diff --git a/desktop/src/features/huddle/HuddleContext.tsx b/desktop/src/features/huddle/HuddleContext.tsx
index 42fcf4b4a4..1bbaeccc07 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/huddle/HuddleContext.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/huddle/HuddleContext.tsx
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ type HuddleJoinInfo = {
 type VoiceInputMode = "push_to_talk" | "voice_activity";
 
 const MIC_ANALYSER_UPDATE_INTERVAL_MS = 33;
+const PIPELINE_HOTSTART_INTERVAL_MS = 15_000;
 const MIC_INITIAL_NOISE_FLOOR = 0.01;
 const MIC_VOICE_GATE_ON_RMS = 0.018;
 const MIC_VOICE_GATE_OFF_RMS = 0.012;
@@ -522,7 +523,7 @@ export function HuddleProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
       invoke("check_pipeline_hotstart").catch(() => {
         /* best-effort */
       });
-    }, 5_000);
+    }, PIPELINE_HOTSTART_INTERVAL_MS);
     return () => window.clearInterval(id);
   }, [ephemeralChannelId]);
 
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/huddle/components/HuddleBar.tsx b/desktop/src/features/huddle/components/HuddleBar.tsx
index b082e66c7b..35d660e475 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/huddle/components/HuddleBar.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/huddle/components/HuddleBar.tsx
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ type HuddleBarProps = {
 };
 
 const HUDDLE_DRAWER_EXIT_MS = 260;
+const HUDDLE_STATE_FALLBACK_INTERVAL_MS = 30_000;
+const HUDDLE_MODEL_STATUS_INTERVAL_MS = 10_000;
 const HUDDLE_REACTION_NAME_MAX = 48;
 
 function isVisibleHuddleState(state: HuddleState | null) {
@@ -212,7 +214,7 @@ export function HuddleBar({
     }
     setState(nextState);
   }, []);
-  // Huddle state: event-driven + 10s fallback poll.
+  // Huddle state: event-driven + slow fallback poll.
   React.useEffect(() => {
     let cancelled = false;
     let unlisten: (() => void) | null = null;
@@ -246,8 +248,12 @@ export function HuddleBar({
       else unlisten = fn;
     });
 
-    // Fallback: 10s poll in case events are missed
-    const id = window.setInterval(() => void fetchState(), 10_000);
+    // Fallback in case events are missed; keep it slow so normal huddle use is
+    // event-driven and does not keep a sync IPC command warm on the main thread.
+    const id = window.setInterval(
+      () => void fetchState(),
+      HUDDLE_STATE_FALLBACK_INTERVAL_MS,
+    );
 
     return () => {
       cancelled = true;
@@ -293,7 +299,10 @@ export function HuddleBar({
     }
 
     void pollModels();
-    const id = window.setInterval(() => void pollModels(), 3_000);
+    const id = window.setInterval(
+      () => void pollModels(),
+      HUDDLE_MODEL_STATUS_INTERVAL_MS,
+    );
 
     return () => {
       cancelled = true;
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/huddle/lib/useTtsSubscription.ts b/desktop/src/features/huddle/lib/useTtsSubscription.ts
index bd09ce82c7..d534fc0166 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/huddle/lib/useTtsSubscription.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/huddle/lib/useTtsSubscription.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import * as React from "react";
 
 import { relayClient } from "@/shared/api/relayClient";
 
+const AGENT_PUBKEY_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS = 30_000;
+
 /**
  * Subscribe to agent TTS messages on the ephemeral huddle channel.
  * Pipes agent kind:9 messages to `speak_agent_message` on the Rust backend.
@@ -51,7 +53,7 @@ export function useTtsSubscription(
     void loadAgentPubkeys();
     const agentRefreshId = window.setInterval(() => {
       void loadAgentPubkeys();
-    }, 10_000);
+    }, AGENT_PUBKEY_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS);
 
     // ── Live-only subscription ───────────────────────────────────────────
     // subscribeToChannelLive uses `since: now` — the relay never sends