diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/feed/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/feed/+page.svelte
index e1f7063..503b276 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/feed/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/feed/+page.svelte
@@ -120,30 +120,59 @@
 
 	let allUploaders = $derived([...new Set(uploads.map((u) => u.uploader_name))].sort());
 
+	// The suggestion SOURCE is frozen for as long as the dropdown is open.
+	//
+	// `allTags`/`allUploaders` derive from `uploads`, which mutates under us constantly: every
+	// `upload-processed` / `new-upload` SSE triggers `refreshFeedInPlace`, which replaces the array.
+	// `allTags` is ordered by FREQUENCY, so a photo landing mid-interaction can REORDER the open
+	// dropdown — the user presses "#wedding" and the list reshuffles under their finger. At a party,
+	// where photos stream in the whole time, that is a live mis-tap hazard, not a theoretical one.
+	// (It also detaches the button mid-press: the handler is `onmousedown`, so a re-render between
+	// mousedown and mouseup destroys the element being pressed.)
+	//
+	// Freezing on focus keeps the list the user is looking at identical to the list they act on.
+	// Typing still filters — it just filters a stable source. New photos appear in the suggestions
+	// the next time the dropdown is opened, which is soon enough for a filter picker.
+	let frozenTags = $state<string[]>([]);
+	let frozenUploaders = $state<string[]>([]);
+
+	// Re-snapshot only when actually opening. Called on focus AND on click/input, because after a
+	// selection the input keeps focus (the dropdown suppresses the blur) — so `onfocus` will not
+	// fire again, and without these the picker could never be reopened without clicking away first.
+	// Guarding on `showAutocomplete` keeps typing from re-freezing on every keystroke, which would
+	// let the list churn again mid-interaction and undo the point of freezing it.
+	function openAutocomplete() {
+		if (!showAutocomplete) {
+			frozenTags = allTags;
+			frozenUploaders = allUploaders;
+		}
+		showAutocomplete = true;
+	}
+
 	let suggestions = $derived.by((): Filter[] => {
 		const q = searchQuery.trim();
 		if (!q) {
 			// Show top suggestions on focus
 			if (!showAutocomplete) return [];
 			return [
-				...allUploaders.slice(0, 3).map((u) => ({ type: 'user' as const, value: u })),
-				...allTags.slice(0, 3).map((t) => ({ type: 'tag' as const, value: t })),
+				...frozenUploaders.slice(0, 3).map((u) => ({ type: 'user' as const, value: u })),
+				...frozenTags.slice(0, 3).map((t) => ({ type: 'tag' as const, value: t })),
 			];
 		}
 		if (q.startsWith('#')) {
 			const prefix = q.slice(1).toLowerCase();
-			return allTags
+			return frozenTags
 				.filter((t) => t.startsWith(prefix))
 				.slice(0, 8)
 				.map((t) => ({ type: 'tag' as const, value: t }));
 		}
 		const lower = q.toLowerCase();
 		return [
-			...allUploaders
+			...frozenUploaders
 				.filter((u) => u.toLowerCase().includes(lower))
 				.slice(0, 4)
 				.map((u) => ({ type: 'user' as const, value: u })),
-			...allTags
+			...frozenTags
 				.filter((t) => t.includes(lower))
 				.slice(0, 4)
 				.map((t) => ({ type: 'tag' as const, value: t })),
@@ -568,10 +597,12 @@
 							placeholder="Nutzer oder #Tag suchen…"
 							bind:value={searchQuery}
 							onfocus={(e) => {
-								showAutocomplete = true;
+								openAutocomplete();
 								// Push the input above the virtual keyboard so suggestions stay visible.
 								(e.currentTarget as HTMLInputElement).scrollIntoView({ block: 'center', behavior: 'smooth' });
 							}}
+							onclick={openAutocomplete}
+							oninput={openAutocomplete}
 							onblur={() => setTimeout(() => (showAutocomplete = false), 150)}
 							class="min-w-0 flex-1 bg-transparent text-sm text-gray-900 placeholder-gray-400 outline-none dark:text-gray-100 dark:placeholder-gray-500"
 						/>
@@ -590,11 +621,31 @@
 
 					<!-- Autocomplete dropdown -->
 					{#if showAutocomplete && suggestions.length > 0}
-						<div class="absolute left-0 right-0 top-full z-50 mt-1 overflow-hidden rounded-xl border border-gray-200 bg-white shadow-lg dark:border-gray-700 dark:bg-gray-900">
-							{#each suggestions as item}
+						<!-- `preventDefault` on the container's mousedown stops the input from blurring, which
+						     is what would otherwise close this dropdown (see the input's `onblur`) before a
+						     click could land on a suggestion.
+
+						     That matters because the suggestions used to commit on `onmousedown` — purely to
+						     beat that blur. Two things were wrong with it. It fired on PRESS, so sliding off a
+						     suggestion you didn't mean to hit still applied the filter, with no way to abort.
+						     And `selectSuggestion` sets `showAutocomplete = false`, so the button DESTROYED
+						     ITSELF on the first event of the click sequence: whether the node survived to
+						     `mouseup` came down to whether Svelte's flush landed in between. That is the whole
+						     reason this spec was flaky under load.
+
+						     Suppressing the blur lets the handler move to `onclick` — the LAST event — so the
+						     element self-destructing is harmless, and press-then-slide-off aborts like a button
+						     should. -->
+						<div
+							class="absolute left-0 right-0 top-full z-50 mt-1 overflow-hidden rounded-xl border border-gray-200 bg-white shadow-lg dark:border-gray-700 dark:bg-gray-900"
+							onmousedown={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+							role="listbox"
+							tabindex="-1"
+						>
+							{#each suggestions as item (item.type + ':' + item.value)}
 								<button
 									class="flex w-full items-center gap-3 px-4 py-2.5 text-left text-sm hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-gray-800"
-									onmousedown={() => selectSuggestion(item)}
+									onclick={() => selectSuggestion(item)}
 								>
 									{#if item.type === 'user'}
 										<svg class="h-4 w-4 shrink-0 text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.5">