diff --git a/backend/__tests__/integration/galleryFilterFeedbackVisibility.test.js b/backend/__tests__/integration/galleryFilterFeedbackVisibility.test.js
index 53266fc3..1e8b6a53 100644
--- a/backend/__tests__/integration/galleryFilterFeedbackVisibility.test.js
+++ b/backend/__tests__/integration/galleryFilterFeedbackVisibility.test.js
@@ -53,6 +53,19 @@ describe('guest filters and show_feedback_to_guests (#1044)', () => {
     { expiresIn: '1h', issuer: 'picpeak-auth' }
   );
 
+  // The photo payload itself, not just the filtered id list — `is_liked` and
+  // the aggregate counts live here (#1286).
+  const payload = async ({ as = 'me' } = {}) => {
+    const req = request(app)
+      .get(`/api/gallery/${SLUG}/photos`)
+      .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${galleryToken()}`);
+    if (as === 'me') req.set('x-guest-token', guestToken());
+    const res = await req;
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    const photos = Array.isArray(res.body) ? res.body : res.body.photos;
+    return Object.fromEntries((photos || []).map((p) => [p.id, p]));
+  };
+
   const filter = async (token, { as = 'me', claimGuestId } = {}) => {
     const req = request(app)
       .get(`/api/gallery/${SLUG}/photos`)
@@ -218,4 +231,70 @@ describe('guest filters and show_feedback_to_guests (#1044)', () => {
       expect(await filter('liked', { as: 'anon', claimGuestId: ME })).toEqual([]);
     });
   });
+  // #1286 — the viewer's OWN like is not other people's feedback.
+  describe("a guest's own likes with feedback hidden (#1286)", () => {
+    beforeAll(() => setVisibility(false));
+
+    it('still reports is_liked on the photo the viewer liked', async () => {
+      // The regression: every heart came back empty on a gallery with
+      // sharing off, so the grid looked like it had discarded the guest's
+      // choices on every reload.
+      const photos = await payload();
+      expect(photos[mine].is_liked).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it("does not report is_liked for someone else's like", async () => {
+      const photos = await payload();
+      expect(photos[theirs].is_liked).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('keeps the aggregate like_count hidden', async () => {
+      // The count IS other people's feedback and must stay gated — the fix
+      // must not leak it back through the same payload.
+      const photos = await payload();
+      expect(photos[mine].like_count).toBe(0);
+      expect(photos[theirs].like_count).toBe(0);
+      expect(photos[theirs].has_feedback).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('reports nothing as liked for a viewer who liked nothing', async () => {
+      const photos = await payload({ as: 'anon' });
+      expect(photos[mine].is_liked).toBe(false);
+      expect(photos[theirs].is_liked).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it("still respects an admin hiding the viewer's own like (#1150)", async () => {
+      await db('photo_feedback')
+        .where({ photo_id: mine, guest_id: myGuestRowId, feedback_type: 'like' })
+        .update({ is_hidden: true });
+
+      const photos = await payload();
+      expect(photos[mine].is_liked).toBe(false);
+
+      await db('photo_feedback')
+        .where({ photo_id: mine, guest_id: myGuestRowId, feedback_type: 'like' })
+        .update({ is_hidden: false });
+    });
+
+    it('matches what the liked filter already returned', async () => {
+      // The filter half was never gated; the payload flag was. After the fix
+      // the two agree, which is what makes the grid and the Likes chip show
+      // the same set.
+      expect(await filter('liked')).toEqual([mine]);
+      const photos = await payload();
+      const flagged = Object.values(photos).filter((p) => p.is_liked).map((p) => p.id);
+      expect(flagged).toEqual([mine]);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('with feedback visible again (#1286 regression guard)', () => {
+    beforeAll(() => setVisibility(true));
+
+    it('is_liked and the counts both come back', async () => {
+      const photos = await payload();
+      expect(photos[mine].is_liked).toBe(true);
+      expect(photos[theirs].is_liked).toBe(false);
+      expect(photos[theirs].like_count).toBe(1);
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/gallery.js b/backend/src/routes/gallery.js
index a937959a..b87e1855 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/gallery.js
+++ b/backend/src/routes/gallery.js
@@ -1022,10 +1022,17 @@ router.get('/:slug/photos', verifyGalleryAccess, resolveGuest, noStoreCache, asy
     // frontend can seed correctly. Prefers req.guest.id when a verified
     // guest token is present (per-person identity), falls back to the
     // IP+UA hash that the original like was recorded under — same model
-    // the /my-feedback endpoint uses. Skipped when feedback is hidden
-    // from guests.
+    // the /my-feedback endpoint uses.
+    //
+    // NOT gated on showFeedbackToGuests (#1286). This query is filtered to
+    // the VIEWER — by guest_id or by their own identifier — so what it
+    // returns is their own selection, not shared aggregate data. Gating it
+    // emptied every heart the guest had set themselves on a gallery with
+    // sharing off, which reads as the gallery silently discarding their
+    // choices. Same reasoning the colour-label block below already applies;
+    // this was the one per-viewer field that disagreed with it.
     const likedPhotoIds = new Set();
-    if (showFeedbackToGuests && photos.length > 0) {
+    if (photos.length > 0) {
       const likeQuery = db('photo_feedback')
         // Hidden rows are not there, for the viewer's OWN feedback as much as
         // anyone's (#1150). getPhotoFeedback drops them, the filter drops them
@@ -1405,7 +1412,9 @@ router.get('/:slug/photos', verifyGalleryAccess, resolveGuest, noStoreCache, asy
           // Per-viewer flag (#590 follow-up) — true when this viewer has
           // an active like row for this photo, false otherwise. Lets the
           // grid seed its lifted likedPhotoIds correctly on hard refresh.
-          is_liked: showFeedbackToGuests ? likedPhotoIds.has(photo.id) : false,
+          // Survives show_feedback_to_guests being off (#1286): the viewer's
+          // own heart is theirs, and the like_count beside it stays hidden.
+          is_liked: likedPhotoIds.has(photo.id),
           favorite_count: showFeedbackToGuests ? (photo.favorite_count || 0) : 0,
           // Colour labels (#1044). The COUNT is aggregate data and follows
           // show_feedback_to_guests like its siblings; the viewer's OWN label