@@ -281,6 +281,11 @@ internal class ChatViewModel @Inject constructor(
          * its actions disabled.
          */
         val selection: ChatListItem.ContentBubble? = null,
+        /**
+         * Whether [selection] was made by a double tap, which presents only the quick reaction strip:
+         * the lift and backdrop without the selection bar. Only meaningful while [selection] is set.
+         */
+        val reactionStripOnly: Boolean = false,
         /** The message the composer is editing, or `null` when it is composing a new one. */
         val editing: EditingMessage? = null,
         /**
@@ -603,6 +608,12 @@ internal class ChatViewModel @Inject constructor(
 
         /** Selects [bubble], or leaves selection mode if it is already the selected one. */
         data class ToggleMessageSelection(val bubble: ChatListItem.ContentBubble) : Event
+
+        /**
+         * Selects [bubble] for the quick reaction strip alone, as a double tap does; nothing when it
+         * can't take a reaction once narrowed to what is open now.
+         */
+        data class PresentReactionStrip(val bubble: ChatListItem.ContentBubble) : Event
         data object ClearMessageSelection : Event
 
         // The message actions carry what they act on rather than reading it back off the selection:
@@ -2657,19 +2668,25 @@ internal class ChatViewModel @Inject constructor(
                     // By message rather than by row: a message split around its card is one
                     // selection whichever of its rows was pressed.
                     val alreadySelected = state.selection?.messageKey == event.bubble.messageKey
-                    // The transcript resolved this bubble when it was mapped, which may have been
-                    // well inside a window that has since closed. Narrow it again here so the bar
-                    // offers what is open now rather than what was open when the row was built.
-                    // The same goes for membership: a viewer who has left since keeps only what a
-                    // reader outside the group may do.
-                    val selected = event.bubble.takeUnless { alreadySelected }?.let { bubble ->
-                        val open = bubble.capabilities
-                            .withinWindows(bubble.timestamp, state.messagePolicy)
-                        bubble.copy(
-                            capabilities = if (state.isOutsideGroup) open.readOnly() else open,
-                        )
+                    // Narrowed again so the bar offers what is open now, not when the row was built.
+                    val selected = event.bubble.takeUnless { alreadySelected }?.narrowedFor(state)
+                    state.copy(
+                        selection = selected,
+                        reactionStripOnly = false,
+                        confirmingDelete = false,
+                    ).withQuickReactionStrip()
+                }
+                is Event.PresentReactionStrip -> { state ->
+                    val selected = event.bubble.narrowedFor(state).takeIf { it.canReact }
+                    if (selected == null) {
+                        state
+                    } else {
+                        state.copy(
+                            selection = selected,
+                            reactionStripOnly = true,
+                            confirmingDelete = false,
+                        ).withQuickReactionStrip()
                     }
-                    state.copy(selection = selected, confirmingDelete = false).withQuickReactionStrip()
                 }
                 Event.ClearMessageSelection -> { state ->
                     state.copy(selection = null, confirmingDelete = false).withQuickReactionStrip()
@@ -2753,6 +2770,17 @@ internal class ChatViewModel @Inject constructor(
     }
 }
 
+/**
+ * This bubble with its capabilities narrowed to what is open now. The transcript resolved it when it
+ * was mapped, which may have been well inside a window that has since closed, so a selection offers
+ * what is open at the moment it is made. The same goes for membership: a viewer who has left since
+ * keeps only what a reader outside the group may do.
+ */
+private fun ChatListItem.ContentBubble.narrowedFor(state: ChatViewModel.State): ChatListItem.ContentBubble {
+    val open = capabilities.withinWindows(timestamp, state.messagePolicy)
+    return copy(capabilities = if (state.isOutsideGroup) open.readOnly() else open)
+}
+
 /**
  * [ChatViewModel.State.quickReactionStrip] rebuilt for the current selection: empty while nothing
  * is selected, while the selected message can't be reacted to, or before the inputs have loaded.
 
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 package com.flipcash.app.messenger.internal.screens
 
 import androidx.activity.compose.BackHandler
+import androidx.compose.animation.core.animateDpAsState
+import androidx.compose.animation.core.animateFloatAsState
+import androidx.compose.foundation.gestures.detectTapGestures
+import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
 import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxSize
 import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.imePadding
 import androidx.compose.runtime.Composable
@@ -10,6 +14,10 @@ import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
 import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
 import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
 import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
+import androidx.compose.ui.draw.BlurredEdgeTreatment
+import androidx.compose.ui.draw.blur
+import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.graphicsLayer
+import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.pointerInput
 import androidx.compose.ui.platform.LocalContext
 import androidx.compose.ui.platform.LocalUriHandler
 import androidx.compose.ui.platform.testTag
@@ -154,6 +162,10 @@ internal fun MessengerScreen(viewModel: ChatViewModel) {
                 viewModel.dispatchEvent(ChatViewModel.Event.ToggleMessageSelection(action.bubble))
             }
 
+            is ChatAction.PresentReactionStrip -> {
+                viewModel.dispatchEvent(ChatViewModel.Event.PresentReactionStrip(action.bubble))
+            }
+
             ChatAction.ClearSelection -> {
                 viewModel.dispatchEvent(ChatViewModel.Event.ClearMessageSelection)
             }
@@ -273,12 +285,43 @@ internal fun MessengerScreen(viewModel: ChatViewModel) {
             )
         },
         bottomBar = {
-            UserControlBottomBar(
-                state = state,
-                hazeState = hazeState,
-                onAction = chatActionHandler,
-                dispatch = viewModel::dispatchEvent,
+            // Behind the backdrop with the transcript while a message is raised, dimmed and blurred
+            // as its rows are, and a tap on it dismisses the selection as a tap on them does. An
+            // edit raises a message too, but it is the composer doing the editing, so it stays sharp.
+            val behindBackdrop = state.selection != null && state.editing == null
+            val dimAlpha by animateFloatAsState(
+                targetValue = if (behindBackdrop) 0.4f else 1f,
+                label = "composerDim",
+            )
+            val dimBlur by animateDpAsState(
+                targetValue = if (behindBackdrop) 8.dp else 0.dp,
+                label = "composerBlur",
             )
+            Box {
+                Box(
+                    modifier = Modifier
+                        .blur(dimBlur, BlurredEdgeTreatment.Unbounded)
+                        .graphicsLayer { alpha = dimAlpha },
+                ) {
+                    UserControlBottomBar(
+                        state = state,
+                        hazeState = hazeState,
+                        onAction = chatActionHandler,
+                        dispatch = viewModel::dispatchEvent,
+                    )
+                }
+                if (behindBackdrop) {
+                    Box(
+                        modifier = Modifier
+                            .matchParentSize()
+                            .pointerInput(Unit) {
+                                detectTapGestures {
+                                    viewModel.dispatchEvent(ChatViewModel.Event.ClearMessageSelection)
+                                }
+                            },
+                    )
+                }
+            }
         },
     ) { overlapPadding ->
         // The transcript and the info card go behind a blur together, because they are one surface
 
@@ -90,7 +90,8 @@ internal fun ChatTopBar(
         // would offer the profile and leave back as the only way out.
         val mode: TopBarMode = when {
             state.editing != null -> TopBarMode.Editing
-            state.selection != null -> TopBarMode.Selecting(state.selection)
+            // A double tap presents the strip alone, over the ordinary title bar.
+            state.selection != null && !state.reactionStripOnly -> TopBarMode.Selecting(state.selection)
             else -> TopBarMode.Conversation
         }
         AnimatedContent(
 
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 package com.flipcash.app.messenger.internal.screens.components
 
 import androidx.compose.animation.core.Animatable
+import androidx.compose.animation.core.animateDpAsState
+import androidx.compose.animation.core.animateFloatAsState
 import androidx.compose.foundation.gestures.animateScrollBy
 import androidx.compose.foundation.gestures.detectTapGestures
 import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Arrangement
@@ -40,6 +42,9 @@ import androidx.compose.ui.res.stringResource
 import androidx.compose.ui.unit.Dp
 import androidx.compose.ui.unit.IntRect
 import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
+import androidx.compose.ui.draw.BlurredEdgeTreatment
+import androidx.compose.ui.draw.blur
+import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.graphicsLayer
 import androidx.lifecycle.Lifecycle
 import androidx.lifecycle.compose.LocalLifecycleOwner
 import androidx.lifecycle.repeatOnLifecycle
@@ -149,16 +154,38 @@ internal fun MessageList(
         // The backdrop, read once for everything it covers: the rows, the bubbles' own targets,
         // and the contact card at the start of history all stop taking taps together.
         val selecting = state.selection != null || state.editing != null
+        // The items past the oldest message (its date, the info or invite card) are not rows, so
+        // they take the rows' backdrop dim and blur here; nothing among them can be the focus.
+        val trailingDimAlpha by animateFloatAsState(
+            targetValue = if (selecting) 0.4f else 1f,
+            label = "trailingDim",
+        )
+        val trailingDimBlur by animateDpAsState(
+            targetValue = if (selecting) 8.dp else 0.dp,
+            label = "trailingBlur",
+        )
+        val behindBackdrop = Modifier
+            .blur(trailingDimBlur, BlurredEdgeTreatment.Unbounded)
+            .graphicsLayer { alpha = trailingDimAlpha }
 
         // A message can be long-pressed while it is running under the top bar, which the fade
         // there makes easy to do — and the bar then swaps to the actions for it, so the row the
         // backdrop leaves sharp sits behind the buttons acting on it. Bring it down level with the
         // bar's lower edge before that happens. Selecting and then editing is one focus, not two,
         // so the key doesn't change across that step and the row isn't scrolled twice.
+        //
+        // A message that takes reactions comes down further, far enough for the quick strip to sit
+        // above it: the strip is always above, and there's always room to make, since the info card
+        // at the start of history sits over the oldest message.
         val focusedMessageId = state.editing?.messageId ?: state.selection?.messageId
+        val stripRoom = with(LocalDensity.current) {
+            (QuickReactionStripPlacement.StripHeight + QuickReactionStripPlacement.Gap + STRIP_BAR_GAP)
+                .roundToPx()
+        }
         LaunchedEffect(focusedMessageId) {
             if (focusedMessageId == null) return@LaunchedEffect
-            val buried = -listState.layoutInfo.headroomAbove(messages, focusedMessageId)
+            val room = if (state.editing == null && state.selection?.canReact == true) stripRoom else 0
+            val buried = room - listState.layoutInfo.headroomAbove(messages, focusedMessageId)
             if (buried > 0) listState.animateScrollBy(buried.toFloat())
         }
 
@@ -430,7 +457,9 @@ internal fun MessageList(
                 // rather than fetched.
                 if (messages.itemCount == 0 && state.obscuresTranscript) {
                     item(key = "gated-transcript-placeholder") {
-                        GatedTranscriptPlaceholder(modifier = Modifier.fillParentMaxWidth())
+                        GatedTranscriptPlaceholder(
+                            modifier = Modifier.fillParentMaxWidth().then(behindBackdrop),
+                        )
                     }
                 }
 
@@ -449,7 +478,9 @@ internal fun MessageList(
                     if (oldestTimestamp != null) {
                         item(key = "trailing-date-${oldestTimestamp.epochSeconds}") {
                             Box(
-                                modifier = Modifier.padding(bottom = CodeTheme.dimens.grid.x2),
+                                modifier = Modifier
+                                    .padding(bottom = CodeTheme.dimens.grid.x2)
+                                    .then(behindBackdrop),
                             ) {
                                 DateSeparatorRow(oldestTimestamp)
                             }
@@ -473,7 +504,7 @@ internal fun MessageList(
                             )
                         }
                         BoxWithConstraints(
-                            modifier = Modifier.fillParentMaxWidth(),
+                            modifier = Modifier.fillParentMaxWidth().then(behindBackdrop),
                             contentAlignment = Alignment.Center,
                         ) {
                             // The width a link card gets in a DM transcript, so this reads as the
@@ -498,7 +529,8 @@ internal fun MessageList(
                     item {
                         Box(
                             modifier = Modifier
-                                .fillParentMaxWidth(),
+                                .fillParentMaxWidth()
+                                .then(behindBackdrop),
                             contentAlignment = Alignment.Center,
                         ) {
                             ChatInfoCard(
 
@@ -163,6 +163,16 @@ internal fun MessageRow(
             onAction(ChatAction.ToggleSelection(target))
         }
     }
+    // A double tap presents the strip alone, as iMessage's tapback does. Hoisted like select: a
+    // bubble with a tap target of its own -- a cash bubble, a link card, a quote -- reports it too,
+    // and holds its single tap for the double-tap timeout to tell the two apart. A button inside a
+    // card is not given it, so it stays instant.
+    val presentStrip = bubble?.takeIf { it.canReact }?.let { target ->
+        {
+            vibrator.tick()
+            onAction(ChatAction.PresentReactionStrip(target))
+        }
+    }
 
     val dimAlpha by animateFloatAsState(
         targetValue = if (focused) 1f else 0.4f,
@@ -241,6 +251,10 @@ internal fun MessageRow(
                     interactionSource = interactionSource,
                     indication = null,
                     onLongClick = select,
+                    onDoubleClick = presentStrip,
+                    // select plays the tick; the platform's own long-press haptic on top of
+                    // it is felt as a second buzz.
+                    hapticFeedbackEnabled = false,
                     // Only reachable with the backdrop down, so the tap has nothing to
                     // dismiss but the keyboard.
                     onClick = { keyboard.hide() },
@@ -357,6 +371,7 @@ internal fun MessageRow(
                                     // so the row's long-press never reaches it. Handing it the
                                     // same gesture is what makes a cash bubble selectable.
                                     onLongClick = select,
+                                    onDoubleClick = presentStrip,
                                     position = bubblePositionOf(
                                         index,
                                         item,
@@ -561,7 +576,8 @@ private fun senderNameInset(showsGutter: Boolean): Dp =
         CodeTheme.dimens.grid.x1
     }
 
-private val STRIP_BAR_GAP = 8.dp
+/** Between the top bar and the highest the quick strip goes. */
+internal val STRIP_BAR_GAP = 8.dp
 
 private val AFFORDANCE_SIZE = 32.dp
 private val AFFORDANCE_INSET = 20.dp
 
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import com.flipcash.shared.chat.reactions.ReactionStrip
 import com.flipcash.shared.chat.reactions.SelfReaction
 import kotlin.test.Test
 import kotlin.test.assertEquals
+import kotlin.test.assertFalse
 import kotlin.test.assertTrue
 import kotlin.time.Instant
 
@@ -114,4 +115,39 @@ class ChatReactionsReducerTest {
 
         assertEquals(selected, state)
     }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a double tap selects the bubble for the strip alone`() {
+        val state = reduce(
+            ChatViewModel.State(messagePolicy = unbounded, quickReactionInputs = inputs),
+            ChatViewModel.Event.PresentReactionStrip(bubble(1)),
+        )
+
+        assertEquals(1L, state.selection?.messageId)
+        assertTrue(state.reactionStripOnly)
+        assertTrue(state.quickReactionStrip.isNotEmpty())
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a double tap on a message that can't be reacted to does nothing`() {
+        val before = ChatViewModel.State(messagePolicy = unbounded, quickReactionInputs = inputs)
+
+        val state = reduce(before, ChatViewModel.Event.PresentReactionStrip(bubble(1, canReact = false)))
+
+        assertEquals(before, state)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a long-press after a double tap brings the selection bar back`() {
+        val stripOnly = reduce(
+            ChatViewModel.State(messagePolicy = unbounded, quickReactionInputs = inputs),
+            ChatViewModel.Event.PresentReactionStrip(bubble(1)),
+        )
+        val cleared = reduce(stripOnly, ChatViewModel.Event.ClearMessageSelection)
+
+        val selected = reduce(cleared, ChatViewModel.Event.ToggleMessageSelection(bubble(1)))
+
+        assertEquals(1L, selected.selection?.messageId)
+        assertFalse(selected.reactionStripOnly)
+    }
 }
@@ -68,6 +68,12 @@ sealed interface ChatAction {
      */
     data class ToggleSelection(val bubble: ChatListItem.ContentBubble) : ChatAction
 
+    /**
+     * Presents only the quick reaction strip over [bubble], as a double tap does: the lift and
+     * backdrop a long-press gives, with no selection bar or actions. Dismissed like a selection.
+     */
+    data class PresentReactionStrip(val bubble: ChatListItem.ContentBubble) : ChatAction
+
     /** Leaves selection mode without acting on anything. */
     data object ClearSelection : ChatAction
 
 
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ fun ChatQuotePanel(
     modifier: Modifier = Modifier,
     onClick: (() -> Unit)? = null,
     onLongClick: (() -> Unit)? = null,
+    onDoubleClick: (() -> Unit)? = null,
 ) {
     val accent = quote.accent ?: CodeTheme.colors.tertiary
     val name = quote.nameAccent ?: accent
@@ -64,7 +65,10 @@ fun ChatQuotePanel(
             .addIf(onClick != null || onLongClick != null) {
                 Modifier.combinedClickable(
                     onLongClick = onLongClick,
+                    onDoubleClick = onDoubleClick,
                     onClick = { onClick?.invoke() },
+                    // The row's select plays the tick; a second, platform haptic doubles it.
+                    hapticFeedbackEnabled = false,
                 )
             }
             .height(IntrinsicSize.Min),