diff --git a/public/s/css/f0ckm.css b/public/s/css/f0ckm.css
index d033d33..81ddda9 100644
--- a/public/s/css/f0ckm.css
+++ b/public/s/css/f0ckm.css
@@ -10845,6 +10845,53 @@ body.layout-modern .tag-controls {
   text-decoration: underline;
 }
 
+.dm-header-name-wrap {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 1px;
+  line-height: 1.2;
+}
+
+.dm-presence {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 5px;
+  font-size: 0.72em;
+  color: #666;
+  min-height: 14px;
+}
+
+.dm-presence-dot {
+  width: 7px;
+  height: 7px;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  background: #555;
+}
+
+.dm-presence--online .dm-presence-dot {
+  background: #3ddc84;
+  box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px rgba(61, 220, 132, 0.25);
+  animation: dm-presence-pulse 2s ease infinite;
+}
+
+.dm-presence--online {
+  color: #3ddc84;
+}
+
+.dm-presence--recent .dm-presence-dot {
+  background: #f5a623;
+}
+
+.dm-presence--recent {
+  color: #f5a623;
+}
+
+@keyframes dm-presence-pulse {
+  0%, 100% { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px rgba(61, 220, 132, 0.25); }
+  50%       { box-shadow: 0 0 0 4px rgba(61, 220, 132, 0.1);  }
+}
+
 /* ── Key notice banner ───────────────────────────────────── */
 .dm-key-notice {
   background: rgba(255, 200, 80, 0.15);
diff --git a/public/s/js/messages.js b/public/s/js/messages.js
index 9a6885d..1bc6f99 100644
--- a/public/s/js/messages.js
+++ b/public/s/js/messages.js
@@ -392,6 +392,39 @@ if (window.__dmLoaded) {
                 (el.textContent = timeAgo(el.dataset.ts)));
         tickTimestamps(); // Run immediately so values are fresh
         window._dmTimestampTicker = setInterval(tickTimestamps, 10_000);
+
+        // ── Online presence ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+        if (window._dmPresenceTicker) clearInterval(window._dmPresenceTicker);
+
+        const presenceEl = document.getElementById('dm-presence');
+        const pollPresence = async () => {
+            if (!presenceEl) return;
+            try {
+                const data = await (await fetch(`/api/dm/presence/${currentOtherId}`)).json();
+                if (!data.success) { presenceEl.innerHTML = ''; return; }
+
+                const now  = ~~(Date.now() / 1000);
+                const diff = now - (data.last_seen || 0); // seconds ago
+
+                if (data.online) {
+                    presenceEl.className = 'dm-presence dm-presence--online';
+                    presenceEl.innerHTML = '<span class="dm-presence-dot"></span>Online';
+                } else if (diff < 3600) {
+                    // Active within the last hour
+                    const mins = Math.max(1, Math.floor(diff / 60));
+                    presenceEl.className = 'dm-presence dm-presence--recent';
+                    presenceEl.innerHTML = `<span class="dm-presence-dot"></span>Active ${mins}m ago`;
+                } else {
+                    presenceEl.className = 'dm-presence dm-presence--offline';
+                    presenceEl.innerHTML = data.last_seen
+                        ? `Last seen ${timeAgo(new Date(data.last_seen * 1000).toISOString())}`
+                        : 'Last seen a long time ago';
+                }
+            } catch { if (presenceEl) presenceEl.innerHTML = ''; }
+        };
+
+        await pollPresence();
+        window._dmPresenceTicker = setInterval(pollPresence, 30_000);
     }
 
     async function loadThread(thread, prepend = false) {
diff --git a/src/inc/routes/messages.mjs b/src/inc/routes/messages.mjs
index f9bc199..f9d3771 100644
--- a/src/inc/routes/messages.mjs
+++ b/src/inc/routes/messages.mjs
@@ -406,6 +406,24 @@ export default (router, tpl) => {
         }
     });
 
+    // Presence check — last_seen timestamp for a given user (online = seen < 5 min ago)
+    router.get(/\/api\/dm\/presence\/(?<userId>\d+)/, async (req, res) => {
+        if (!getPrivateMessages()) return json(res, { success: false }, 404);
+        if (!req.session) return json(res, { success: false }, 401);
+        const userId = parseInt(req.params.userId, 10);
+        try {
+            const rows = await db`SELECT last_seen FROM "user" WHERE id = ${userId} AND banned = false LIMIT 1`;
+            if (!rows.length) return json(res, { success: false, msg: 'User not found' }, 404);
+            const lastSeen = rows[0].last_seen || 0; // unix seconds
+            const now      = ~~(Date.now() / 1000);
+            const online   = (now - lastSeen) < 300; // 5-minute window
+            return json(res, { success: true, online, last_seen: lastSeen });
+        } catch (err) {
+            console.error('[DM] presence failed:', err);
+            return json(res, { success: false }, 500);
+        }
+    });
+
     // Total unread DM count (for navbar badge polling)
     router.get('/api/dm/unread', async (req, res) => {
         if (!getPrivateMessages()) return json(res, { success: true, count: 0 });
diff --git a/views/messages-conversation.html b/views/messages-conversation.html
index b8caeb3..315f9d2 100644
--- a/views/messages-conversation.html
+++ b/views/messages-conversation.html
@@ -13,7 +13,10 @@
             @else
             <img class="dm-header-avatar" src="/a/default.png" alt="">
             @endif
-            <a href="/user/{{ other.user.toLowerCase() }}" class="dm-header-username" @if(other.username_color) style="color:{{ other.username_color }}" @endif>{!! other.display_name || other.user !!}</a>
+            <div class="dm-header-name-wrap">
+                <a href="/user/{{ other.user.toLowerCase() }}" class="dm-header-username" @if(other.username_color) style="color:{{ other.username_color }}" @endif>{!! other.display_name || other.user !!}</a>
+                <span id="dm-presence" class="dm-presence"></span>
+            </div>
         </div>
         <button class="dm-manage-keys-btn btn-small" title="Manage encryption key">🔑 Keys</button>
     </div>