diff --git a/backend/app/routes/feed.py b/backend/app/routes/feed.py
index 10af4de..2fc5044 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/feed.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/feed.py
@@ -208,6 +208,8 @@ SORTS = {
     "duration_asc": Video.duration_seconds.asc().nulls_last(),
     "title": func.lower(Video.title).asc().nulls_last(),
     "subscribers": Channel.subscriber_count.desc().nulls_last(),
+    # Your per-channel priority (set in the channel manager), newest first within a tier.
+    "priority": Subscription.priority.desc(),
 }
 
 
@@ -222,10 +224,15 @@ def get_feed(
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     query, _status = _filtered_query(db, user, **params)
-    order = SORTS.get(sort)
-    if order is None and sort == "shuffle":
-        order = func.md5(func.concat(Video.id, str(seed)))
-    query = query.order_by(order if order is not None else SORTS["newest"])
+    if sort == "priority":
+        query = query.order_by(
+            Subscription.priority.desc(), Video.published_at.desc().nulls_last()
+        )
+    else:
+        order = SORTS.get(sort)
+        if order is None and sort == "shuffle":
+            order = func.md5(func.concat(Video.id, str(seed)))
+        query = query.order_by(order if order is not None else SORTS["newest"])
 
     rows = db.execute(query.offset(offset).limit(limit + 1)).all()
     has_more = len(rows) > limit
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx
index 61f811b..4540535 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx
@@ -108,19 +108,34 @@ export default function Channels({
             className="w-full bg-card border border-border rounded-full pl-9 pr-4 py-2 text-sm outline-none focus:border-accent"
           />
         </div>
-        <button
-          onClick={() => syncSubs.mutate()}
-          disabled={syncSubs.isPending}
-          className="flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-2 rounded-lg border border-border text-sm hover:border-accent disabled:opacity-50 transition"
+        <Tooltip
+          side="bottom"
+          hint="Re-import your subscription list from YouTube — adds channels you've newly followed and drops ones you've unfollowed. The videos themselves keep syncing automatically in the background; this does not re-fetch them."
         >
-          <RefreshCw className={`w-4 h-4 ${syncSubs.isPending ? "animate-spin" : ""}`} />
-          Sync subscriptions
-        </button>
+          <button
+            onClick={() => syncSubs.mutate()}
+            disabled={syncSubs.isPending}
+            className="glass-card glass-hover flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-2 rounded-xl text-sm disabled:opacity-50 transition"
+          >
+            <RefreshCw className={`w-4 h-4 ${syncSubs.isPending ? "animate-spin" : ""}`} />
+            Sync subscriptions
+          </button>
+        </Tooltip>
       </div>
 
+      <p className="text-xs text-muted mb-4 leading-relaxed">
+        Set a channel's <b className="text-fg/80">priority</b> to push its videos up when you sort
+        by “Channel priority”, attach your own <b className="text-fg/80">tags</b> to filter the feed,
+        or <b className="text-fg/80">hide</b> a channel to drop it from the feed without unsubscribing.
+      </p>
+
       {/* Your tags */}
       <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-1.5 mb-4">
-        <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-muted mr-1">Your tags</span>
+        <Tooltip hint="Your personal labels. Attach them to channels below, then filter the feed by tag from the sidebar. (Separate from the automatic language/topic tags.)">
+          <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wide text-muted mr-1 cursor-help underline decoration-dotted decoration-muted/40 underline-offset-4">
+            Your tags
+          </span>
+        </Tooltip>
         {userTags.map((t) => (
           <span
             key={t.id}
@@ -232,15 +247,17 @@ function ChannelRow({
         c.hidden ? "opacity-60" : ""
       }`}
     >
-      <div className="flex flex-col items-center">
-        <button onClick={() => onPriority(1)} className="text-muted hover:text-accent" title="Raise priority">
-          <ArrowUp className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
-        </button>
-        <span className="text-xs text-muted tabular-nums">{c.priority}</span>
-        <button onClick={() => onPriority(-1)} className="text-muted hover:text-accent" title="Lower priority">
-          <ArrowDown className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
-        </button>
-      </div>
+      <Tooltip hint="Your ranking for this channel. Sort the feed by “Channel priority” to bring higher-priority channels to the top.">
+        <div className="flex flex-col items-center cursor-help">
+          <button onClick={() => onPriority(1)} className="text-muted hover:text-accent" aria-label="Raise priority">
+            <ArrowUp className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
+          </button>
+          <span className="text-xs text-muted tabular-nums">{c.priority}</span>
+          <button onClick={() => onPriority(-1)} className="text-muted hover:text-accent" aria-label="Lower priority">
+            <ArrowDown className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      </Tooltip>
 
       {c.thumbnail_url ? (
         <img src={c.thumbnail_url} alt="" className="w-10 h-10 rounded-full shrink-0" />
@@ -286,9 +303,17 @@ function ChannelRow({
         </div>
       </div>
 
-      <button onClick={onHide} className="text-muted hover:text-fg shrink-0" title={c.hidden ? "Unhide" : "Hide from feed"}>
-        {c.hidden ? <EyeOff className="w-4 h-4" /> : <Eye className="w-4 h-4" />}
-      </button>
+      <Tooltip
+        hint={
+          c.hidden
+            ? "Hidden — this channel's videos are kept out of your feed. Click to show them again."
+            : "Hide this channel's videos from your feed. It stays subscribed; this doesn't unsubscribe on YouTube."
+        }
+      >
+        <button onClick={onHide} className="text-muted hover:text-fg shrink-0" aria-label={c.hidden ? "Unhide" : "Hide from feed"}>
+          {c.hidden ? <EyeOff className="w-4 h-4" /> : <Eye className="w-4 h-4" />}
+        </button>
+      </Tooltip>
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx b/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx
index 0959912..a401812 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export default function SettingsPanel({
         onClick={close}
       />
       <div
-        className={`glass relative w-[min(94vw,460px)] h-full rounded-l-2xl flex flex-col ${
+        className={`glass relative self-start m-3 w-[min(94vw,520px)] max-h-[calc(100vh-1.5rem)] rounded-2xl overflow-hidden flex flex-col ${
           closing
             ? "animate-[panelOut_0.19s_ease-in_forwards]"
             : "animate-[panelIn_0.26s_cubic-bezier(0.22,1,0.36,1)]"
@@ -76,34 +76,47 @@ export default function SettingsPanel({
           </button>
         </div>
 
-        {/* Wrapping pill tabs — no horizontal scrollbar, prominent active state. */}
-        <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-1.5 px-3 py-3 border-b border-border/60 shrink-0">
-          {TABS.map((t) => {
-            const active = tab === t.id;
-            return (
-              <button
+        <div className="flex flex-1 min-h-0">
+          {/* Vertical tab rail — never wraps; active is a clear accent pill. */}
+          <nav className="w-32 sm:w-36 shrink-0 border-r border-border/60 p-2 flex flex-col gap-1">
+            {TABS.map((t) => {
+              const active = tab === t.id;
+              return (
+                <button
+                  key={t.id}
+                  onClick={() => setTab(t.id)}
+                  className={`flex items-center gap-2 px-3 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm text-left transition ${
+                    active
+                      ? "bg-accent text-accent-fg font-medium shadow-md shadow-accent/20"
+                      : "text-muted hover:text-fg hover:bg-card/60"
+                  }`}
+                >
+                  <t.icon className="w-4 h-4 shrink-0" />
+                  {t.label}
+                </button>
+              );
+            })}
+          </nav>
+
+          {/* All tabs stacked in one grid cell so the panel sizes to the tallest tab
+              (stable height, no jump on switch); the active one is shown on top. */}
+          <div className="grid flex-1 overflow-y-auto">
+            {TABS.map((t) => (
+              <div
                 key={t.id}
-                onClick={() => setTab(t.id)}
-                className={`flex items-center gap-1.5 px-3 py-1.5 rounded-full text-sm transition ${
-                  active
-                    ? "bg-accent text-accent-fg shadow-md shadow-accent/20 font-medium"
-                    : "text-muted hover:text-fg hover:bg-card/60"
+                className={`[grid-area:1/1] p-4 ${
+                  tab === t.id ? "" : "invisible pointer-events-none"
                 }`}
               >
-                <t.icon className="w-4 h-4" />
-                {t.label}
-              </button>
-            );
-          })}
-        </div>
-
-        <div className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto p-4">
-          {tab === "appearance" && (
-            <Appearance theme={theme} setTheme={setTheme} view={view} setView={setView} />
-          )}
-          {tab === "notifications" && <Notifications />}
-          {tab === "sync" && <Sync me={me} />}
-          {tab === "account" && <Account me={me} />}
+                {t.id === "appearance" && (
+                  <Appearance theme={theme} setTheme={setTheme} view={view} setView={setView} />
+                )}
+                {t.id === "notifications" && <Notifications />}
+                {t.id === "sync" && <Sync me={me} />}
+                {t.id === "account" && <Account me={me} />}
+              </div>
+            ))}
+          </div>
         </div>
       </div>
     </div>
@@ -294,7 +307,7 @@ function Notifications() {
             level: "info",
             title: "Test notification",
             message: "This is what a notification looks like.",
-            requiresInteraction: true,
+            sound: true,
           })
         }
         className="mt-2 text-sm text-accent hover:underline"
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
index 8f01561..af58adb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ const SORTS = [
   { id: "duration_asc", label: "Shortest" },
   { id: "title", label: "Name (A–Z)" },
   { id: "subscribers", label: "Channel subscribers" },
+  { id: "priority", label: "Channel priority" },
   { id: "shuffle", label: "Surprise me" },
 ];
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Tooltip.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Tooltip.tsx
index dfc3b75..3c77373 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Tooltip.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Tooltip.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
-import { useSyncExternalStore } from "react";
+import { useRef, useState, useSyncExternalStore } from "react";
+import { createPortal } from "react-dom";
 import { hintsEnabled, subscribeHints } from "../lib/hints";
 
-type Side = "top" | "bottom" | "left";
+type Side = "top" | "bottom";
+type Coords = { left: number; top: number; placement: Side };
 
 /** Wrap any element to show a short glass hint caption on hover — but only while the
- *  app-wide hints toggle (Settings → Appearance) is on. */
+ *  app-wide hints toggle (Settings → Appearance) is on. Rendered in a portal with
+ *  fixed positioning so it is never clipped by an overflow/stacking ancestor. */
 export default function Tooltip({
   hint,
   side = "top",
@@ -15,24 +18,53 @@ export default function Tooltip({
   children: React.ReactNode;
 }) {
   const enabled = useSyncExternalStore(subscribeHints, hintsEnabled, hintsEnabled);
+  const ref = useRef<HTMLSpanElement>(null);
+  const [coords, setCoords] = useState<Coords | null>(null);
+
+  function show() {
+    const el = ref.current;
+    if (!el) return;
+    const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
+    // Prefer the requested side; flip to bottom if there's no room above.
+    const placement: Side = side === "bottom" || r.top < 90 ? "bottom" : "top";
+    setCoords({
+      left: Math.min(Math.max(r.left + r.width / 2, 92), window.innerWidth - 92),
+      top: placement === "top" ? r.top - 8 : r.bottom + 8,
+      placement,
+    });
+  }
+  function hide() {
+    setCoords(null);
+  }
+
   if (!enabled || !hint) return <>{children}</>;
 
-  const place =
-    side === "bottom"
-      ? "top-full mt-2 left-1/2 -translate-x-1/2"
-      : side === "left"
-        ? "right-full mr-2 top-1/2 -translate-y-1/2"
-        : "bottom-full mb-2 left-1/2 -translate-x-1/2";
-
   return (
-    <span className="relative inline-flex group/tip">
+    <span
+      ref={ref}
+      onMouseEnter={show}
+      onMouseLeave={hide}
+      onFocus={show}
+      onBlur={hide}
+      className="inline-flex"
+    >
       {children}
-      <span
-        role="tooltip"
-        className={`glass pointer-events-none absolute ${place} z-50 w-max max-w-[220px] px-2.5 py-1.5 rounded-lg text-xs leading-snug text-fg font-normal normal-case tracking-normal opacity-0 group-hover/tip:opacity-100 transition-opacity duration-150`}
-      >
-        {hint}
-      </span>
+      {coords &&
+        createPortal(
+          <div
+            role="tooltip"
+            style={{
+              position: "fixed",
+              left: coords.left,
+              top: coords.top,
+              transform: `translateX(-50%) translateY(${coords.placement === "top" ? "-100%" : "0"})`,
+            }}
+            className="glass pointer-events-none z-[100] w-max max-w-[240px] px-2.5 py-1.5 rounded-lg text-xs leading-snug text-fg font-normal normal-case tracking-normal animate-[fadeIn_0.12s_ease]"
+          >
+            {hint}
+          </div>,
+          document.body
+        )}
     </span>
   );
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/index.css b/frontend/src/index.css
index e831bde..c26a98f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/index.css
+++ b/frontend/src/index.css
@@ -32,19 +32,21 @@ body {
 
 /* ===== Liquid-glass surface system (theme-aware, GPU-light) ===== */
 .glass {
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--surface) 72%, transparent);
-  backdrop-filter: blur(18px) saturate(1.6);
-  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(18px) saturate(1.6);
-  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--border) 65%, transparent);
+  /* Mostly opaque so overlay menus/panels stay readable over arbitrary content;
+     the blur + slight translucency keep the glassy feel. */
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--surface) 90%, transparent);
+  backdrop-filter: blur(24px) saturate(1.7);
+  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(24px) saturate(1.7);
+  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--border) 75%, transparent);
   box-shadow:
-    inset 0 1px 0 color-mix(in srgb, #fff 14%, transparent),
-    0 18px 40px -16px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55);
+    inset 0 1px 0 color-mix(in srgb, #fff 15%, transparent),
+    0 18px 44px -16px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6);
 }
 .glass-card {
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--card) 58%, transparent);
-  backdrop-filter: blur(10px) saturate(1.3);
-  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(10px) saturate(1.3);
-  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--border) 55%, transparent);
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--card) 78%, transparent);
+  backdrop-filter: blur(12px) saturate(1.3);
+  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(12px) saturate(1.3);
+  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--border) 65%, transparent);
   box-shadow:
     inset 0 1px 0 color-mix(in srgb, #fff 9%, transparent),
     0 8px 22px -14px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.45);
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts b/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts
index 09aa4b8..f131d39 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ export interface NotifyInput {
   action?: NotifAction;
   meta?: NotifMeta;
   requiresInteraction?: boolean;
+  sound?: boolean; // force the alert tone (when sound is enabled) even for an info toast
 }
 
 const HISTORY_KEY = "subfeed.notifications";
@@ -177,7 +178,7 @@ export function notify(input: NotifyInput): number {
     },
   ];
   emit();
-  if (config.sound && (requiresInteraction || level === "error" || level === "fatal")) {
+  if (config.sound && (input.sound || requiresInteraction || level === "error" || level === "fatal")) {
     beep();
   }
   if (duration) setTimeout(() => dismiss(id), duration);