diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2db90cf..9d96a5a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ release PR may merge — and a section is closed at the commit that bumps it.
   assistant reading through it. Like an attachment, what the eye sends goes to the AI
   provider together with your message — hover it (or tap it) to read exactly what would
   go out, click it to stop sharing; the choice is remembered on this device, and every
-  message shows a chip with what it carried. Very long highlights are trimmed, with a
+  sent message keeps a faint eye in its corner that shows, on hover, what it carried. Very long highlights are trimmed, with a
   note saying how much was left out — the assistant can still read the whole file itself.
   On by default.
 - Several conversations per source: open extra chats with `+`, and the tab bar you left
diff --git a/docs/view-context.md b/docs/view-context.md
index 2eb3589..2c3ad6a 100644
--- a/docs/view-context.md
+++ b/docs/view-context.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Exactly one snapshot per message, covering whatever applies at that moment:
 - **A highlighted passage** — if the user selected text in the viewer, the selected text itself, with its line numbers when they are looking at the source (a plain-text file, or the editor view of a Markdown file).
 - **Which thing a detail page is about** — which project (and which of its tabs), which member, connector, plugin, conversation, tool call or LLM request; also the active section in Tasks or Models, the open agent in Background agents, and a search typed in the Marketplace.
 
-Hover the eye (or tap it, on a touch screen) to read exactly what would be sent with the next message. Every sent message shows a small chip with what it carried, which can be opened to read the actual values.
+Hover the eye (or tap it, on a touch screen) to read exactly what would be sent with the next message. Every sent message keeps a small eye in its corner; hovering it (or tapping it, on a touch screen) shows the actual values that message carried.
 
 ## Control and privacy
 
diff --git a/web/components/copilot-render.js b/web/components/copilot-render.js
index 3292ff2..50642aa 100644
--- a/web/components/copilot-render.js
+++ b/web/components/copilot-render.js
@@ -591,18 +591,22 @@ export function renderViewContextPill(host) {
  * The proof, in the sent bubble: what this message actually carried. Rendered
  * from the server's echo (and, after a reload, from the REST history), so it
  * shows the sanitized pairs the model was given — never the browser's intent.
+ *
+ * A mark in the bubble's corner, not a row under the message: this is evidence
+ * about a message, not part of it, and a collapsed row still cost a line of
+ * height in every bubble that carried one. Deliberately **not** expandable —
+ * the pairs show on hover (on focus for keyboard and touch) and there is no
+ * state to leave open, so a conversation scrolled back through never grows a
+ * second layout.
+ *
+ * Written on one line on purpose: the bubble renders `white-space: pre-wrap`, so
+ * the newline and indent a formatted template would leave before the element are
+ * a text node the bubble actually shows — a blank line under the message.
  */
-function renderViewContextChip(host, msg) {
+function renderViewContextMark(host, msg) {
   const items = msg.view_context;
   if (!items?.length) return nothing;
-  return html`
-    <details class="view-ctx-chip">
-      <summary>
-        <i class="bi bi-eye"></i>
-        <span>${t('chat.view_context.chip', { n: items.length })}</span>
-      </summary>
-      ${renderViewContextItems(items)}
-    </details>`;
+  return html`<div class="view-ctx-mark" tabindex="0" aria-label=${t('chat.view_context.chip', { n: items.length })}><i class="bi bi-eye"></i><div class="view-ctx-pop">${renderViewContextItems(items)}</div></div>`;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -625,7 +629,7 @@ export function renderMsg(host, msg) {
   try {
     switch (msg.kind) {
       case 'user':
-        return html`<div class="copilot-msg user ${msg.failed ? 'copilot-msg--failed' : ''}" style="white-space:pre-wrap">${msg.failed ? failedBadge() : nothing}${msg.content}${renderAttachmentChips(host, msg.attachments)}${renderViewContextChip(host, msg)}</div>`;
+        return html`<div class="copilot-msg user ${msg.view_context?.length ? 'copilot-msg--view-ctx' : ''} ${msg.failed ? 'copilot-msg--failed' : ''}" style="white-space:pre-wrap">${msg.failed ? failedBadge() : nothing}${msg.content}${renderAttachmentChips(host, msg.attachments)}${renderViewContextMark(host, msg)}</div>`;
       case 'thinking':
         return html`
           <div class="copilot-msg assistant copilot-markdown ${msg.failed ? 'copilot-msg--failed' : ''}">
diff --git a/web/css/copilot-messages.css b/web/css/copilot-messages.css
index c718d07..3f30d38 100644
--- a/web/css/copilot-messages.css
+++ b/web/css/copilot-messages.css
@@ -889,33 +889,72 @@
   line-height: 1.35;
 }
 
-/* The chip inside a sent user bubble: collapsed by default, same muted weight as
-   the reasoning block — it is evidence, not content. */
-.view-ctx-chip {
-  margin-top: 0.4rem;
-  font-size: 0.75rem;
-  white-space: normal;
+/* The mark in a sent user bubble's corner: it is evidence about the message, not
+   part of it, so it costs the bubble a corner rather than a row of its own. Kept
+   faint on purpose — it should be findable when looked for and invisible when
+   not. Hover (focus, on touch and for the keyboard) reveals the pairs; there is
+   no expanded state, by design. */
+.copilot-msg.user.copilot-msg--view-ctx {
+  position: relative;
+  /* Room for the mark, so a last line can never run under it. */
+  padding-bottom: 1.35rem;
 }
 
-.view-ctx-chip > summary {
+.view-ctx-mark {
+  position: absolute;
+  right: 0.5rem;
+  bottom: 0.25rem;
   display: inline-flex;
   align-items: center;
-  gap: 0.3rem;
-  padding: 0.2rem 0.45rem;
-  border: 1px solid var(--toolbar-border);
-  border-radius: 0.5rem;
-  color: var(--placeholder-color);
-  cursor: pointer;
-  list-style: none;
-  line-height: 1.2;
+  font-size: 0.8rem;
+  line-height: 1;
+  color: inherit;
+  opacity: 0.4;
+  cursor: default;
+  transition: opacity 0.12s;
 }
 
-.view-ctx-chip > summary::-webkit-details-marker { display: none; }
-.view-ctx-chip > summary:hover { border-color: var(--accent); color: var(--accent); }
+.view-ctx-mark:hover,
+.view-ctx-mark:focus { opacity: 0.9; outline: none; }
+.view-ctx-mark:focus-visible { opacity: 0.9; outline: 2px solid currentColor; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 0.2rem; }
 
-.view-ctx-chip .view-ctx-items {
-  margin-top: 0.4rem;
-  padding-left: 0.15rem;
+/* Below the bubble, right-aligned with it: above would cover the message the
+   mark belongs to. */
+.view-ctx-pop {
+  position: absolute;
+  top: calc(100% + 6px);
+  right: 0;
+  z-index: 20;
+  display: block;
+  width: max-content;
+  max-width: min(26rem, 70vw);
+  max-height: 16rem;
+  overflow-y: auto;
+  padding: 0.5rem 0.65rem;
+  border: 1px solid var(--toolbar-border);
+  border-radius: 0.5rem;
+  background: var(--msg-assistant-bg);
+  color: var(--msg-assistant-text);
+  box-shadow: 0 4px 14px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.12);
+  font-size: 0.75rem;
+  /* The bubble is pre-wrap; the popover formats its own values. */
+  white-space: normal;
+  text-align: left;
+  opacity: 0;
+  visibility: hidden;
+  pointer-events: none;
+  transition: opacity 0.12s;
+}
+
+/* Interactive only while shown: `:hover` applies to ancestors of the hovered
+   element, so letting the pointer onto the popover keeps the mark hovered — which
+   is what makes a long, scrollable value readable. Hidden, it must not eat a
+   click on the bubble underneath. */
+.view-ctx-mark:hover .view-ctx-pop,
+.view-ctx-mark:focus .view-ctx-pop {
+  opacity: 1;
+  visibility: visible;
+  pointer-events: auto;
 }
 
 /* ── Tool card "view details" (eye) ────────────────────────────────────────── */