diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/itsaky/androidide/app/IDEApplication.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/itsaky/androidide/app/IDEApplication.kt
index d987d688aa..f5ed908b5b 100755
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/itsaky/androidide/app/IDEApplication.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/itsaky/androidide/app/IDEApplication.kt
@@ -157,6 +157,11 @@ class IDEApplication :
 		val cachedFilesDir: File by lazy { instance.filesDir }
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Only a *finishing* activity releases the reference here. A plain pause leaves the activity
+	 * alive - backgrounded, or something drawn on top of it - and callers like FlashbarUtils'
+	 * `withActivity` still need it; [onActivityDestroyed] covers the rest.
+	 */
 	override fun onActivityPostPaused(activity: Activity) {
 		super.onActivityPostPaused(activity)
 		if (foregroundActivity == activity && activity.isFinishing) {
@@ -171,6 +176,17 @@ class IDEApplication :
 		_foregroundActivity.update { activity }
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * [onActivityPostPaused] only clears the reference for *finishing* activities, so a rotation
+	 * or a system kill would leave the destroyed activity retained by this global [StateFlow].
+	 * The compare-and-set keeps an already-resumed successor (e.g. A finishes into B) in place.
+	 */
+	override fun onActivityDestroyed(activity: Activity) {
+		if (_foregroundActivity.compareAndSet(activity, null)) {
+			logger.debug("foregroundActivity = null (destroyed {})", activity.javaClass)
+		}
+	}
+
 	@OptIn(DelicateCoroutinesApi::class)
 	override fun onCreate() {
 		instance = this
diff --git a/app/src/test/java/com/itsaky/androidide/app/ForegroundActivityTrackingTest.kt b/app/src/test/java/com/itsaky/androidide/app/ForegroundActivityTrackingTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6328ba7d8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/src/test/java/com/itsaky/androidide/app/ForegroundActivityTrackingTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+/*
+ *  This file is part of AndroidIDE.
+ *
+ *  AndroidIDE is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ *  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ *  the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ *  (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *  AndroidIDE is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ *  GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ *   along with AndroidIDE.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+package com.itsaky.androidide.app
+
+import android.app.Activity
+import androidx.test.core.app.ApplicationProvider
+import com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat
+import io.mockk.every
+import io.mockk.mockk
+import org.junit.After
+import org.junit.Before
+import org.junit.Test
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith
+import org.robolectric.RobolectricTestRunner
+import org.robolectric.annotation.Config
+
+/**
+ * [IDEApplication.foregroundActivityState] is process-global, so anything it still points at
+ * outlives the activity it names. ADFA-5252: only *finishing* activities were cleared, which
+ * leaked an activity destroyed by an unhandled configuration change or a background reclaim.
+ *
+ * Every case sets its own starting state through the resume callback, since the application under
+ * test is the process singleton.
+ */
+@RunWith(RobolectricTestRunner::class)
+// Robolectric defaults to targetSdk (28), where Application.ActivityLifecycleCallbacks has no
+// onActivityPreResumed/onActivityPostPaused at all -- resolving the super call throws
+// NoSuchMethodError. Both callbacks were added in API 29.
+@Config(sdk = [29])
+class ForegroundActivityTrackingTest {
+	private lateinit var application: IDEApplication
+	private var previousTestMode: String? = null
+
+	@Before
+	fun setUp() {
+		previousTestMode = System.setProperty("androidide.test.mode", "true")
+		application = ApplicationProvider.getApplicationContext()
+	}
+
+	@After
+	fun tearDown() {
+		// The property is JVM-global, so leaving it set would leak into any test that runs after
+		// this class in the same worker.
+		val previous = previousTestMode
+		if (previous == null) {
+			System.clearProperty("androidide.test.mode")
+		} else {
+			System.setProperty("androidide.test.mode", previous)
+		}
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	fun givenNoTrackedActivity_whenOneIsResumed_thenItBecomesTheForegroundActivity() {
+		val activity = activity(finishing = false)
+
+		application.onActivityPreResumed(activity)
+
+		assertThat(application.foregroundActivity).isSameInstanceAs(activity)
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	fun givenTheForegroundActivity_whenItIsDestroyed_thenTheReferenceIsCleared() {
+		val activity = activity(finishing = false)
+		application.onActivityPreResumed(activity)
+
+		application.onActivityDestroyed(activity)
+
+		assertThat(application.foregroundActivity).isNull()
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	fun givenASuccessorHasResumed_whenThePreviousActivityIsDestroyed_thenTheSuccessorIsKept() {
+		val previous = activity(finishing = true)
+		val current = activity(finishing = false)
+		application.onActivityPreResumed(previous)
+		application.onActivityPreResumed(current)
+
+		// A finishes into B: B resumes before A is destroyed, so A's destroy must not win.
+		application.onActivityDestroyed(previous)
+
+		assertThat(application.foregroundActivity).isSameInstanceAs(current)
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	fun givenTheForegroundActivityIsFinishing_whenItPauses_thenTheReferenceIsCleared() {
+		val activity = activity(finishing = true)
+		application.onActivityPreResumed(activity)
+
+		application.onActivityPostPaused(activity)
+
+		assertThat(application.foregroundActivity).isNull()
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	fun givenTheForegroundActivityIsNotFinishing_whenItPauses_thenTheReferenceIsKept() {
+		val activity = activity(finishing = false)
+		application.onActivityPreResumed(activity)
+
+		application.onActivityPostPaused(activity)
+
+		assertThat(application.foregroundActivity).isSameInstanceAs(activity)
+	}
+
+	private fun activity(finishing: Boolean): Activity =
+		mockk<Activity>(relaxed = true).also {
+			every { it.isFinishing } returns finishing
+		}
+}