.getItem(cacheKey);\n    if (!cached) return null;\n    try {\n      const { comments, timestamp } = JSON.parse(cached);\n      if (Date.now() - timestamp < 300000) {  // 5min TTL\n        devLogger.info(`Loaded cached comments for ${videoEventId}`);\n        return comments;\n      } else {\n        localStorage.removeItem(cacheKey);\n        devLogger.info(`Expired cache for ${videoEventId}`);\n      }\n    } catch (error) {\n      devLogger.warn('[cache] Invalid cached comments:', error);\n      localStorage.removeItem(cacheKey);\n    }\n    return null;\n  }\n\n  cacheComments(videoEventId, comments) {\n    const cacheKey = `comments:${videoEventId}`;\n    try {\n      localStorage.setItem(cacheKey, JSON.stringify({\n        comments,\n        timestamp: Date.now(),\n      }));\n      devLogger.info(`Cached ${comments.length} comments for ${videoEventId}`);\n    } catch (error) {\n      devLogger.warn('[cache] Failed to cache comments:', error);\n    }\n  }\n\n  // Flush cache on teardown (optional, for privacy)\n  clearCommentCache(videoEventId) {\n    if (videoEventId) {\n      localStorage.removeItem(`comments:${videoEventId}`);\n    } else {\n      Object.keys(localStorage).filter(key => key.startsWith('comments:')).forEach(key => localStorage.removeItem(key));\n    }\n    devLogger.info('Cleared comment cache');\n  }
diff --git a/js/ui/videoModalCommentController.js b/js/ui/videoModalCommentController.js
index a021a3ab..8c4f7520 100644
--- a/js/ui/videoModalCommentController.js
+++ b/js/ui/videoModalCommentController.js
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ export default class VideoModalCommentController {
     };
 
     this.callbacks = {
+async loadComments(retryCount = 0) {\n    if (!FEATURE_IMPROVED_COMMENT_FETCHING) {\n      // Fallback to existing sub-only\n      this.subscription = subscribeVideoComments(this.client, this.videoTarget, {\n        onEvent: (event) => this.addComment(event),\n      });\n      return;\n    }\n\n    try {\n      const options = { since: 0, limit: 100 };  // Full history, cap for perf\n      const comments = await listVideoComments(this.client, this.videoTarget, options);\n      devLogger.info(`Loaded ${comments.length} comments for video; filters applied.`, options);\n      this.renderCommentThread(comments);\n\n      // Subscribe for live updates\n      this.subscription = subscribeVideoComments(this.client, this.videoTarget, {\n        onEvent: (event) => this.addComment(event),\n      });\n\n      // Retry if low count (e.g., async propagation)\n      if (comments.length < 5 && retryCount < 3) {  // Threshold heuristic\n        setTimeout(() => this.loadComments(retryCount + 1), 2000);\n      }\n    } catch (error) {\n      devLogger.warn('[comments] Failed to load comments:', error);\n      // Fallback sub\n      this.subscription = subscribeVideoComments(this.client, this.videoTarget, { onEvent: (event) => this.addComment(event) });\n    }\n  }
       showError:
         typeof callbacks.showError === "function"
           ? (message) => callbacks.showError(message)