diff --git a/backend/src/routes/groups.js b/backend/src/routes/groups.js
index d012506..ce877fb 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/groups.js
+++ b/backend/src/routes/groups.js
@@ -56,7 +56,14 @@ router.get('/', authMiddleware, async (req, res) => {
         (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM messages m WHERE m.group_id=g.id AND m.is_deleted=FALSE) AS message_count,
         (SELECT m.content  FROM messages m WHERE m.group_id=g.id AND m.is_deleted=FALSE ORDER BY m.created_at DESC LIMIT 1) AS last_message,
         (SELECT m.created_at FROM messages m WHERE m.group_id=g.id AND m.is_deleted=FALSE ORDER BY m.created_at DESC LIMIT 1) AS last_message_at,
-        (SELECT m.user_id  FROM messages m WHERE m.group_id=g.id AND m.is_deleted=FALSE ORDER BY m.created_at DESC LIMIT 1) AS last_message_user_id
+        (SELECT m.user_id  FROM messages m WHERE m.group_id=g.id AND m.is_deleted=FALSE ORDER BY m.created_at DESC LIMIT 1) AS last_message_user_id,
+        (SELECT json_agg(t) FROM (
+          SELECT u2.id, u2.name, u2.avatar
+          FROM group_members gm2
+          JOIN users u2 ON gm2.user_id = u2.id
+          WHERE gm2.group_id = g.id AND u2.name != 'Deleted User'
+          ORDER BY u2.name LIMIT 4
+        ) t) AS member_previews
       FROM groups g JOIN group_members gm ON g.id=gm.group_id AND gm.user_id=$1
       LEFT JOIN users u ON g.owner_id=u.id WHERE g.type='private'
       ORDER BY last_message_at DESC NULLS LAST
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ImageLightbox.jsx b/frontend/src/components/ImageLightbox.jsx
index 8d011af..adf0918 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ImageLightbox.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ImageLightbox.jsx
@@ -4,16 +4,31 @@ import { createPortal } from 'react-dom';
 export default function ImageLightbox({ src, onClose }) {
   const overlayRef = useRef(null);
 
-  // Close on Escape; signal global pinch handler to stand down while open
+  // Close on Escape; enable native pinch-zoom on the image while open
   useEffect(() => {
     const handler = (e) => { if (e.key === 'Escape') onClose(); };
     window.addEventListener('keydown', handler);
     document.body.style.overflow = 'hidden';
+
+    // Signal the global font-scale pinch handler in main.jsx to stand down
     document.documentElement.dataset.lightboxOpen = '1';
+
+    // Enable native browser pinch-to-zoom by removing the scale restrictions.
+    // The original content is restored exactly on close.
+    const viewport = document.querySelector('meta[name="viewport"]');
+    const originalContent = viewport?.content ?? '';
+    if (viewport) {
+      viewport.content = originalContent
+        .replace(/,?\s*maximum-scale=[^,]*/g, '')
+        .replace(/,?\s*user-scalable=[^,]*/g, '')
+        .trim();
+    }
+
     return () => {
       window.removeEventListener('keydown', handler);
       document.body.style.overflow = '';
       delete document.documentElement.dataset.lightboxOpen;
+      if (viewport) viewport.content = originalContent;
     };
   }, [onClose]);
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.jsx b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.jsx
index 553d692..63ef527 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.jsx
@@ -13,6 +13,73 @@ function nameToColor(name) {
   return AVATAR_COLORS[(name || '').charCodeAt(0) % AVATAR_COLORS.length];
 }
 
+// Layouts for composite avatars inside a 44×44 circle (all values in px)
+const COMPOSITE_LAYOUTS = {
+  1: [{ top: 4, left: 4, size: 36 }],
+  2: [
+    { top: 11, left: 1, size: 21 },
+    { top: 11, right: 1, size: 21 },
+  ],
+  3: [
+    { top: 2, left: 3, size: 19 },
+    { top: 2, right: 3, size: 19 },
+    { bottom: 2, left: 12, size: 19 },
+  ],
+  4: [
+    { top: 1, left: 1, size: 20 },
+    { top: 1, right: 1, size: 20 },
+    { bottom: 1, left: 1, size: 20 },
+    { bottom: 1, right: 1, size: 20 },
+  ],
+};
+
+function GroupAvatarComposite({ memberPreviews, fallbackLabel, fallbackColor }) {
+  const members = (memberPreviews || []).slice(0, 4);
+  const n = members.length;
+  const positions = COMPOSITE_LAYOUTS[n];
+
+  if (!positions) {
+    return (
+      <div className="group-icon" style={{ background: fallbackColor, borderRadius: 8, fontSize: 11, fontWeight: 700 }}>
+        {fallbackLabel}
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <div className="group-icon" style={{ background: '#1a1a2e', position: 'relative', padding: 0, overflow: 'hidden' }}>
+      {members.map((m, i) => {
+        const pos = positions[i];
+        const base = {
+          position: 'absolute',
+          width: pos.size,
+          height: pos.size,
+          borderRadius: '50%',
+          ...(pos.top    !== undefined ? { top:    pos.top    } : {}),
+          ...(pos.bottom !== undefined ? { bottom: pos.bottom } : {}),
+          ...(pos.left   !== undefined ? { left:   pos.left   } : {}),
+          ...(pos.right  !== undefined ? { right:  pos.right  } : {}),
+          overflow: 'hidden',
+          flexShrink: 0,
+        };
+        if (m.avatar) {
+          return <img key={m.id} src={m.avatar} alt={m.name} style={{ ...base, objectFit: 'cover' }} />;
+        }
+        return (
+          <div key={m.id} style={{
+            ...base,
+            background: nameToColor(m.name),
+            display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'center',
+            fontSize: Math.round(pos.size * 0.42), fontWeight: 700, color: 'white',
+          }}>
+            {(m.name || '')[0]?.toUpperCase()}
+          </div>
+        );
+      })}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
 function useAppSettings() {
   const [settings, setSettings] = useState({ app_name: 'rosterchirp', logo_url: '', color_avatar_public: '', color_avatar_dm: '' });
   const fetchSettings = () => {
@@ -98,9 +165,9 @@ export default function Sidebar({ groups, activeGroupId, onSelectGroup, notifica
               {(group.peer_real_name || group.name)[0]?.toUpperCase()}
             </div>
           ) : group.is_managed && group.is_multi_group ? (
-            <div className="group-icon" style={{ background: settings.color_avatar_dm || '#a142f4', borderRadius: 8, fontSize: 11, fontWeight: 700 }}>MG</div>
+            <GroupAvatarComposite memberPreviews={group.member_previews} fallbackLabel="MG" fallbackColor={settings.color_avatar_dm || '#a142f4'} />
           ) : group.is_managed ? (
-            <div className="group-icon" style={{ background: settings.color_avatar_dm || '#a142f4', borderRadius: 8, fontSize: 11, fontWeight: 700 }}>UG</div>
+            <GroupAvatarComposite memberPreviews={group.member_previews} fallbackLabel="UG" fallbackColor={settings.color_avatar_dm || '#a142f4'} />
           ) : (
             <div className="group-icon" style={{ background: group.type === 'public' ? (settings.color_avatar_public || '#1a73e8') : (settings.color_avatar_dm || '#a142f4') }}>
               {group.type === 'public' ? '#' : group.name[0]?.toUpperCase()}