diff --git a/Stream/ChatView.swift b/Stream/ChatView.swift
index 271e82b..c49e389 100644
--- a/Stream/ChatView.swift
+++ b/Stream/ChatView.swift
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ import SwiftUI
 struct ChatFeedView: View {
     var chat: RestreamChat
 
+    /// Whether the feed is currently parked at the bottom. Gates the animated
+    /// auto-follow so new messages only pull the view down when the user is already
+    /// there — a viewer scrolled up reading history is never yanked. Seeded `true`
+    /// so the first burst of messages sticks to the bottom.
+    @State private var isAtBottom = true
+
     var body: some View {
         Group {
             switch chat.status {
@@ -41,28 +47,36 @@ struct ChatFeedView: View {
         }
     }
 
+    // The feed default-anchors to the BOTTOM, so the newest line sits at the bottom
+    // of the screen on first paint and stays pinned there as chat streams in
+    // (classic chat-app behavior).
     private var messageList: some View {
         ScrollViewReader { proxy in
             ScrollView {
                 LazyVStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 10) {
                     ForEach(chat.messages) { message in
-                        VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 2) {
-                            HStack(spacing: 6) {
-                                Text(message.author).font(.caption.bold())
-                                if let platform = message.platform {
-                                    Text(platform).font(.caption2).foregroundStyle(.secondary)
-                                }
-                            }
-                            Text(message.text)
-                                .font(.callout)
-                                .fixedSize(horizontal: false, vertical: true)
+                        // Incoming-only feed: every bubble hugs the LEADING edge. The
+                        // trailing Spacer caps width so a bubble never spans edge-to-edge.
+                        HStack(spacing: 0) {
+                            MessageBubble(message: message)
+                            Spacer(minLength: 40)
                         }
-                        .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
-                        .id(message.id)
+                        .id(message.id)          // per-row id for scrollTo(_:)
                     }
                 }
                 .padding()
             }
+            // Pin to the bottom on first layout and keep it pinned as rows append.
+            .defaultScrollAnchor(.bottom)
+            // Track "parked at the bottom" so the animated follow below only fires
+            // there, never yanking a viewer scrolling up through history. 24pt slack
+            // absorbs rounding and the bottom content inset.
+            .onScrollGeometryChange(for: Bool.self) { geo in
+                geo.contentOffset.y + geo.containerSize.height
+                    >= geo.contentSize.height - geo.contentInsets.bottom - 24
+            } action: { _, atBottom in
+                isAtBottom = atBottom
+            }
             .overlay {
                 if chat.messages.isEmpty {
                     ContentUnavailableView("Waiting for chat…",
@@ -70,11 +84,55 @@ struct ChatFeedView: View {
                                            description: Text("Messages from your connected platforms will appear here."))
                 }
             }
+            // Subtle animated follow — gated so it only fires when already at the bottom.
             .onChange(of: chat.messages.count) {
-                if let last = chat.messages.last {
-                    withAnimation(.easeOut(duration: 0.15)) { proxy.scrollTo(last.id, anchor: .bottom) }
+                guard isAtBottom, let last = chat.messages.last else { return }
+                withAnimation(.easeOut(duration: 0.15)) { proxy.scrollTo(last.id, anchor: .bottom) }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// One incoming chat line, styled like an iMessage group bubble: a small secondary
+/// caption (author + platform) sits ABOVE a content-hugging blue bubble. The body
+/// wraps freely and never truncates; white-on-blue stays legible in light + dark,
+/// and the whole line reads as a single VoiceOver element.
+private struct MessageBubble: View {
+    let message: ChatMessage
+
+    var body: some View {
+        VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 3) {
+            // Sender caption above the bubble, like the name label over a group bubble.
+            HStack(spacing: 4) {
+                Text(message.author).fontWeight(.semibold)
+                if let platform = message.platform, !platform.isEmpty {
+                    Text(platform.capitalized)      // "youtube" -> "Youtube"
                 }
             }
+            .font(.caption)
+            .foregroundStyle(.secondary)            // adapts to light/dark
+            .lineLimit(1)                           // long names/handles truncate here
+            .padding(.leading, 4)                   // nudge under the bubble's corner
+
+            // The blue bubble: hugs short text, wraps long text, never truncates.
+            Text(message.text)
+                .font(.callout)                                // scales with Dynamic Type
+                .foregroundStyle(.white)                       // legible on blue, both modes
+                .fixedSize(horizontal: false, vertical: true)  // wrap to full height, no clip
+                .padding(.horizontal, 14)
+                .padding(.vertical, 9)
+                .background(.blue, in: .rect(cornerRadius: 18, style: .continuous))
+        }
+        // Fold the whole line into ONE VoiceOver stop: "Ada on twitch: hello there".
+        .accessibilityElement(children: .ignore)
+        .accessibilityLabel(accessibilityLabel)
+    }
+
+    // "Ada on twitch: hello there" — platform woven in only when present.
+    private var accessibilityLabel: String {
+        if let platform = message.platform, !platform.isEmpty {
+            return "\(message.author) on \(platform): \(message.text)"
         }
+        return "\(message.author): \(message.text)"
     }
 }