diff --git a/mobile/lib/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory.dart b/mobile/lib/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory.dart
index c3a258bb56..3bda442249 100644
--- a/mobile/lib/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory.dart
+++ b/mobile/lib/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory.dart
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ import 'verified_profile_discovery_fetch.dart';
 import 'verified_profile_proof.dart';
 
 const _wantedLimit = 1024;
+
+/// Records kept after their subject stops being tracked. A roster larger than
+/// [_wantedLimit] keeps evicting and re-tracking the same people; their last
+/// known names stay on screen, unchecked, instead of blinking to fallbacks.
+const _cachedHeadLimit = 4 * _wantedLimit;
 const _eoseTimeout = Duration(seconds: 10);
 const _discoveryRefresh = Duration(minutes: 5);
 
@@ -142,9 +147,9 @@ class VerifiedProfilesNotifier extends Notifier<Map<String, VerifiedProfile>> {
     if (overflow > 0) {
       for (final oldest in _wanted.keys.take(overflow).toList()) {
         _wanted.remove(oldest);
-        _heads.remove(oldest);
         _checked.remove(oldest);
       }
+      _trimCachedHeads();
       added = true;
     }
     if (!added) return;
@@ -155,6 +160,19 @@ class VerifiedProfilesNotifier extends Notifier<Map<String, VerifiedProfile>> {
     }
   }
 
+  /// Drops the oldest untracked records past [_cachedHeadLimit], in one pass.
+  void _trimCachedHeads() {
+    var excess = _heads.length - _cachedHeadLimit;
+    if (excess <= 0) return;
+    final drop = <String>[];
+    for (final key in _heads.keys) {
+      if (_wanted.containsKey(key)) continue;
+      drop.add(key);
+      if (--excess == 0) break;
+    }
+    drop.forEach(_heads.remove);
+  }
+
   Future<void> _onConnected(int generation) async {
     if (generation != _generation) return;
     await _refreshDiscovery(generation);
@@ -439,12 +457,11 @@ class VerifiedProfilesNotifier extends Notifier<Map<String, VerifiedProfile>> {
     if (!_enabled || authority == null) return const {};
     return {
       for (final MapEntry(:key, :value) in _heads.entries)
-        if (_wanted.containsKey(key))
-          key: ?parseVerifiedProfile(
-            value,
-            authority,
-            checked: _discoveryFresh && _checked.contains(key),
-          ),
+        key: ?parseVerifiedProfile(
+          value,
+          authority,
+          checked: _discoveryFresh && _checked.contains(key),
+        ),
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/mobile/test/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory_test.dart b/mobile/test/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory_test.dart
index cd8d5bd45f..ac19b756ea 100644
--- a/mobile/test/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory_test.dart
+++ b/mobile/test/shared/verified_profiles/verified_profile_directory_test.dart
@@ -182,6 +182,25 @@ void main() {
     expect(subscribed, {for (var i = 4300 - 1024; i < 4300; i++) key(i)});
   });
 
+  journey('a subject evicted by a large roster keeps its last known name', (h) {
+    String key(int i) => i.toRadixString(16).padLeft(64, '0');
+    h.relay.seed([signedProjection(profileTags(subjectA))]);
+    h.start([subjectA]);
+    expect(h.profiles[subjectA]?.checked, isTrue);
+
+    final notifier = h.container.read(verifiedProfilesProvider.notifier);
+    notifier.track([for (var i = 0; i < 1100; i++) key(i)]);
+    h.settle();
+    // Untracked, so no longer confirmed, but the name stays on screen rather
+    // than falling back to a profile name or an npub.
+    expect(h.profiles[subjectA]?.displayName, 'Ada Lovelace');
+    expect(h.profiles[subjectA]?.checked, isFalse);
+
+    notifier.track([subjectA]);
+    h.settle();
+    expect(h.profiles[subjectA]?.checked, isTrue);
+  });
+
   journey('live updates, retractions and ordering apply on the subscription', (
     h,
   ) {