diff --git a/Blackbook/Services/ContactMergeService.swift b/Blackbook/Services/ContactMergeService.swift
index 77e9a71..bea5f02 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Services/ContactMergeService.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Services/ContactMergeService.swift
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ final class ContactMergeService {
 
         secondary.isMergedAway = true
         secondary.mergedIntoContact = primary
-        primary.updatedAt = Date()
-        secondary.updatedAt = Date()
+        primary.markLocallyEdited()
+        secondary.markLocallyEdited()
 
         try context.save()
         logger.info("Merged '\(secondary.displayName)' into '\(primary.displayName)'")
diff --git a/Blackbook/Services/ContactSyncService.swift b/Blackbook/Services/ContactSyncService.swift
index 5fa1112..4193c6d 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Services/ContactSyncService.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Services/ContactSyncService.swift
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ final class ContactSyncService {
         contact.company = cn.organizationName.isEmpty ? nil : cn.organizationName
         contact.jobTitle = cn.jobTitle.isEmpty ? nil : cn.jobTitle
         populateFields(contact, from: cn)
-        contact.updatedAt = Date()
+        contact.markLocallyEdited()
     }
 
     private func populateFields(_ contact: Contact, from cn: CNContact) {
diff --git a/Blackbook/Services/SocialEnrichmentService.swift b/Blackbook/Services/SocialEnrichmentService.swift
index 2acb15f..52ecca9 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Services/SocialEnrichmentService.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Services/SocialEnrichmentService.swift
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ final class SocialEnrichmentService {
                 contact.company = contact.company ?? components.dropFirst().first?.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespaces)
             }
         }
-        contact.updatedAt = Date()
         contact.customFields["lastEnriched"] = ISO8601DateFormatter().string(from: Date())
+        contact.markLocallyEdited()
     }
 }
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/AddNoteView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/AddNoteView.swift
index f9107b5..d3653cc 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/AddNoteView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/AddNoteView.swift
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ struct AddNoteView: View {
             #endif
             .toolbar {
                 ToolbarItem(placement: .cancellationAction) { Button("Cancel") { dismiss() } }
-                ToolbarItem(placement: .confirmationAction) { Button("Save") { modelContext.insert(Note(contact: contact, content: content, category: category)); contact.updatedAt = Date(); try? modelContext.save(); dismiss() }.disabled(content.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines).isEmpty) }
+                ToolbarItem(placement: .confirmationAction) { Button("Save") { modelContext.insert(Note(contact: contact, content: content, category: category)); contact.markLocallyEdited(); try? modelContext.save(); dismiss() }.disabled(content.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines).isEmpty) }
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactDetailView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactDetailView.swift
index ec6b47b..bb27b58 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactDetailView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactDetailView.swift
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ struct ContactDetailView: View {
                     Button {
                         if contact.isHidden {
                             contact.isHidden = false
-                            contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                            contact.markLocallyEdited()
                             try? modelContext.save()
                         } else {
                             showHideConfirm = true
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ struct ContactDetailView: View {
             Button("Cancel", role: .cancel) {}
             Button("Hide", role: .destructive) {
                 contact.isHidden = true
-                contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                contact.markLocallyEdited()
                 try? modelContext.save()
                 dismiss()
             }
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ struct MetViaPickerView: View {
                 Section {
                     Button {
                         contact.metVia = nil
-                        contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                        contact.markLocallyEdited()
                         try? modelContext.save()
                         dismiss()
                     } label: {
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ struct MetViaPickerView: View {
                     ForEach(filtered) { c in
                         Button {
                             contact.metVia = c
-                            contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                            contact.markLocallyEdited()
                             try? modelContext.save()
                             dismiss()
                         } label: {
@@ -528,13 +528,13 @@ struct IntroducedToPickerView: View {
                         for c in eligible {
                             if selectedIDs.contains(c.id) && !currentBacklinkIDs.contains(c.id) {
                                 c.metVia = contact
-                                c.updatedAt = Date()
+                                c.markLocallyEdited()
                             } else if !selectedIDs.contains(c.id) && currentBacklinkIDs.contains(c.id) {
                                 c.metVia = nil
-                                c.updatedAt = Date()
+                                c.markLocallyEdited()
                             }
                         }
-                        contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                        contact.markLocallyEdited()
                         try? modelContext.save()
                         dismiss()
                     }.fontWeight(.semibold)
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactFormView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactFormView.swift
index bbb4f9a..34ae6b8 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactFormView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactFormView.swift
@@ -157,11 +157,12 @@ struct ContactFormView: View {
         t.linkedInURL = linkedInURL.isEmpty ? nil : linkedInURL
         t.twitterHandle = twitterHandle.isEmpty ? nil : twitterHandle
         t.instagramHandle = instagramHandle.isEmpty ? nil : instagramHandle
-        t.isPriority = isPriority; t.updatedAt = Date()
+        t.isPriority = isPriority
         t.tags = allTags.filter { selectedTagIds.contains($0.id) }
         t.groups = allGroups.filter { selectedGroupIds.contains($0.id) }
         t.locations = allLocations.filter { selectedLocationIds.contains($0.id) }
         t.metVia = allContacts.first { $0.id == metViaContactId }
+        t.markLocallyEdited()
         try? modelContext.save()
         Log.action(isNew ? "contact.create" : "contact.edit", metadata: [
             "contactId": t.id.uuidString,
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactGroupPickerView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactGroupPickerView.swift
index a20adf1..5c38e13 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactGroupPickerView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactGroupPickerView.swift
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ struct ContactGroupPickerView: View {
                 ToolbarItem(placement: .confirmationAction) {
                     Button("Done") {
                         contact.groups = allGroups.filter { selectedIDs.contains($0.id) }
-                        contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                        contact.markLocallyEdited()
                         try? modelContext.save()
                         dismiss()
                     }.fontWeight(.semibold)
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactListView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactListView.swift
index 30f98ba..94f3eea 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactListView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactListView.swift
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ struct ContactListView: View {
                 Button("Cancel", role: .cancel) { contactToHide = nil }
                 Button("Hide", role: .destructive) {
                     contact.isHidden = true
-                    contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                    contact.markLocallyEdited()
                     try? modelContext.save()
                     contactToHide = nil
                 }
@@ -605,7 +605,7 @@ struct ContactFieldToggleSheet: View {
                             Button {
                                 if isSelected { contact.groups.removeAll { $0.id == group.id } }
                                 else { contact.groups.append(group) }
-                                contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                                contact.markLocallyEdited()
                                 try? modelContext.save()
                             } label: {
                                 HStack(spacing: 10) {
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ struct ContactFieldToggleSheet: View {
                             Button {
                                 if isSelected { contact.tags.removeAll { $0.id == tag.id } }
                                 else { contact.tags.append(tag) }
-                                contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                                contact.markLocallyEdited()
                                 try? modelContext.save()
                             } label: {
                                 HStack(spacing: 10) {
@@ -649,7 +649,7 @@ struct ContactFieldToggleSheet: View {
                             Button {
                                 if isSelected { contact.locations.removeAll { $0.id == location.id } }
                                 else { contact.locations.append(location) }
-                                contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                                contact.markLocallyEdited()
                                 try? modelContext.save()
                             } label: {
                                 HStack(spacing: 10) {
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactLocationPickerView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactLocationPickerView.swift
index 52f3b7b..e7d208a 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactLocationPickerView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactLocationPickerView.swift
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ struct ContactLocationPickerView: View {
                 ToolbarItem(placement: .confirmationAction) {
                     Button("Done") {
                         contact.locations = allLocations.filter { selectedIDs.contains($0.id) }
-                        contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                        contact.markLocallyEdited()
                         try? modelContext.save()
                         dismiss()
                     }.fontWeight(.semibold)
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactTagPickerView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactTagPickerView.swift
index 8d24eaf..bef73f7 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactTagPickerView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Contacts/ContactTagPickerView.swift
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ struct ContactTagPickerView: View {
                 ToolbarItem(placement: .confirmationAction) {
                     Button("Done") {
                         contact.tags = allTags.filter { selectedIDs.contains($0.id) }
-                        contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                        contact.markLocallyEdited()
                         try? modelContext.save()
                         dismiss()
                     }.fontWeight(.semibold)
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift
index eabd975..591816a 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift
@@ -98,7 +98,10 @@ struct DashboardView: View {
                     ForEach(prioritized) { contact in
                         NavigationLink(value: contact.id) {
                             PriorityContactChip(contact: contact) {
-                                withAnimation { contact.isPriority = false }
+                                withAnimation {
+                                    contact.isPriority = false
+                                    contact.markLocallyEdited()
+                                }
                             }
                         }
                         .buttonStyle(.plain)
@@ -304,7 +307,10 @@ struct PrioritizeContactPicker: View {
         NavigationStack {
             List(filtered) { contact in
                 Button {
-                    withAnimation { contact.isPriority = true }
+                    withAnimation {
+                        contact.isPriority = true
+                        contact.markLocallyEdited()
+                    }
                     dismiss()
                 } label: {
                     HStack(spacing: 12) {
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Interactions/LogInteractionView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Interactions/LogInteractionView.swift
index dd939ba..4b5b4fd 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Interactions/LogInteractionView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Interactions/LogInteractionView.swift
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ struct LogInteractionView: View {
                 ToolbarItem(placement: .cancellationAction) { Button("Cancel") { dismiss() } }
                 ToolbarItem(placement: .confirmationAction) { Button("Save") {
                     modelContext.insert(Interaction(contact: contact, type: type, date: date, duration: nil, summary: summary.isEmpty ? nil : summary, sentiment: nil))
-                    contact.lastInteractionDate = date; contact.updatedAt = Date(); try? modelContext.save(); dismiss()
+                    contact.lastInteractionDate = date
+                    contact.markLocallyEdited()
+                    try? modelContext.save(); dismiss()
                 } }
             }
         }
diff --git a/Blackbook/Views/Settings/SettingsView.swift b/Blackbook/Views/Settings/SettingsView.swift
index f00ff30..bad90df 100644
--- a/Blackbook/Views/Settings/SettingsView.swift
+++ b/Blackbook/Views/Settings/SettingsView.swift
@@ -636,7 +636,7 @@ struct HiddenContactsView: View {
                             ForEach(hiddenContacts) { contact in
                                 contactRow(contact, label: "Unhide") {
                                     contact.isHidden = false
-                                    contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                                    contact.markLocallyEdited()
                                     try? modelContext.save()
                                 }
                             }
@@ -649,7 +649,7 @@ struct HiddenContactsView: View {
                                 contactRow(contact, label: "Restore") {
                                     contact.isMergedAway = false
                                     contact.mergedIntoContact = nil
-                                    contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                                    contact.markLocallyEdited()
                                     try? modelContext.save()
                                 }
                             }
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ struct HideContactsView: View {
                     Button("Hide (\(selectedIDs.count))") {
                         for contact in allContacts where selectedIDs.contains(contact.id) {
                             contact.isHidden = true
-                            contact.updatedAt = Date()
+                            contact.markLocallyEdited()
                         }
                         try? modelContext.save()
                         dismiss()
diff --git a/BlackbookServer/App/IMessageSyncService.swift b/BlackbookServer/App/IMessageSyncService.swift
index 2854dc8..c6db9d2 100644
--- a/BlackbookServer/App/IMessageSyncService.swift
+++ b/BlackbookServer/App/IMessageSyncService.swift
@@ -232,7 +232,14 @@ final class IMessageSyncService {
 
         let contacts: [Contact]
         do {
-            contacts = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<Contact>())
+            // Exclude merged-away and hidden contacts — they're "dead" pointers from the user's
+            // perspective. If a live duplicate and a merged-away version both share a phone or
+            // email, the handle-lookup dict-assignment order can pick the merged-away one, which
+            // makes the iMessage invisible on the live contact's detail view (observed
+            // 2026-06-02 with Hugo Dooner: 4 messages attached to merged-away Z_PK 1210
+            // instead of live Z_PK 313).
+            let predicate = #Predicate<Contact> { !$0.isMergedAway && !$0.isHidden }
+            contacts = try context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<Contact>(predicate: predicate))
         } catch {
             syncError = "Failed to fetch contacts: \(error.localizedDescription)"
             logger.error("Contact fetch failed: \(error)")
diff --git a/docs/test-scenarios/TEST_SCENARIOS.md b/docs/test-scenarios/TEST_SCENARIOS.md
index 5bc8104..0b3a78c 100644
--- a/docs/test-scenarios/TEST_SCENARIOS.md
+++ b/docs/test-scenarios/TEST_SCENARIOS.md
@@ -436,3 +436,36 @@ Two changes ship together:
 - Other views still use `@Query` — they're rendered only when their tab is selected, so a settled main store at that point keeps them safe.
 - Verified by: iOS Simulator + macOS clean builds; 13 Swift Testing tests pass.
 - Crash signature confirmed via `~/Downloads/Blackbook-2026-06-02-093228.ips` — frames 12-13 in `_SwiftData_SwiftUI` (`@Query`), frame 18 in `ScrollView.init`, frame 5 `Sequence.forEach`, into SwiftData fault on tagged address `0x8000000000000010`.
+
+## 2026-06-02 — Silent sync drift fix: every contact edit now flips syncStatus to pending; iMessage handle lookup ignores merged-away
+
+**Context:** User reported three divergences between iOS and macOS for the same Contact records: (1) Hugo Dooner shows as "Hugo" on iOS but "Hugo Dooner" on macOS, (2) Kail Walker is priority=1 on iOS but priority=0 on macOS, (3) Hugo's recent iMessages don't show on the Hugo Dooner contact detail. Root cause for (1) and (2): 17 edit sites across the iOS/macOS app wrote `contact.updatedAt = Date()` (or just mutated a syncable field) without calling `contact.markLocallyEdited()` to flip `syncStatus` to `.pending`. The next push filters by `syncStatus != .synced`, so silently-edited records never leave the device — server stays stale, the other device pulls the stale version. Audit on the user's macOS store found **643 contacts** with `updatedAt > lastSyncedAt && syncStatus = .synced` — silently-edited but never pushed. Root cause for (3): `BlackbookServer/App/IMessageSyncService.buildHandleLookup` fetched every Contact including merged-away ones, so when a live duplicate and a merged-away version shared a phone/email, the dict-assignment order could pick the merged-away one and attach incoming iMessages to a hidden record. Confirmed on server: 4 Hugo iMessages were attached to merged-away Z_PK 1210, not live Z_PK 313.
+
+Changes:
+1. **17 edit sites updated** to call `markLocallyEdited()` instead of direct `updatedAt = Date()` / unmarked field writes. Files: `ContactDetailView`, `ContactListView`, `ContactFormView`, `AddNoteView`, `LogInteractionView`, `ContactTagPickerView`, `ContactGroupPickerView`, `ContactLocationPickerView`, `DashboardView`, `SettingsView`, `ContactSyncService`, `SocialEnrichmentService`, `ContactMergeService`.
+2. **`IMessageSyncService`** fetches contacts with `#Predicate<Contact> { !$0.isMergedAway && !$0.isHidden }` before building the handle lookup.
+
+Server-side one-time SQL heal applied directly to the master store while the daemon was stopped:
+- `UPDATE ZINTERACTION SET ZCONTACT=313, ZUPDATEDAT=<now> WHERE ZCONTACT=1210;` — relink 4 Hugo iMessages from merged-away Hugo to live Hugo Dooner.
+- `UPDATE ZCONTACT SET ZLASTNAME='Dooner', ZUPDATEDAT=<now> WHERE Z_PK=313;` — restore the last name and force a re-pull.
+- `UPDATE ZCONTACT SET ZUPDATEDAT=<now> WHERE Z_PK=1197;` — bump Kail Walker so macOS adopts the server's `isPriority=1`.
+
+### Scenario A — single-edit propagation
+1. On either device (build 119+), open any contact, change one field (last name, priority toggle, add tag), save.
+2. Within 5 min the change appears on the other device's view of the same contact.
+3. Watch the server access log: the source device's next `/sync/changes` push includes that record; the other device's pull response includes it.
+
+### Scenario B — silent-edit backlog clears as users touch contacts
+1. With build 119+ on macOS, open any of the 643 silently-edited contacts and make any change (or just toggle a flag and back).
+2. That contact's next push reaches the server; the other device adopts it.
+3. The full 643 backfill is opt-in — only contacts the user re-touches will sync. This avoids macOS-wins overwriting iOS edits that were also silent.
+
+### Scenario C — iMessage attaches to live contact when duplicates exist
+1. Have a contact with a live record (`isMergedAway=false`) and a merged-away duplicate (`isMergedAway=true`) sharing the same phone/email.
+2. Receive a new iMessage from that handle.
+3. Open the live contact → Interactions tab → the message appears. The merged-away contact gets nothing.
+
+### Notes / caveats
+- The fix is per-edit-going-forward. The existing 643-record backlog clears only as users naturally touch each contact (or via a deliberate one-time migration, which we deliberately skipped because it would overwrite iOS edits for any field where the two devices disagree).
+- BlackbookServer is local-deploy only (not TestFlight). After this PR lands, rebuild + reinstall `/Applications/BlackbookServer.app` from main so the iMessage-lookup fix takes effect.
+- Verified: iOS Simulator + macOS clean builds, BlackbookServer clean build, 13 Swift Testing tests pass.