diff --git a/docs/apps.md b/docs/apps.md
index 5ede84e..6bfd5b0 100644
--- a/docs/apps.md
+++ b/docs/apps.md
@@ -105,8 +105,8 @@ export default function ExampleApp({ setTitle }: AppProps) {
 
 `HighlightLayer` (`src/apps/articles/HighlightLayer.tsx`) tracks `window.getSelection()`
 against the rendered article, not the raw markdown — the highlighted text saved to a kind
-9802 event is whatever `Range.toString()` returns, i.e. the plain-text content the reader
-actually saw, not markdown syntax.
+9802 event is whatever that `Selection`'s `.toString()` returns, i.e. the plain-text content
+the reader actually saw, not markdown syntax.
 
 ### Follow lists are a whole-list replacement
 
diff --git a/src/apps/articles/HighlightLayer.tsx b/src/apps/articles/HighlightLayer.tsx
index 29bb723..1aad1b4 100644
--- a/src/apps/articles/HighlightLayer.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/articles/HighlightLayer.tsx
@@ -34,6 +34,12 @@ export function HighlightLayer({
   const { toast } = useToast();
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    // No point tracking selection at all when highlighting can't happen —
+    // signed out, or the article has no usable address to attach one to.
+    // (Stale selection state from before either went missing is harmless:
+    // the button below also requires `user && address` to render.)
+    if (!user || !address) return;
+
     function handleSelectionChange() {
       const sel = window.getSelection();
       const container = containerRef.current;
@@ -60,10 +66,10 @@ export function HighlightLayer({
 
     document.addEventListener('selectionchange', handleSelectionChange);
     return () => document.removeEventListener('selectionchange', handleSelectionChange);
-  }, []);
+  }, [user, address]);
 
   const handleHighlight = async () => {
-    if (!selection) return;
+    if (!selection || !address) return;
     const { text } = selection;
     window.getSelection()?.removeAllRanges();
     setSelection(null);
@@ -84,7 +90,7 @@ export function HighlightLayer({
       <div ref={containerRef} className="relative">
         {children}
 
-        {user && selection && (
+        {user && address && selection && (
           <button
             type="button"
             // Selection collapses on mousedown before onClick fires unless
diff --git a/src/apps/articles/index.tsx b/src/apps/articles/index.tsx
index d5a5dc6..af5b07f 100644
--- a/src/apps/articles/index.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/articles/index.tsx
@@ -321,7 +321,10 @@ function ArticleView({ event }: { event: NostrEvent }) {
       </header>
 
       <HighlightLayer
-        address={`${event.kind}:${event.pubkey}:${tagValue(event, 'd') ?? ''}`}
+        // An empty string (rather than a malformed "kind:pubkey:" address)
+        // when the article has no `d` tag — HighlightLayer treats a falsy
+        // address as "highlighting isn't available for this article."
+        address={tagValue(event, 'd') ? `${event.kind}:${event.pubkey}:${tagValue(event, 'd')}` : ''}
         authorPubkey={event.pubkey}
       >
         <div className="mt-6 text-[15px]">