diff --git a/src/lib/components/chat/Chat.svelte b/src/lib/components/chat/Chat.svelte
index e623e5d9bf..4f0cfa9ee3 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/chat/Chat.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/chat/Chat.svelte
@@ -1362,6 +1362,13 @@
 				pageSubscribe();
 				showControlsSubscribe();
 				selectedFolderSubscribe();
+
+				// Clear the selected chat when leaving the chat surface (e.g. navigating
+				// to the admin panel), otherwise the previously-viewed chat stays selected
+				// in the sidebar and deleting/archiving it wrongly navigates away.
+				chatId.set('');
+				chatTitle.set('');
+
 				window.removeEventListener('message', onMessageHandler);
 				$socket?.off('events', chatEventHandler);
 				$socket?.off('connect', handleSocketConnect);
diff --git a/src/lib/components/layout/Sidebar.svelte b/src/lib/components/layout/Sidebar.svelte
index e4e004f461..63abd53729 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/layout/Sidebar.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/layout/Sidebar.svelte
@@ -90,6 +90,15 @@
 	let shiftKey = false;
 
 	let selectedChatId = null;
+
+	// Keep the optimistic sidebar highlight in sync with the active chat. Leaving the
+	// chat view (e.g. navigating to an admin page) clears chatId, and programmatic
+	// navigation such as cloning moves chatId to a different chat — in both cases the
+	// previously-selected item must not stay highlighted. The optimistic on-click
+	// highlight is preserved because a click sets selectedChatId without changing
+	// chatId, so this reactive only re-runs once chatId catches up to the same value.
+	$: selectedChatId = $chatId || null;
+
 	let showCreateChannel = false;
 
 	// Pagination variables