diff --git a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/AppModules.kt b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/AppModules.kt
index 466779ad6..bd3b9d242 100644
--- a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/AppModules.kt
+++ b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/AppModules.kt
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ class AppModules(
     // image cache in disk for coil
     val diskCache: DiskCache by lazy {
         Log.d("AppModules", "ImageCacheFactory Init")
-        ImageCacheFactory.newDisk(appContext)
+        ImageCacheFactory.newDisk(appContext, applicationIOScope)
     }
 
     // image cache in memory for coil
diff --git a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/DeferredDeleteFileSystem.kt b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/DeferredDeleteFileSystem.kt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4242c51ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/DeferredDeleteFileSystem.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Vitor Pamplona
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
+ * this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
+ * the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use,
+ * copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the
+ * Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+ * copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
+ * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR
+ * COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
+ * AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
+ * WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+package com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.service.images
+
+import com.vitorpamplona.quartz.utils.Log
+import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
+import kotlinx.coroutines.channels.Channel
+import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
+import kotlinx.coroutines.yield
+import okio.FileHandle
+import okio.FileSystem
+import okio.ForwardingFileSystem
+import okio.Path
+import okio.Sink
+import java.io.IOException
+
+/**
+ * okio [FileSystem] wrapper that moves Coil's eviction `unlink()` off the
+ * cache write path.
+ *
+ * Coil's `DiskLruCache` runs `trimToSize()` inline inside `commit()`: once the
+ * cache is saturated, every new entry written during a feed scroll triggers a
+ * burst of synchronous `delete()` syscalls on the same thread, contending with
+ * the reads that paint on-screen avatars. That is the scroll stall.
+ *
+ * This wrapper intercepts `delete()` — exactly the call eviction makes — and,
+ * instead of unlinking inline, enqueues the path and unlinks it later on a
+ * background coroutine, one path at a time with a `yield()` between each so the
+ * IO dispatcher stays responsive. Coil keeps full ownership of LRU order, keys,
+ * and `size` accounting; only the syscall is rescheduled.
+ *
+ * Re-create race: if Coil re-fetches a URL whose entry was just evicted, it
+ * writes a new file at the same path. [atomicMove], [sink], [appendingSink],
+ * [openReadWrite] and [createDirectory] therefore cancel any pending delete of
+ * the path they are about to (re)create, so the drainer can never unlink a
+ * freshly written file.
+ *
+ * The drainer unlinks each path while holding [lock], so a concurrent
+ * write-path call that needs to cancel a delete waits at most one in-flight
+ * `unlink()` — O(1), never the O(N) burst this class exists to remove.
+ *
+ * This instance is dedicated to Coil's image disk cache, so every path it sees
+ * is a cache file and deferring all `delete()` calls is safe.
+ */
+class DeferredDeleteFileSystem(
+    delegate: FileSystem,
+    scope: CoroutineScope,
+) : ForwardingFileSystem(delegate) {
+    companion object {
+        private const val TAG = "DeferredDeleteFileSystem"
+    }
+
+    private val lock = Any()
+    private val pendingDeletes = LinkedHashSet<Path>()
+    private val wakeUp = Channel<Unit>(Channel.CONFLATED)
+
+    init {
+        scope.launch {
+            for (signal in wakeUp) {
+                drainPending()
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    override fun delete(
+        path: Path,
+        mustExist: Boolean,
+    ) {
+        synchronized(lock) { pendingDeletes.add(path) }
+        wakeUp.trySend(Unit)
+    }
+
+    override fun atomicMove(
+        source: Path,
+        target: Path,
+    ) {
+        synchronized(lock) {
+            pendingDeletes.remove(source)
+            pendingDeletes.remove(target)
+        }
+        super.atomicMove(source, target)
+    }
+
+    override fun sink(
+        file: Path,
+        mustCreate: Boolean,
+    ): Sink {
+        synchronized(lock) { pendingDeletes.remove(file) }
+        return super.sink(file, mustCreate)
+    }
+
+    override fun appendingSink(
+        file: Path,
+        mustExist: Boolean,
+    ): Sink {
+        synchronized(lock) { pendingDeletes.remove(file) }
+        return super.appendingSink(file, mustExist)
+    }
+
+    override fun openReadWrite(
+        file: Path,
+        mustCreate: Boolean,
+        mustExist: Boolean,
+    ): FileHandle {
+        synchronized(lock) { pendingDeletes.remove(file) }
+        return super.openReadWrite(file, mustCreate, mustExist)
+    }
+
+    override fun createDirectory(
+        dir: Path,
+        mustCreate: Boolean,
+    ) {
+        synchronized(lock) { pendingDeletes.remove(dir) }
+        super.createDirectory(dir, mustCreate)
+    }
+
+    /** Visible for tests: number of paths waiting to be unlinked. */
+    fun pendingCount(): Int = synchronized(lock) { pendingDeletes.size }
+
+    /** Visible for tests: unlink everything currently queued, synchronously. */
+    fun drainNow() {
+        while (true) {
+            synchronized(lock) {
+                val iterator = pendingDeletes.iterator()
+                if (!iterator.hasNext()) return
+                val path = iterator.next()
+                iterator.remove()
+                deleteUnderLock(path)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private suspend fun drainPending() {
+        while (true) {
+            synchronized(lock) {
+                val iterator = pendingDeletes.iterator()
+                if (!iterator.hasNext()) return
+                val path = iterator.next()
+                iterator.remove()
+                deleteUnderLock(path)
+            }
+            yield()
+        }
+    }
+
+    private fun deleteUnderLock(path: Path) {
+        try {
+            super.delete(path, mustExist = false)
+        } catch (e: IOException) {
+            Log.w(TAG, "deferred delete failed: $path", e)
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/ImageCacheFactory.kt b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/ImageCacheFactory.kt
index ecd00e562..798a910d0 100644
--- a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/ImageCacheFactory.kt
+++ b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/ImageCacheFactory.kt
@@ -24,14 +24,22 @@ import android.content.Context
 import coil3.disk.DiskCache
 import coil3.memory.MemoryCache
 import com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.service.safeCacheDir
+import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
+import okio.FileSystem
 import okio.Path.Companion.toOkioPath
 
 class ImageCacheFactory {
     companion object {
-        fun newDisk(app: Context): DiskCache =
+        fun newDisk(
+            app: Context,
+            scope: CoroutineScope,
+        ): DiskCache =
             DiskCache
                 .Builder()
                 .directory(app.safeCacheDir().resolve("image_cache").toOkioPath())
+                // Defers Coil's inline eviction unlink() onto [scope] so a
+                // saturated cache doesn't stall feed-scroll IO on the write path.
+                .fileSystem(DeferredDeleteFileSystem(FileSystem.SYSTEM, scope))
                 .maxSizePercent(0.2)
                 .maximumMaxSizeBytes(1024 * 1024 * 1024) // 1GB
                 .build()
diff --git a/amethyst/src/test/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/DeferredDeleteFileSystemTest.kt b/amethyst/src/test/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/DeferredDeleteFileSystemTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0354fde3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/amethyst/src/test/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/images/DeferredDeleteFileSystemTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,292 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Vitor Pamplona
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
+ * this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
+ * the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use,
+ * copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the
+ * Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+ * copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
+ * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR
+ * COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
+ * AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
+ * WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+package com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.service.images
+
+import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
+import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
+import kotlinx.coroutines.SupervisorJob
+import kotlinx.coroutines.cancel
+import okio.FileSystem
+import okio.Path
+import okio.Path.Companion.toOkioPath
+import okio.buffer
+import org.junit.After
+import org.junit.Assert.assertEquals
+import org.junit.Assert.assertFalse
+import org.junit.Assert.assertTrue
+import org.junit.Before
+import org.junit.Test
+import java.io.File
+import java.nio.file.Files
+
+class DeferredDeleteFileSystemTest {
+    private lateinit var tmpRoot: File
+    private lateinit var tmpDir: Path
+
+    @Before
+    fun setUp() {
+        tmpRoot = Files.createTempDirectory("deferred-delete-test").toFile()
+        tmpDir = tmpRoot.toOkioPath()
+    }
+
+    @After
+    fun tearDown() {
+        tmpRoot.deleteRecursively()
+    }
+
+    private fun write(
+        name: String,
+        content: String,
+    ): Path {
+        val path = tmpDir.resolve(name)
+        FileSystem.SYSTEM.write(path) { writeUtf8(content) }
+        return path
+    }
+
+    private fun read(path: Path): String = FileSystem.SYSTEM.read(path) { readUtf8() }
+
+    /**
+     * Builds a wrapper whose background drainer is immediately cancelled, so
+     * the test drives eviction deterministically through [DeferredDeleteFileSystem.drainNow].
+     * Nothing is enqueued before the cancel, so the drainer never processes a delete.
+     */
+    private fun newInertWrapper(): DeferredDeleteFileSystem {
+        val scope = CoroutineScope(Dispatchers.IO + SupervisorJob())
+        val fs = DeferredDeleteFileSystem(FileSystem.SYSTEM, scope)
+        scope.cancel("test drives drainNow() explicitly")
+        return fs
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun delete_doesNotUnlinkImmediately() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val path = write("a.txt", "hello")
+
+        fs.delete(path)
+
+        assertTrue("file must still exist right after delete()", FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(path))
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun drainNow_unlinksPendingFiles() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val a = write("a.txt", "1")
+        val b = write("b.txt", "2")
+
+        fs.delete(a)
+        fs.delete(b)
+        assertEquals(2, fs.pendingCount())
+
+        fs.drainNow()
+
+        assertFalse(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(a))
+        assertFalse(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(b))
+        assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun delete_dedupesSamePath() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val path = write("a.txt", "x")
+
+        fs.delete(path)
+        fs.delete(path)
+        fs.delete(path)
+
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun atomicMove_cancelsPendingDeleteOfTarget() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val target = write("entry.0", "old-evicted-content")
+        val source = write("entry.0.tmp", "fresh-refetched-content")
+
+        // Coil evicts the entry...
+        fs.delete(target)
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+
+        // ...then re-fetches the same URL and commits a new file to the same path.
+        fs.atomicMove(source, target)
+
+        // The pending delete of the target must have been cancelled.
+        assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+        fs.drainNow()
+        assertTrue("freshly committed file must survive", FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(target))
+        assertEquals("fresh-refetched-content", read(target))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun atomicMove_cancelsPendingDeleteOfSource() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val source = write("entry.0.tmp", "data")
+        val target = tmpDir.resolve("entry.0")
+
+        fs.delete(source)
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+
+        fs.atomicMove(source, target)
+
+        assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+        fs.drainNow()
+        assertTrue(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(target))
+        assertFalse(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(source))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun sink_cancelsPendingDeleteOfPath() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val path = write("entry.0", "old")
+
+        fs.delete(path)
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+
+        // Re-create the path by opening a sink and writing fresh content.
+        fs.sink(path, mustCreate = false).use { sink ->
+            sink.buffer().use { it.writeUtf8("new") }
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+        fs.drainNow()
+        assertTrue(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(path))
+        assertEquals("new", read(path))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun appendingSink_cancelsPendingDeleteOfPath() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val path = write("entry.0", "old")
+
+        fs.delete(path)
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+
+        fs.appendingSink(path, mustExist = false).use { sink ->
+            sink.buffer().use { it.writeUtf8("-more") }
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+        fs.drainNow()
+        assertTrue(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(path))
+        assertEquals("old-more", read(path))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun openReadWrite_cancelsPendingDeleteOfPath() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val path = write("entry.0", "old")
+
+        fs.delete(path)
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+
+        fs.openReadWrite(path, mustCreate = false, mustExist = false).use { handle ->
+            handle.write(0, "X".toByteArray(), 0, 1)
+        }
+
+        assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+        fs.drainNow()
+        assertTrue(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(path))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun createDirectory_cancelsPendingDeleteOfDir() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val dir = tmpDir.resolve("subdir")
+        FileSystem.SYSTEM.createDirectory(dir)
+
+        fs.delete(dir)
+        assertEquals(1, fs.pendingCount())
+
+        fs.createDirectory(dir, mustCreate = false)
+
+        assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+        fs.drainNow()
+        assertTrue(FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(dir))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun nonDeleteOperations_passThroughToDelegate() {
+        val fs = newInertWrapper()
+        val path = write("a.txt", "payload")
+
+        // Reads, metadata, and listing must work unchanged through the wrapper.
+        assertEquals("payload", fs.read(path) { readUtf8() })
+        assertTrue(fs.exists(path))
+        assertTrue(fs.metadataOrNull(path)?.isRegularFile == true)
+        assertTrue(fs.list(tmpDir).contains(path))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun backgroundDrainer_eventuallyUnlinks() {
+        val scope = CoroutineScope(Dispatchers.IO + SupervisorJob())
+        try {
+            val fs = DeferredDeleteFileSystem(FileSystem.SYSTEM, scope)
+            val path = write("bg.txt", "data")
+
+            fs.delete(path)
+
+            val deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 5_000
+            while (FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(path) && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(10)
+            }
+
+            assertFalse("background drainer should have unlinked the file", FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(path))
+            assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+        } finally {
+            scope.cancel("tearDown")
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun backgroundDrainer_handlesBurstThenReCreate() {
+        val scope = CoroutineScope(Dispatchers.IO + SupervisorJob())
+        try {
+            val fs = DeferredDeleteFileSystem(FileSystem.SYSTEM, scope)
+            // Evict a burst of entries.
+            val evicted = (1..50).map { write("e$it.0", "v$it") }
+            evicted.forEach { fs.delete(it) }
+
+            // Immediately re-create one of them (re-fetch race).
+            val reFetched = evicted[25]
+            fs.sink(reFetched, mustCreate = false).use { sink ->
+                sink.buffer().use { it.writeUtf8("refetched") }
+            }
+
+            val deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + 5_000
+            while (fs.pendingCount() > 0 && System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) {
+                Thread.sleep(10)
+            }
+
+            assertEquals(0, fs.pendingCount())
+            // Every evicted file is gone...
+            evicted.forEachIndexed { i, p ->
+                if (i == 25) {
+                    assertTrue("re-fetched file must survive the burst drain", FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(p))
+                    assertEquals("refetched", read(p))
+                } else {
+                    assertFalse("evicted file e${i + 1}.0 must be unlinked", FileSystem.SYSTEM.exists(p))
+                }
+            }
+        } finally {
+            scope.cancel("tearDown")
+        }
+    }
+}