diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index d2e2400..23b64a4 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.39.1
+0.40.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/releaseNotes.ts b/frontend/src/lib/releaseNotes.ts
index daba6f9..b7787b9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/releaseNotes.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/releaseNotes.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,22 @@ export interface ReleaseEntry {
 }
 
 export const RELEASE_NOTES: ReleaseEntry[] = [
+  {
+    version: "0.40.0",
+    date: "2026-07-12",
+    summary: "A wave of polish and reliability fixes closing out the internal cleanup pass.",
+    fixes: [
+      "Your place in a video is now saved even if you refresh or close the tab right after skipping around.",
+      "Auto-advance no longer gets stuck on a video that can't be played — it moves on to the next one.",
+      "The unread badge on your messages now updates live across your other open tabs.",
+      "Download storage/limit messages now appear in your language, with the right number format.",
+      "Removing a demo email or denying an access request now asks for confirmation first.",
+      "After syncing your subscriptions, the feed refreshes right away to reflect the change.",
+    ],
+    chores: [
+      "Many internal correctness and efficiency fixes across search, playlists, channels, messages, and downloads; admin-panel polish. No feature changes.",
+    ],
+  },
   {
     version: "0.39.1",
     date: "2026-07-12",