diff --git a/static/messages.js b/static/messages.js
index e7bcb73c..979d5f9d 100644
--- a/static/messages.js
+++ b/static/messages.js
@@ -8128,7 +8128,22 @@ function _startHiddenActiveStreamPoll(sid) {
     if (S.activeStreamId) return; // already rendering; wait it out
     try {
       fetch(_apiUrl('api/session/status?session_id=' + encodeURIComponent(sid)), {credentials: 'same-origin'})
-        .then(r => r.ok ? r.json() : null)
+        .then(r => {
+          // #7299: 404 Not Found / 410 Gone are TERMINAL for this
+          // session-owned poll. The session has been deleted or no
+          // longer exists in the active state directory, so further
+          // polls are guaranteed to fail. Stop the poll immediately
+          // to avoid the infinite 404 loop on stale background tabs
+          // (one tab could fire ~10 such requests per minute; multiple
+          // tabs multiply the noise). Transient failures (5xx, rate
+          // limit, network error) keep polling — only the missing
+          // session itself is terminal.
+          if ((r.status === 404 || r.status === 410) && _sessionStreamHiddenPollSid === sid) {
+            _stopHiddenActiveStreamPoll();
+            return null;
+          }
+          return r.ok ? r.json() : null;
+        })
         .then(d => {
           if (!d || _sessionStreamHiddenPollSid !== sid) return;
           const streamId = d.active_stream_id;
diff --git a/tests/test_hidden_tab_server_initiated_turn.py b/tests/test_hidden_tab_server_initiated_turn.py
index cad1e959..ceab3ccc 100644
--- a/tests/test_hidden_tab_server_initiated_turn.py
+++ b/tests/test_hidden_tab_server_initiated_turn.py
@@ -89,7 +89,9 @@ def test_hidden_poll_hits_session_status_and_attaches_as_replay():
     """
     start = MESSAGES_JS.find("function _startHiddenActiveStreamPoll(sid)")
     assert start != -1
-    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 2400]
+    # #7299 added a 404/410 terminal-stop branch to the response handler.
+    # The window must cover the original fetch chain + the new branch.
+    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 8000]
     assert "api/session/status?session_id=" in body
     assert "d.active_stream_id" in body
     # attaches as replay (recovered=true) — turn is already mid-flight
@@ -174,7 +176,7 @@ def test_poll_stops_only_when_attach_succeeds():
     assert start != -1, "_startHiddenActiveStreamPoll signature not found"
     # Window 2400: the multi-pane follow-up adds an explanatory comment block
     # before the attach call, pushing it past a narrower slice.
-    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 3200]
+    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 8000]
     assert "const attached = _attachServerInitiatedStream(sid, streamId, true)" in body
     # Stop the poll only on a true attach (the false branch keeps polling within
     # the bounded-retry budget rather than stopping).
diff --git a/tests/test_issue7299_hidden_poll_stops_on_404.py b/tests/test_issue7299_hidden_poll_stops_on_404.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..96ea376c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_issue7299_hidden_poll_stops_on_404.py
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+"""Regression tests for issue #7299 — hidden-tab active-stream poll
+keeps retrying deleted sessions forever, generating an invisible stream
+of permanent 404 requests from stale background tabs.
+
+When a tab is hidden, Hermes WebUI replaces the persistent per-session
+SSE connection with a lightweight ``GET /api/session/status`` poll
+every six seconds. If the tracked session has been deleted or no
+longer exists in the active state directory, the endpoint returns
+``404``, but the client previously converted every non-2xx response to
+``null`` and kept the interval alive forever — one tab generates up to
+ten requests per minute whenever browser timer throttling allows it.
+
+The fix: in ``_startHiddenActiveStreamPoll``'s fetch chain, treat
+``404 Not Found`` and ``410 Gone`` as **terminal** for the
+session-owned poll — call ``_stopHiddenActiveStreamPoll()`` so the
+interval and the bound ``_sessionStreamHiddenPollSid`` are cleared
+together. Transient failures (5xx, rate-limit, network error) keep
+polling because they do not necessarily mean the session is gone; a
+later tick may catch a server-initiated turn starting while the tab
+remains hidden.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+MESSAGES_JS = (REPO_ROOT / "static" / "messages.js").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Source-shape: the fetch chain in ``_startHiddenActiveStreamPoll`` must
+# gate the terminal 404/410 path through ``_stopHiddenActiveStreamPoll``
+# and the bound sid check. A silent reversion to the pre-fix
+# "convert all non-2xx to null and keep polling" form fails the suite.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_hidden_poll_stops_on_404_response() -> None:
+    """The fetch chain must call ``_stopHiddenActiveStreamPoll`` on a 404.
+
+    A 404 from ``/api/session/status`` means the session has been
+    deleted or no longer exists in the active state directory. The
+    pre-fix code converted every non-2xx to ``null`` and never
+    stopped the interval — so the same 404 fired every six seconds
+    for the lifetime of the hidden tab. Pin the contract that a 404
+    now tears down the poll.
+    """
+    # The check is anchored on the hidden-poll function so a future
+    # refactor cannot satisfy it with an unrelated status-404
+    # handler in a different code path.
+    start = MESSAGES_JS.find("function _startHiddenActiveStreamPoll(sid)")
+    assert start != -1
+    # 3.6 KB is enough to cover the fetch → first .then → second .then
+    # block, even after the #7299 fix added the 404/410 terminal
+    # branch. The hidden poll is one of the larger functions in the
+    # file, so we take a wide window to be resilient to a small
+    # reformat.
+    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 8000]
+    assert "r.status === 404" in body, (
+        "the hidden poll must check r.status === 404 in the fetch "
+        "response so a deleted session no longer triggers an "
+        "infinite 404 loop on a stale background tab"
+    )
+    assert "_stopHiddenActiveStreamPoll" in body, (
+        "the hidden poll must call _stopHiddenActiveStreamPoll when "
+        "the response is terminal (404/410) so the interval is "
+        "cleared instead of left running"
+    )
+
+
+def test_hidden_poll_stops_on_410_response() -> None:
+    """The fetch chain must also call ``_stopHiddenActiveStreamPoll`` on 410.
+
+    Some session-state endpoints use ``410 Gone`` (rather than
+    ``404 Not Found``) for "this session id is permanently gone".
+    Both are terminal for the hidden poll — the pre-fix code treated
+    them identically, so the fix must handle both.
+    """
+    start = MESSAGES_JS.find("function _startHiddenActiveStreamPoll(sid)")
+    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 8000]
+    assert "r.status === 410" in body, (
+        "the hidden poll must check r.status === 410 in the fetch "
+        "response so a 'gone' session also tears down the poll, "
+        "matching the 404 contract"
+    )
+
+
+def test_hidden_poll_404_stop_guards_on_bound_sid() -> None:
+    """The 404/410 stop path must check the bound ``_sessionStreamHiddenPollSid``.
+
+    The same fetch chain is invoked on every tick of a 6-second
+    interval. A race can let a stale fetch's response land after
+    the user switched sessions — in that case ``_sessionStreamHiddenPollSid``
+    no longer matches the fetched ``sid``, and the stop must NOT
+    tear down the *new* session's poll. Pin the contract.
+    """
+    start = MESSAGES_JS.find("function _startHiddenActiveStreamPoll(sid)")
+    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 8000]
+    # The 404/410 branch must check the bound sid before stopping
+    # — pinned as a string match because the JS module is large
+    # and we want a regression to show up at a glance in CI.
+    assert "_sessionStreamHiddenPollSid === sid" in body, (
+        "the 404/410 stop path must guard on "
+        "_sessionStreamHiddenPollSid === sid so a stale fetch's "
+        "response cannot tear down a different session's poll"
+    )
+
+
+def test_hidden_poll_preserves_transient_failure_retry() -> None:
+    """5xx / rate-limit / network errors MUST keep polling (not stop).
+
+    The fix only narrows the stop path to terminal 404/410. Transient
+    failures (5xx, 429, network error) still produce ``null`` and
+    the next tick re-fires. A regression that broadens the stop
+    path to all non-2xx would re-introduce the original bug in
+    the opposite direction — the poll would die on a single
+    503 and never recover.
+    """
+    start = MESSAGES_JS.find("function _startHiddenActiveStreamPoll(sid)")
+    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 8000]
+    # The pre-fix ``r.ok ? r.json() : null`` fallback must still be
+    # present for any non-ok / non-terminal response.
+    assert "r.ok ? r.json() : null" in body, (
+        "the 5xx / rate-limit / network-error path must still "
+        "produce null and let the next tick re-fire; only 404/410 "
+        "should tear down the poll"
+    )
+
+
+def test_hidden_poll_starts_interval_unchanged() -> None:
+    """The interval is unchanged (still 6000 ms).
+
+    The fix is purely about the response handling, not the
+    cadence. A regression that doubles the interval (or removes
+    the immediate-fire) breaks the original contract — a turn
+    already running when the tab goes hidden must be caught
+    without waiting a full interval.
+    """
+    start = MESSAGES_JS.find("function _startHiddenActiveStreamPoll(sid)")
+    body = MESSAGES_JS[start:start + 8000]
+    assert "setInterval(tick, 6000)" in body, (
+        "the hidden poll must keep the 6000ms interval; the fix is "
+        "in the response handling, not the cadence"
+    )
+    # The immediate-fire call (no full interval wait) must also
+    # still be present so a turn already running when the tab goes
+    # hidden is caught without waiting a full interval.
+    assert "tick();" in body, (
+        "the immediate-fire tick() call must be preserved so a "
+        "turn already running when the tab goes hidden is caught "
+        "without waiting a full interval"
+    )