diff --git a/js/app.js b/js/app.js
index 79bf45c3..437772d5 100644
--- a/js/app.js
+++ b/js/app.js
@@ -898,16 +898,6 @@ class bitvidApp {
       if (event.button === 0 && !event.ctrlKey && !event.metaKey) {
         event.preventDefault();
 
-        const decodeDataValue = (value) => {
-          if (!value) return "";
-          try {
-            return decodeURIComponent(value);
-          } catch (err) {
-            console.warn("Failed to decode data attribute:", err);
-            return value;
-          }
-        };
-
         const rawUrlValue =
           (trigger.dataset && typeof trigger.dataset.playUrl === "string"
             ? trigger.dataset.playUrl
@@ -917,10 +907,17 @@ class bitvidApp {
             ? trigger.dataset.playMagnet
             : null) ?? trigger.getAttribute("data-play-magnet") ?? "";
 
-        const url = decodeDataValue(rawUrlValue);
-        const decodedMagnetValue = decodeDataValue(rawMagnetValue);
-        const magnet =
-          safeDecodeMagnet(decodedMagnetValue) || decodedMagnetValue;
+        let url = "";
+        if (rawUrlValue) {
+          try {
+            url = decodeURIComponent(rawUrlValue);
+          } catch (err) {
+            console.warn("Failed to decode data-play-url attribute:", err);
+            url = rawUrlValue;
+          }
+        }
+
+        const magnet = safeDecodeMagnet(rawMagnetValue) || rawMagnetValue;
         const eventId = trigger.getAttribute("data-video-id");
 
         if (eventId) {
@@ -1739,9 +1736,12 @@ class bitvidApp {
         // assign them after template parsing so the raw URL/magnet strings avoid
         // HTML entity escaping in the literal markup and keep any sensitive
         // magnet payloads out of the static DOM text.
+        // The play URL is stored URL-encoded to keep spaces and query params
+        // intact inside data-* attributes; attachVideoListHandler() decodes it
+        // before playback.
         interactiveEls.forEach((el) => {
           if (!el.dataset) return;
-          el.dataset.playUrl = playbackUrl || "";
+          el.dataset.playUrl = encodeURIComponent(playbackUrl || "");
           el.dataset.playMagnet = playbackMagnet || "";
           if (magnetProvided) {
             el.dataset.torrentSupported = magnetSupported ? "true" : "false";
diff --git a/js/channelProfile.js b/js/channelProfile.js
index 60d5df9b..833c1262 100644
--- a/js/channelProfile.js
+++ b/js/channelProfile.js
@@ -382,11 +382,14 @@ async function loadUserVideos(pubkey) {
 
       // Leave the data-play-* attributes empty in the template markup so the raw
       // URL/magnet strings can be assigned after parsing without HTML entity
-      // escaping, keeping this renderer consistent with app.js.
+      // escaping, keeping this renderer consistent with app.js. The stored URL is
+      // encoded so it stays intact within data-* attributes, and the click
+      // handler decodes it while leaving magnets untouched until
+      // safeDecodeMagnet() runs.
       const interactiveEls = cardEl.querySelectorAll("[data-video-id]");
       interactiveEls.forEach((el) => {
         if (!el.dataset) return;
-        el.dataset.playUrl = playbackUrl || "";
+        el.dataset.playUrl = encodeURIComponent(playbackUrl || "");
         el.dataset.playMagnet = playbackMagnet || "";
       });
 
diff --git a/js/subscriptions.js b/js/subscriptions.js
index fff42045..be192aee 100644
--- a/js/subscriptions.js
+++ b/js/subscriptions.js
@@ -408,11 +408,13 @@ class SubscriptionsManager {
       if (cardEl) {
         // Leave the data-play-* attributes empty in the literal markup so we can
         // assign the raw URL/magnet strings post-parsing without HTML entity
-        // escaping, mirroring the approach in app.js.
+        // escaping, mirroring the approach in app.js. The URL is encoded so that
+        // special characters survive storage in data-* attributes; the click
+        // handler decodes it right before playback while keeping the magnet raw.
         const interactiveEls = cardEl.querySelectorAll("[data-video-id]");
         interactiveEls.forEach((el) => {
           if (!el.dataset) return;
-          el.dataset.playUrl = playbackUrl || "";
+          el.dataset.playUrl = encodeURIComponent(playbackUrl || "");
           el.dataset.playMagnet = playbackMagnet || "";
         });
       }