diff --git a/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.test.tsx b/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.test.tsx
index fa9f7e9b..09de5904 100644
--- a/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.test.tsx
+++ b/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.test.tsx
@@ -29,7 +29,12 @@ function setMetrics(element: Element, scrollHeight: number, clientHeight: number
 
 function renderClamp(children: React.ReactNode = 'Content') {
   return render(
-    <ClampedBlock collapsedClassName="test-clamp" expandLabel="Show more ↓" collapseLabel="Show less ↑">
+    <ClampedBlock
+      collapsedClassName="test-clamp"
+      overflowingClassName="test-fade"
+      expandLabel="Show more ↓"
+      collapseLabel="Show less ↑"
+    >
       {children}
     </ClampedBlock>,
   );
@@ -57,6 +62,34 @@ describe('ClampedBlock', () => {
     expect(screen.queryByRole('button')).toBeNull();
   });
 
+  // The fade advertises "there is more below". Content that fits gets no toggle,
+  // so a fade there would point at nothing and the user would have no control to
+  // clear it — the message would just render permanently dimmed.
+  it('withholds the overflow hint from content that fits, alongside the toggle', () => {
+    const { container } = renderClamp();
+    const content = container.querySelector('.test-clamp');
+    setMetrics(content!, 80, 80);
+
+    act(() => observers[0]?.trigger());
+
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button')).toBeNull();
+    expect(container.querySelector('.test-fade')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('applies the overflow hint while clamped content overflows', () => {
+    const { container } = renderClamp();
+    const content = container.querySelector('.test-clamp');
+    setMetrics(content!, 180, 80);
+
+    act(() => observers[0]?.trigger());
+
+    expect(container.querySelector('.test-fade')).toBeTruthy();
+
+    // Expanding drops the hint with the constraint: nothing is hidden any more.
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Show more ↓' }));
+    expect(container.querySelector('.test-fade')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
   it('toggles its caller-supplied label and expansion direction', () => {
     const { container } = renderClamp();
     const content = container.querySelector('.test-clamp');
diff --git a/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.tsx b/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.tsx
index 05cffa9a..ca606aa7 100644
--- a/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.tsx
+++ b/surface/web/src/components/ClampedBlock.tsx
@@ -14,14 +14,27 @@ export function ClampedBlock({
   contentClassName,
   enabled = true,
   expandLabel,
+  overflowingClassName,
   toggleClassName,
 }: {
   children: ReactNode;
+  /**
+   * The size constraint, applied whenever the block is collapsed. It has to be
+   * applied even when the content turns out to fit, because overflow is measured
+   * THROUGH it: without the constraint, scrollHeight === clientHeight and nothing
+   * would ever report as overflowing.
+   */
   collapsedClassName: string;
   collapseLabel: ReactNode;
   contentClassName?: string;
   enabled?: boolean;
   expandLabel: ReactNode;
+  /**
+   * Styling that advertises there is more to see (a fade, say). Applied only when
+   * the content actually overflows, so it stays in step with the toggle: content
+   * that fits gets no toggle, and so must not get the hint either.
+   */
+  overflowingClassName?: string;
   toggleClassName?: string;
 }) {
   const insideClamp = useContext(ClampContext);
@@ -51,7 +64,14 @@ export function ClampedBlock({
 
   return (
     <>
-      <div ref={contentRef} className={classes(contentClassName, clamped && collapsedClassName)}>
+      <div
+        ref={contentRef}
+        className={classes(
+          contentClassName,
+          clamped && collapsedClassName,
+          clamped && overflows && overflowingClassName,
+        )}
+      >
         <ClampContext.Provider value={insideClamp || canClamp}>{children}</ClampContext.Provider>
       </div>
       {showToggle ? (
diff --git a/surface/web/src/components/MessageText.tsx b/surface/web/src/components/MessageText.tsx
index 823418cc..5e55ed02 100644
--- a/surface/web/src/components/MessageText.tsx
+++ b/surface/web/src/components/MessageText.tsx
@@ -798,7 +798,12 @@ export function MessageText({
         // ancestor chain (GFM footnotes open with `<h3 class="sr-only">`) would
         // otherwise anchor above the clamp, escape the clip, and inflate the
         // scroll height into blank space (#544).
-        collapsedClassName="relative max-h-80 overflow-hidden [mask-image:linear-gradient(to_bottom,black_70%,transparent)]"
+        collapsedClassName="relative max-h-80 overflow-hidden"
+        // The fade rides on measured overflow, not on the length heuristic: a
+        // message long enough to trip the threshold but short enough to fit used
+        // to render faded with no toggle to clear it, because the toggle asks
+        // "does it overflow?" and the fade only asked "is it collapsed?".
+        overflowingClassName="[mask-image:linear-gradient(to_bottom,black_70%,transparent)]"
         expandLabel="Show more"
         collapseLabel="Show less"
         toggleClassName="mt-1 text-xs font-medium text-accent-text hover:underline"