diff --git a/backend/app/auth.py b/backend/app/auth.py
index f7f6041..29eafa4 100644
--- a/backend/app/auth.py
+++ b/backend/app/auth.py
@@ -719,6 +719,18 @@ def current_user(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> User:
     return user
 
 
+def optional_current_user(
+    request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> User | None:
+    """Like `current_user` but returns None instead of raising 401 when there's no valid session.
+    Used by the bootstrap /api/me probe so the logged-out landing doesn't log a failed request to
+    the browser console (a non-2xx fetch is a console error no matter how the app handles it)."""
+    try:
+        return current_user(request, db)
+    except HTTPException:
+        return None
+
+
 def require_human(user: User = Depends(current_user)) -> User:
     """Reject the shared demo account from actions that need a real Google/YouTube identity
     or spend the shared quota. Most YouTube paths are already closed to it implicitly (it has
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/me.py b/backend/app/routes/me.py
index dca46a9..a810f89 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/me.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/me.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from app.auth import (
     has_read_scope,
     has_write_scope,
     is_allowed,
+    optional_current_user,
     purge_user,
 )
 from app.db import get_db
@@ -67,8 +68,13 @@ def switch_account(
 
 @router.get("")
 def get_me(
-    user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    user: User | None = Depends(optional_current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> dict:
+    # The app's bootstrap probe: return 200 with `authenticated: False` when logged out (rather
+    # than 401) so the public landing never logs a failed /api/me to the browser console. Other
+    # protected endpoints still 401, so mid-session expiry is still caught by the global handler.
+    if user is None:
+        return {"authenticated": False}
     pending_invites = 0
     if user.role == "admin":
         pending_invites = (
@@ -80,6 +86,7 @@ def get_me(
             or 0
         )
     return {
+        "authenticated": True,
         "id": user.id,
         "email": user.email,
         "display_name": user.display_name,
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index 2a86416..c6a473e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import { useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import {
   api,
   getActiveAccount,
-  HttpError,
   setActiveAccount,
   setUnauthorizedHandler,
   type FeedFilters,
@@ -451,8 +450,9 @@ export default function App() {
   }, [meQuery.data?.id]); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
 
   // Any request that 401s means the session ended server-side. If we were signed in (cached
-  // `me` exists), reload to the login page at once (option 2 — also covers any click that hits
-  // the API). Guarded on cached `me` so the public login page's own /api/me 401 can't loop.
+  // `me` is a user object), reload to the login page at once (also covers any click that hits
+  // the API). Guarded on a cached user so a stray 401 while logged out (cached `me` is null)
+  // can't loop the public landing.
   useEffect(() => {
     setUnauthorizedHandler(() => {
       if (queryClient.getQueryData(["me"])) {
@@ -646,14 +646,15 @@ export default function App() {
     return (
       <div className="min-h-screen grid place-items-center text-muted">{t("common.loading")}</div>
     );
-  if (meQuery.error instanceof HttpError && meQuery.error.status === 401)
-    return <Welcome />;
+  // /api/me answers 200 always now (null body = logged out), so a thrown error here is a real
+  // network/5xx failure, and no data means "not signed in" → the public landing.
   if (meQuery.error)
     return (
       <div className="min-h-screen grid place-items-center text-muted">
         {t("common.somethingWrong")}
       </div>
     );
+  if (!meQuery.data) return <Welcome />;
 
   return (
     <div className="h-screen flex bg-bg text-fg">
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
index 0e60943..692aca9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -253,8 +253,9 @@ interface ReqConfig {
 
 // Set by the app shell. Invoked whenever any request returns 401 so a session that ended
 // server-side (account suspended/deleted while the tab was open) can drop the user to the login
-// page. The handler itself guards against firing when we were never signed in (public pages
-// legitimately 401 on /api/me), so it's safe to call for every 401.
+// page. The handler itself guards against firing when we were never signed in, so it's safe to
+// call for every 401. (The bootstrap /api/me probe no longer 401s — it returns 200 with a null
+// user when logged out — but other protected endpoints still do.)
 let onUnauthorized: (() => void) | null = null;
 export function setUnauthorizedHandler(fn: (() => void) | null): void {
   onUnauthorized = fn;
@@ -755,7 +756,13 @@ export interface AdminDownloadQuota {
 }
 
 export const api = {
-  me: (): Promise<Me> => req("/api/me"),
+  // Bootstrap probe: 200 always. Returns the user when signed in, or null when logged out
+  // (the endpoint answers `{authenticated:false}` rather than 401, so the public landing never
+  // logs a failed request to the console). React Query treats the null as data, not an error.
+  me: async (): Promise<Me | null> => {
+    const r = await req("/api/me");
+    return r && r.authenticated ? (r as Me) : null;
+  },
   accounts: (): Promise<Account[]> => req("/api/me/accounts"),
   deleteAccount: (): Promise<{ deleted: boolean }> =>
     req("/api/me/account", { method: "DELETE" }),