diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 005119b..8e8299d 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.4.1
+2.4.2
diff --git a/app/static/css/style.css b/app/static/css/style.css
index cd62f62..d01d3df 100644
--- a/app/static/css/style.css
+++ b/app/static/css/style.css
@@ -118,7 +118,9 @@ main {
     white-space: nowrap;
 }
 
-.channel-sidebar-item .sidebar-unread-badge {
+/* Same badge in the sidebar (wide) and the navbar dropdown (narrow) */
+.channel-sidebar-item .sidebar-unread-badge,
+.channel-selector-item .sidebar-unread-badge {
     background-color: var(--sender-color);
     color: white;
     border-radius: 10px;
diff --git a/docs/whatsnew.md b/docs/whatsnew.md
index 36c1b32..701767b 100644
--- a/docs/whatsnew.md
+++ b/docs/whatsnew.md
@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@ For deep technical notes, see [architecture.md](architecture.md). For the full g
 
 ---
 
+## 2.4.2 — 2026-07-31
+
+### Fixes
+
+- **Unread counts stand out in the channel list on a phone.** On a wide screen, a channel with unread messages shows the count in a blue badge next to its name. On a narrow screen the channel list is a drop-down from the top bar, and there the same number was drawn in plain text, the same colour and size as everything else in the row — easy to read as part of the timestamp and easy to miss entirely. It is now the same blue badge as on a wide screen.
+
+---
+
 ## 2.4.1 — 2026-07-31
 
 ### Fixes