diff --git a/.changeset/nine-pans-shake.md b/.changeset/nine-pans-shake.md
index b094efd..3cb1cb0 100644
--- a/.changeset/nine-pans-shake.md
+++ b/.changeset/nine-pans-shake.md
@@ -5,3 +5,5 @@
 Stop calling the logout endpoint when the session check fails. A failed `/users/me` means the server already considers the session unusable, so the SDK now clears it locally instead of sending a `DELETE /logout` for a session that does not exist. Previously every anonymous page load fired that second request.
 
 Session state now lives in a framework-agnostic store behind `AuthProvider`, which reads it through `useSyncExternalStore`. The provider's public API is unchanged. Reading a previous sign-in goes through a storage port that falls back to memory when there is no `localStorage`, so the store is safe to create during server-side rendering.
+
+The store survives a remount. React can run mount, cleanup, mount against the same provider, which StrictMode does on every mount and Activity does whenever a hidden tree is shown again, so the provider no longer destroys the store from its effect cleanup. `destroy()` is terminal, and tearing it down there left the remounted provider holding a store that refused every update and stayed on `loading: true`.
diff --git a/src/AuthProvider.tsx b/src/AuthProvider.tsx
index fb0fcb6..7100b89 100644
--- a/src/AuthProvider.tsx
+++ b/src/AuthProvider.tsx
@@ -115,12 +115,19 @@ export const AuthProvider: React.FC<AuthProviderProps> = ({
     session.getState
   );
 
+  // The store is deliberately not destroyed on cleanup. `destroy()` is terminal,
+  // and React may run mount, cleanup, mount against the same memoized store:
+  // StrictMode does it on every mount today, and Activity will do it whenever a
+  // tree is hidden and shown again. Tearing down here left the remounted provider
+  // holding a store that refuses updates, stuck on `loading: true` forever.
+  //
+  // Nothing leaks by skipping it. `useSyncExternalStore` removes its own listener
+  // when the provider unmounts, and the store owns no timers or subscriptions, so
+  // it is reclaimed with the component. A refresh still in flight then resolves
+  // into a store nobody observes. `destroy()` stays on the store for bindings that
+  // genuinely own its lifetime.
   useEffect(() => {
     void session.actions.refreshSession();
-
-    return () => {
-      session.destroy();
-    };
   }, [session]);
 
   const value = useMemo(
diff --git a/tests/authProvider.test.tsx b/tests/authProvider.test.tsx
index 6ac784a..ecde6f9 100644
--- a/tests/authProvider.test.tsx
+++ b/tests/authProvider.test.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 import { act, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { StrictMode } from 'react';
 import { AuthProvider, useAuth } from '../src/AuthProvider';
 import { createFetchWithAuth } from '../src/fetchWithAuth';
 
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ const Consumer = () => {
     <div>
       <span data-testid="user">{auth.user ? auth.user.email : 'none'}</span>
       <span data-testid="isAuthenticated">{String(auth.isAuthenticated)}</span>
+      <span data-testid="loading">{String(auth.loading)}</span>
       <span data-testid="hasRoleAdmin">{String(auth.hasRole('admin'))}</span>
       <span data-testid="hasScopedRoleAdminRead">
         {String(auth.hasScopedRole('admin:read'))}
@@ -463,6 +465,64 @@ describe('AuthProvider', () => {
     expect(returned.data).not.toHaveProperty('message');
   });
 
+  // StrictMode runs mount, cleanup, mount while useMemo keeps the same session
+  // store, so a provider that tore the store down on cleanup came back holding a
+  // store that refused every update and never left `loading`. The templates ship
+  // StrictMode, so this is the default path for a new app, not an edge case.
+  describe('StrictMode remount', () => {
+    it('settles a signed-out session instead of loading forever', async () => {
+      // The adapter answers a missing access cookie with 400, which is the
+      // ordinary anonymous first load.
+      mockFetchWithAuthImpl.mockResolvedValue(
+        failure(400, { error: 'Missing required cookie "seamless-access"' })
+      );
+
+      await act(async () => {
+        render(
+          <StrictMode>
+            <AuthProvider apiHost={apiHost}>
+              <Consumer />
+            </AuthProvider>
+          </StrictMode>
+        );
+      });
+
+      await waitFor(() => {
+        expect(screen.getByTestId('loading')).toHaveTextContent('false');
+      });
+
+      expect(screen.getByTestId('isAuthenticated')).toHaveTextContent('false');
+      expect(screen.getByTestId('user')).toHaveTextContent('none');
+    });
+
+    it('still loads an authenticated session', async () => {
+      mockFetchWithAuthImpl.mockResolvedValue({
+        ok: true,
+        json: async () => ({
+          user: { id: '1', email: 'test@example.com', phone: '', roles: ['admin'] },
+          credentials: [],
+        }),
+      } as any);
+
+      await act(async () => {
+        render(
+          <StrictMode>
+            <AuthProvider apiHost={apiHost}>
+              <Consumer />
+            </AuthProvider>
+          </StrictMode>
+        );
+      });
+
+      await waitFor(() => {
+        expect(screen.getByTestId('user')).toHaveTextContent('test@example.com');
+      });
+
+      expect(screen.getByTestId('loading')).toHaveTextContent('false');
+      expect(screen.getByTestId('isAuthenticated')).toHaveTextContent('true');
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('failure paths', () => {
     it('throws when useAuth is called outside a provider', () => {
       const Orphan = () => {