diff --git a/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.jsx b/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.jsx
index 25a9dd43e..20c3aea48 100644
--- a/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.jsx
+++ b/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.jsx
@@ -12,17 +12,19 @@ export const BlurHashCanvas = ({ hash, className }) => {
     if (!hash || !canvasRef.current) {
       return
     }
+    const ctx = canvasRef.current.getContext('2d')
+    if (!ctx) {
+      return
+    }
+    // Clear first so a hash change that fails to decode never leaves a stale frame.
+    ctx.clearRect(0, 0, DECODE_SIZE, DECODE_SIZE)
     try {
       const pixels = decode(hash, DECODE_SIZE, DECODE_SIZE)
-      const ctx = canvasRef.current.getContext('2d')
-      if (!ctx) {
-        return
-      }
       const imageData = ctx.createImageData(DECODE_SIZE, DECODE_SIZE)
       imageData.data.set(pixels)
       ctx.putImageData(imageData, 0, 0)
     } catch {
-      // A malformed hash simply leaves the canvas transparent.
+      // A malformed hash simply leaves the canvas blank.
     }
   }, [hash])
 
diff --git a/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.test.jsx b/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.test.jsx
index edd567794..b030625ba 100644
--- a/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.test.jsx
+++ b/ui/src/common/BlurHashCanvas.test.jsx
@@ -3,15 +3,20 @@ import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest'
 import { BlurHashCanvas } from './BlurHashCanvas'
 
 describe('BlurHashCanvas', () => {
-  // jsdom has no real 2D context; stub it so getContext doesn't hit its noisy "not implemented" path.
+  // jsdom has no real 2D context; stub it (tracked) so specs can assert the draw path ran.
+  let ctxMock
   let getContextSpy
   beforeEach(() => {
+    ctxMock = {
+      clearRect: vi.fn(),
+      createImageData: vi.fn((w, h) => ({
+        data: new Uint8ClampedArray(w * h * 4),
+      })),
+      putImageData: vi.fn(),
+    }
     getContextSpy = vi
       .spyOn(HTMLCanvasElement.prototype, 'getContext')
-      .mockReturnValue({
-        createImageData: (w, h) => ({ data: new Uint8ClampedArray(w * h * 4) }),
-        putImageData: () => {},
-      })
+      .mockReturnValue(ctxMock)
   })
   afterEach(() => {
     getContextSpy.mockRestore()
@@ -22,17 +27,35 @@ describe('BlurHashCanvas', () => {
     expect(container.querySelector('canvas')).toBeNull()
   })
 
-  it('renders a canvas for a valid hash', () => {
+  it('decodes a valid hash and draws non-trivial pixel data', () => {
     const { container } = render(
       <BlurHashCanvas hash="LEHV6nWB2yk8pyo0adR*.7kCMdnj" />,
     )
     expect(container.querySelector('canvas')).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(ctxMock.createImageData).toHaveBeenCalledWith(32, 32)
+    expect(ctxMock.putImageData).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    const [imageData] = ctxMock.putImageData.mock.calls[0]
+    expect(imageData.data.some((byte) => byte !== 0)).toBe(true)
   })
 
-  it('renders a canvas without throwing on a malformed hash', () => {
+  it('renders a canvas without throwing on a malformed hash, and draws nothing', () => {
     const spy = vi.spyOn(console, 'error').mockImplementation(() => {})
     const { container } = render(<BlurHashCanvas hash="!!!not-a-blurhash!!!" />)
     expect(container.querySelector('canvas')).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(ctxMock.putImageData).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     spy.mockRestore()
   })
+
+  it('clears the canvas when a hash change fails to decode', () => {
+    const { rerender } = render(
+      <BlurHashCanvas hash="LEHV6nWB2yk8pyo0adR*.7kCMdnj" />,
+    )
+    expect(ctxMock.putImageData).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+
+    rerender(<BlurHashCanvas hash="!!!not-a-blurhash!!!" />)
+
+    expect(ctxMock.clearRect).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    // No new pixels drawn after the clear, so the stale frame stays gone.
+    expect(ctxMock.putImageData).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
 })