diff --git a/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/TimelineViewController.swift b/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/TimelineViewController.swift
index 5de6b920..8d4a7eec 100644
--- a/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/TimelineViewController.swift
+++ b/Tusker/Screens/Timeline/TimelineViewController.swift
@@ -125,6 +125,8 @@ class TimelineViewController: UIViewController, TimelineLikeCollectionViewContro
                cell.update()
            }
         }
+        
+        NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(self, selector: #selector(sceneWillEnterForeground), name: UIScene.willEnterForegroundNotification, object: nil)
     }
     
     // separate method because InstanceTimelineViewController needs to be able to customize it
@@ -242,6 +244,20 @@ class TimelineViewController: UIViewController, TimelineLikeCollectionViewContro
 //        }
 //    }
     
+    @objc private func sceneWillEnterForeground(_ notification: Foundation.Notification) {
+        guard let scene = notification.object as? UIScene,
+              // view.window is nil when the VC is not on screen
+              view.window?.windowScene == scene else {
+            return
+        }
+        Task {
+            if case .idle = controller.state,
+               let presentItems = try? await loadInitial() {
+                insertPresentItemsIfNecessary(presentItems)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
     @objc func refresh() {
         Task {
             if case .notLoadedInitial = controller.state {
@@ -249,47 +265,8 @@ class TimelineViewController: UIViewController, TimelineLikeCollectionViewContro
             } else {
                 // I'm not sure whether this should move into TimelineLikeController/TimelineLikeCollectionViewController
                 let (_, presentItems) = await (controller.loadNewer(), try? loadInitial())
-                if let presentItems,
-                   case .status(id: let id, state: _) = dataSource.snapshot().itemIdentifiers(inSection: .statuses).first {
-                    // if there's no overlap between presentItems and the existing items in the data source, prompt the user to scroll to present
-                    if !presentItems.contains(id) {
-                        var snapshot = self.dataSource.snapshot()
-                        let currentItems = snapshot.itemIdentifiers(inSection: .statuses)
-                        guard let item = currentItems.first,
-                              case .status(id: id, state: _) = item else {
-                            return
-                        }
-
-                        // remove any existing gap if there is one
-                        if let index = currentItems.lastIndex(of: .gap) {
-                            snapshot.deleteItems(Array(currentItems[index...]))
-                        }
-                        snapshot.insertItems([.gap], beforeItem: item)
-                        snapshot.insertItems(presentItems.map { .status(id: $0, state: .unknown) }, beforeItem: .gap)
-                        
-                        // use a snapshot of the collection view to hide the flicker as the content offset changes and then changes back
-                        let snapshotView = collectionView.snapshotView(afterScreenUpdates: false)!
-                        snapshotView.layer.zPosition = 1000
-                        snapshotView.frame = view.bounds
-                        view.addSubview(snapshotView)
-                        
-                        let bottomOffset = collectionView.contentSize.height - collectionView.contentOffset.y
-                        self.dataSource.apply(snapshot, animatingDifferences: false) {
-                            self.collectionView.contentOffset = CGPoint(x: 0, y: self.collectionView.contentSize.height - bottomOffset)
-                            snapshotView.removeFromSuperview()
-                        }
-                        
-                        var config = ToastConfiguration(title: "Jump to present")
-                        config.edge = .top
-                        config.systemImageName = "arrow.up"
-                        config.dismissAutomaticallyAfter = 4
-                        config.action = { [unowned self] toast in
-                            toast.dismissToast(animated: true)
-
-                            self.collectionView.scrollToTop()
-                        }
-                        self.showToast(configuration: config, animated: true)
-                    }
+                if let presentItems {
+                    insertPresentItemsIfNecessary(presentItems)
                 }
             }
             #if !targetEnvironment(macCatalyst)
@@ -298,6 +275,68 @@ class TimelineViewController: UIViewController, TimelineLikeCollectionViewContro
         }
     }
     
+    private func insertPresentItemsIfNecessary(_ presentItems: [String]) {
+        var snapshot = dataSource.snapshot()
+        let currentItems = snapshot.itemIdentifiers(inSection: .statuses)
+        if case .status(id: let firstID, state: _) = currentItems.first,
+           // if there's no overlap between presentItems and the existing items in the data source, insert the present items and prompt the user
+           !presentItems.contains(firstID) {
+            let applySnapshotBeforeScrolling: Bool
+            
+            // remove any existing gap, if there is one
+            if let index = currentItems.lastIndex(of: .gap) {
+                snapshot.deleteItems(Array(currentItems[index...]))
+                
+                let statusesSection = snapshot.indexOfSection(.statuses)!
+                if collectionView.indexPathsForVisibleItems.contains(IndexPath(row: index, section: statusesSection)) {
+                    // the gap cell is on screen
+                    applySnapshotBeforeScrolling = false
+                } else if let topMostVisibleCell = collectionView.indexPathsForVisibleItems.first(where: { $0.section == statusesSection }),
+                          index < topMostVisibleCell.row {
+                    // the gap cell is above the top, so applying the snapshot would remove the currently-viewed statuses
+                    applySnapshotBeforeScrolling = false
+                } else {
+                    // the gap cell is below the bottom of the screen
+                    applySnapshotBeforeScrolling = true
+                }
+            } else {
+                // there is no existing gap
+                applySnapshotBeforeScrolling = true
+            }
+            snapshot.insertItems([.gap], beforeItem: currentItems.first!)
+            snapshot.insertItems(presentItems.map { .status(id: $0, state: .unknown) }, beforeItem: .gap)
+            
+            if applySnapshotBeforeScrolling {
+                // use a snapshot of the collection view to hide the flicker as the content offset changes and then changes back
+                let snapshotView = collectionView.snapshotView(afterScreenUpdates: false)!
+                snapshotView.layer.zPosition = 1000
+                snapshotView.frame = view.bounds
+                view.addSubview(snapshotView)
+                
+                let bottomOffset = collectionView.contentSize.height - collectionView.contentOffset.y
+                self.dataSource.apply(snapshot, animatingDifferences: false) {
+                    self.collectionView.contentOffset = CGPoint(x: 0, y: self.collectionView.contentSize.height - bottomOffset)
+                    snapshotView.removeFromSuperview()
+                }
+            }
+            
+            var config = ToastConfiguration(title: "Jump to present")
+            config.edge = .top
+            config.systemImageName = "arrow.up"
+            config.dismissAutomaticallyAfter = 4
+            config.action = { [unowned self] toast in
+                toast.dismissToast(animated: true)
+                
+                if !applySnapshotBeforeScrolling {
+                    self.dataSource.apply(snapshot, animatingDifferences: false)
+                }
+                
+                self.collectionView.scrollToTop()
+            }
+            self.showToast(configuration: config, animated: true)
+        }
+    }
+    
 }
 
 extension TimelineViewController {