diff --git a/conversations.php b/conversations.php
index 791ca6d..ab2f0d5 100644
--- a/conversations.php
+++ b/conversations.php
@@ -1886,10 +1886,34 @@
                         this.conversations = messages.concat(this.conversations);
                     }
 
-                    // Improved dedupe: use message_id, id, and fallback composite key (direction|type|media|created_sec)
+                    // Improved dedupe: pick the most "readable" message when duplicates exist
                     try {
-                        const seen = new Map();
-                        const duplicates = [];
+                        const best = new Map(); // key => { index, score }
+                        const toRemove = [];
+
+                        const scoreFor = (m) => {
+                            let s = 0;
+                            if (!m) return s;
+                            // Prefer explicit media type messages
+                            if (m.message_type && m.message_type !== 'text') s += 50;
+                            // Prefer messages with thumbnails or local files
+                            if (m.local_thumb || m.local_file || m.media_url_external || m.media_url) s += 30;
+                            // Prefer human text content (avoid raw JSON blobs)
+                            if (m.content) {
+                                const c = String(m.content).trim();
+                                const looksJson = c.startsWith('{') && c.endsWith('}');
+                                if (looksJson) {
+                                    s -= 20; // penalize raw JSON-looking content
+                                } else {
+                                    s += 10;
+                                    if (c.length < 200) s += 5;
+                                }
+                            }
+                            if (m.message_id) s += 3;
+                            if (m.reply_to_message_id) s += 2;
+                            return s;
+                        };
+
                         for (let i = this.conversations.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
                             const m = this.conversations[i];
                             if (!m) continue;
@@ -1902,15 +1926,32 @@
                                 key = `${m.direction||'?'}|${m.message_type||m.media_type||'text'}|${partMedia}|${ts}`;
                             }
 
-                            if (seen.has(key)) {
-                                // remove duplicate occurrence (keep the last one)
-                                duplicates.push({index:i, key});
-                                this.conversations.splice(i, 1);
+                            const s = scoreFor(m);
+                            if (!best.has(key)) {
+                                best.set(key, { index: i, score: s });
                             } else {
-                                seen.set(key, true);
+                                const prev = best.get(key);
+                                if (s > prev.score) {
+                                    // keep current, remove previous
+                                    toRemove.push(prev.index);
+                                    best.set(key, { index: i, score: s });
+                                } else {
+                                    // remove current
+                                    toRemove.push(i);
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+
+                        if (toRemove.length) {
+                            // dedupe unique indices
+                            const uniq = Array.from(new Set(toRemove)).sort((a,b) => a - b);
+                            // remove from highest index down
+                            for (let j = uniq.length - 1; j >= 0; j--) {
+                                const idx = uniq[j];
+                                const removed = this.conversations.splice(idx, 1)[0];
+                                console.debug('Dedupe removed message at index', idx, 'removed=', removed && (removed.message_id || removed.id || removed.content || removed.media_url) );
                             }
                         }
-                        if (duplicates.length) console.debug('Dedupe removed duplicates (indices):', duplicates);
                     } catch (e) {
                         console.warn('Dedupe failed', e);
                     }