diff --git a/backend/__tests__/routes/authSession.symmetry.test.js b/backend/__tests__/routes/authSession.symmetry.test.js
index 7b78e61e..5c48adf8 100644
--- a/backend/__tests__/routes/authSession.symmetry.test.js
+++ b/backend/__tests__/routes/authSession.symmetry.test.js
@@ -148,9 +148,9 @@ function signAdminToken({ id = 1, username = 'admin', iat, exp }) {
   );
 }
 
-function signGalleryToken({ eventId = 100, eventSlug = 'wedding' } = {}) {
+function signGalleryToken({ eventId = 100, eventSlug = 'wedding', ...extra } = {}) {
   return jwt.sign(
-    { eventId, eventSlug, type: 'gallery' },
+    { eventId, eventSlug, type: 'gallery', ...extra },
     process.env.JWT_SECRET,
     { expiresIn: '1h', issuer: 'picpeak-auth' }
   );
@@ -301,6 +301,58 @@ describe('GET /auth/session — symmetry with protected middleware', () => {
     expect(res.body.valid).toBe(true);
   });
 
+  /**
+   * What KIND of gallery session this is (#1149).
+   *
+   * The frontend used to keep this in sessionStorage, which is per-TAB while
+   * the cookie is per-browser: a gallery reopened in a second tab lost
+   * 'client' even though the backend still served it as one, and the UI hid
+   * the only control that clears the privileged cookie. Reported from the
+   * token so a restored session knows what it actually is.
+   */
+  describe('gallery session kind', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      fakeDb.events.push({
+        id: 100,
+        slug: 'wedding',
+        is_active: true,
+        is_archived: false,
+        expires_at: new Date(Date.now() + 86400_000),
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('reports a PIN-client session as client', async () => {
+      const res = await request(makeApp())
+        .get('/auth/session?slug=wedding')
+        .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${signGalleryToken({ accessLevel: 'client' })}`);
+      expect(res.body.valid).toBe(true);
+      expect(res.body.accessLevel).toBe('client');
+      expect(res.body.viaCustomer).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('reports a customer-portal session, which looks like a guest', async () => {
+      // via:'customer' runs at accessLevel 'guest' but bypasses reveal mode,
+      // so it is a credential that does not look like one.
+      const res = await request(makeApp())
+        .get('/auth/session?slug=wedding')
+        .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${signGalleryToken({ via: 'customer', customerId: 7 })}`);
+      expect(res.body.valid).toBe(true);
+      expect(res.body.accessLevel).toBe('guest');
+      expect(res.body.viaCustomer).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('reports a plain guest as neither', async () => {
+      // The flags have to discriminate, or they would just hand every visitor
+      // a Logout button back.
+      const res = await request(makeApp())
+        .get('/auth/session?slug=wedding')
+        .set('Authorization', `Bearer ${signGalleryToken()}`);
+      expect(res.body.valid).toBe(true);
+      expect(res.body.accessLevel).toBe('guest');
+      expect(res.body.viaCustomer).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+
   it('returns valid:false when the token is revoked', async () => {
     fakeDb.adminUsers.push({
       id: 1,
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/auth.js b/backend/src/routes/auth.js
index ded3c862..bdeb36f1 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/auth.js
+++ b/backend/src/routes/auth.js
@@ -819,6 +819,17 @@ router.get('/session', async (req, res) => {
         user: decoded.username || decoded.eventSlug,
         eventSlug: decoded.eventSlug,
         adminUsername: decoded.username,
+        // What KIND of gallery session this cookie is (#1149). The frontend
+        // kept this in sessionStorage, which is per-tab: reopening a gallery
+        // in a second tab lost 'client' while the cookie — and therefore the
+        // backend — still treated it as one. Reported from the token so a
+        // restored session knows what it actually is.
+        //
+        // viaCustomer marks a portal-minted token. It runs at accessLevel
+        // 'guest' but bypasses reveal mode, so it is a credential even though
+        // it does not look like one.
+        accessLevel: decoded.type === 'gallery' ? (decoded.accessLevel || 'guest') : undefined,
+        viaCustomer: decoded.type === 'gallery' ? decoded.via === 'customer' : undefined,
         // Full admin payload (or null) — lets the SPA hydrate its user
         // state after a redirect-established session (SSO, #798) where no
         // login JSON response ever reached it.
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/gallery/GalleryView.tsx b/frontend/src/components/gallery/GalleryView.tsx
index 585a5a6e..0ba3ea6a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/gallery/GalleryView.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/gallery/GalleryView.tsx
@@ -55,6 +55,20 @@ interface GalleryViewProps {
     info_mode?: 'inherit' | 'custom' | 'off';
     info_markdown?: string | null;
   };
+  /**
+   * Whether this gallery is password-protected (#1149).
+   *
+   * Drives the Logout button. Logging out of a gallery that asks for nothing
+   * is meaningless — there is no credential to drop and nothing to return to
+   * — and it used to strand the visitor: GalleryPage's auto-login is a
+   * one-shot latch, so clearing the session left the page rendering its
+   * skeleton until a manual reload.
+   *
+   * A client (PIN) session still gets the button on a public gallery: that
+   * one IS a credential, and it is the only way back to the guest view. So is
+   * a customer-portal session — see `via_customer` on the /photos response.
+   */
+  requiresPassword?: boolean;
 }
 
 // Convert default_photo_sort DB value to internal sortBy state
@@ -76,9 +90,9 @@ const parseDefaultPhotoSort = (defaultSort?: string): { sortBy: 'date' | 'name'
   }
 };
 
-export const GalleryView: React.FC<GalleryViewProps> = ({ slug, event }) => {
+export const GalleryView: React.FC<GalleryViewProps> = ({ slug, event, requiresPassword = true }) => {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
-  const { logout, isClient } = useGalleryAuth();
+  const { logout, isClient, viaCustomer } = useGalleryAuth();
   const { setTheme, theme } = useTheme();
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
   const [selectedCategoryId, setSelectedCategoryId] = useState<number | string | null>(null);
@@ -994,6 +1008,19 @@ export const GalleryView: React.FC<GalleryViewProps> = ({ slug, event }) => {
   // Skip all wrapper elements (header, footer, sidebar, filters) for these layouts
   const isFullPageLayout = theme.galleryLayout === 'gallery-premium' || theme.galleryLayout === 'gallery-story';
 
+  // Does this session hold something worth dropping? A password gallery and a
+  // PIN client obviously do. So does a customer-portal session: its token
+  // bypasses reveal mode, so it opens galleries a plain visitor cannot, and it
+  // lives for 24h in a cookie the customer logout does not clear. Hiding the
+  // control would remove the only way to drop it (#1149).
+  //
+  // Read from the auth context, which resolves this from /auth/session on
+  // mount — NOT from the photos payload. That response is cached by React
+  // Query for five minutes on a key that knows nothing about the session, so
+  // opening a gallery as a guest and then from the portal would have reused
+  // the guest answer, and vice versa.
+  const showLogoutControl = requiresPassword || isClient || viaCustomer;
+
   // For full-page layouts, render just the PhotoGridWithLayouts without any wrappers
   if (isFullPageLayout) {
     return (
@@ -1045,7 +1072,10 @@ export const GalleryView: React.FC<GalleryViewProps> = ({ slug, event }) => {
           heroDividerStyle={data?.event?.hero_divider_style || theme.heroDividerStyle || 'wave'}
           heroImageAnchor={data?.event?.hero_image_anchor || 'center'}
           welcomeMessage={event.welcome_message}
-          onLogout={logout}
+          // Same gate as the standard layout below (#1149). These layouts
+          // render the button on the callback being present rather than on a
+          // showLogout flag, so withholding it is how the gate reaches them.
+          onLogout={showLogoutControl ? logout : undefined}
           showOriginalFilename={showOriginalFilename}
         />
 
@@ -1149,7 +1179,7 @@ export const GalleryView: React.FC<GalleryViewProps> = ({ slug, event }) => {
         heroLogoVisible={data?.event?.hero_logo_visible !== false}
         heroLogoSize={data?.event?.hero_logo_size || undefined}
         headerStyle={data?.event?.header_style || theme.headerStyle}
-        showLogout={true}
+        showLogout={showLogoutControl}
         onLogout={logout}
         // Old Download All header button is replaced by the new
         // showHeaderDownload below — accent-coloured, always visible when
diff --git a/frontend/src/contexts/GalleryAuthContext.tsx b/frontend/src/contexts/GalleryAuthContext.tsx
index 2fce4061..e6d35931 100644
--- a/frontend/src/contexts/GalleryAuthContext.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/contexts/GalleryAuthContext.tsx
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ interface GalleryAuthContextType {
   event: GalleryEvent | null;
   accessLevel: GalleryAccessLevel;
   isClient: boolean;
+  /** Session was minted by the customer portal — credentialed, bypasses reveal. */
+  viaCustomer: boolean;
   login: (slug: string, password?: string, recaptchaToken?: string | null) => Promise<void>;
   clientLogin: (slug: string, password: string) => Promise<void>;
   logout: () => void;
@@ -65,6 +67,7 @@ export const GalleryAuthProvider: React.FC<GalleryAuthProviderProps> = ({ childr
   const [isAuthenticated, setIsAuthenticated] = useState(false);
   const [event, setEvent] = useState<GalleryEvent | null>(null);
   const [accessLevel, setAccessLevel] = useState<GalleryAccessLevel>('guest');
+  const [viaCustomer, setViaCustomer] = useState(false);
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [routeError, setRouteError] = useState<string | null>(null);
@@ -204,13 +207,25 @@ export const GalleryAuthProvider: React.FC<GalleryAuthProviderProps> = ({ childr
     const initialise = async () => {
       try {
         setIsLoading(true);
-        const sessionResponse = await api.get<{ valid: boolean; type: string; eventSlug?: string }>(
+        const sessionResponse = await api.get<{
+          valid: boolean; type: string; eventSlug?: string;
+          accessLevel?: GalleryAccessLevel; viaCustomer?: boolean;
+        }>(
           '/auth/session',
           { params: { slug: currentSlug } }
         );
 
         if (sessionResponse.data?.valid && sessionResponse.data.type === 'gallery' && sessionResponse.data.eventSlug === currentSlug) {
           setIsAuthenticated(true);
+          // The SERVER's view of this session, not the per-tab sessionStorage
+          // guess above (#1149). A second tab has no sessionStorage but the
+          // same cookie, so the stored value silently downgraded a client
+          // session to 'guest' while the backend kept serving it as a client.
+          if (sessionResponse.data.accessLevel === 'client') {
+            setAccessLevel('client');
+            sessionStorage.setItem(`gallery_access_level_${currentSlug}`, 'client');
+          }
+          setViaCustomer(Boolean(sessionResponse.data.viaCustomer));
 
           // Always refresh from the server — the stored event from sessionStorage
           // is shown above as an instant placeholder for perceived perf, but it
@@ -340,6 +355,7 @@ export const GalleryAuthProvider: React.FC<GalleryAuthProviderProps> = ({ childr
     setIsAuthenticated(false);
     setEvent(null);
     setAccessLevel('guest');
+    setViaCustomer(false);
     clearActiveGallerySlug();
   };
 
@@ -350,6 +366,7 @@ export const GalleryAuthProvider: React.FC<GalleryAuthProviderProps> = ({ childr
         event,
         accessLevel,
         isClient: accessLevel === 'client',
+        viaCustomer,
         login,
         clientLogin: clientLoginFn,
         logout,
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/GalleryPage.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/GalleryPage.tsx
index 17a796e9..0aa28ce3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/GalleryPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/GalleryPage.tsx
@@ -419,14 +419,51 @@ export const GalleryPage: React.FC = () => {
 
   // Show gallery view if authenticated
   if (isAuthenticated && event) {
-    return <GalleryView slug={gallerySlugForView} event={event} />;
+    return <GalleryView slug={gallerySlugForView} event={event} requiresPassword={requiresPassword} />;
   }
 
   // Public gallery: auto-login is in flight (or about to fire). Show the
   // skeleton instead of the "publicly accessible — loading photos" card so
   // visitors see one continuous skeleton until real photos appear (#321).
   if (!requiresPassword) {
-    return <GallerySkeleton />;
+    if (!autoLoginAttempted || isLoggingIn) {
+      return <GallerySkeleton />;
+    }
+
+    // Auto-login has run and we are still not authenticated (#1149).
+    //
+    // Returning the skeleton here meant it never stopped: the effect above is
+    // latched on autoLoginAttempted and will not fire again, so the visitor
+    // sat on a loading gallery until they reloaded by hand. It also swallowed
+    // loginError completely — a public gallery that failed to open showed no
+    // reason, because this branch returns before the form that renders it.
+    //
+    // Reachable two ways: a failed or expired auto-login, and clearing the
+    // session from inside the gallery (the Logout button that should not have
+    // been there, or GalleryView's 401 handler). Retry re-arms the latch; it
+    // is a button rather than an automatic re-fire so a genuinely failing
+    // gallery cannot spin.
+    return (
+      <div className="min-h-screen flex items-center justify-center p-4"
+        style={{ backgroundColor: 'var(--color-background, #fafafa)' }}>
+        <Card className="w-full max-w-md">
+          <CardContent className="p-6 text-center">
+            <AlertCircle className="w-10 h-10 mx-auto mb-3 text-muted-theme" />
+            <p className="text-base mb-4">
+              {loginError || t('gallery.failedToLoad', 'Failed to load gallery')}
+            </p>
+            <Button
+              onClick={() => {
+                setLoginError(null);
+                setAutoLoginAttempted(false);
+              }}
+            >
+              {t('gallery.tryAgain', 'Try again')}
+            </Button>
+          </CardContent>
+        </Card>
+      </div>
+    );
   }
 
   // Show login form