diff --git a/crates/appview/src/firehose.rs b/crates/appview/src/firehose.rs
index e08de65..5c9703c 100644
--- a/crates/appview/src/firehose.rs
+++ b/crates/appview/src/firehose.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 use anyhow::Result;
 use at_firehose::JetstreamEvent;
+use serde_json::Value;
 use sqlx::PgPool;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicI64, AtomicU64, Ordering};
 use std::sync::Arc;
@@ -133,13 +134,17 @@ impl IndexHandler {
                 }
             },
             "identity" => {
-                trace!(did = %ev.did, "identity event (logged only)");
-                let _ = handle_identity(&ev);
+                if let Err(e) = handle_identity(&self.db, &ev).await {
+                    warn!(error = %e, did = %ev.did, "handle_identity failed");
+                    return Ok(()); // don't advance cursor; let next replay retry
+                }
                 true
             }
             "account" => {
-                trace!(did = %ev.did, "account event (logged only)");
-                let _ = handle_account(&ev);
+                if let Err(e) = handle_account(&self.db, &ev).await {
+                    warn!(error = %e, did = %ev.did, "handle_account failed");
+                    return Ok(()); // don't advance cursor; let next replay retry
+                }
                 true
             }
             other => {
@@ -164,16 +169,67 @@ impl IndexHandler {
     }
 }
 
-fn handle_identity(_ev: &JetstreamEvent) -> Result<()> {
-    info!("identity change (DID doc rotation)");
+/// `identity` event — Jetstream tells us a DID's handle changed.
+///
+/// The Jetstream payload includes `identity.handle` (the *current*
+/// handle, since the event fires after every handle change) and
+/// optionally `identity.did` (the DID — redundant with the outer
+/// `ev.did` but we accept both). We pull the handle out and run it
+/// through `indexer::backfill_handle` so every existing post row for
+/// that DID gets the new value. The COALESCE guard inside
+/// `indexer::PostRow::from_record` keeps empty strings from
+/// clobbering this backfilled value when a later `commit` event
+/// arrives.
+async fn handle_identity(db: &PgPool, ev: &JetstreamEvent) -> Result<()> {
+    let handle = extract_handle(&ev.identity).or_else(|| extract_handle(&ev.account));
+    let Some(handle) = handle else {
+        // Some identity events carry only a DID-doc rotation signal
+        // with no handle payload — those are uninteresting for our
+        // purpose. Advance the cursor anyway.
+        debug!(did = %ev.did, "identity event without a usable handle payload");
+        return Ok(());
+    };
+    let rows = indexer::backfill_handle(db, &ev.did, &handle).await?;
+    info!(
+        did = %ev.did,
+        handle = %handle,
+        rows_updated = rows,
+        "backfilled handle on posts"
+    );
     Ok(())
 }
 
-fn handle_account(_ev: &JetstreamEvent) -> Result<()> {
-    info!("account change (active/-status)");
+/// `account` event — Jetstream tells us an account's active/deactive
+/// status changed. We mirror the handle-backfill behaviour in case
+/// the `account` payload carries the verified handle alongside
+/// `active`; many real-world identities show the handle there even
+/// when no `identity` event was emitted.
+async fn handle_account(db: &PgPool, ev: &JetstreamEvent) -> Result<()> {
+    let Some(handle) = extract_handle(&ev.account) else {
+        return Ok(());
+    };
+    let rows = indexer::backfill_handle(db, &ev.did, &handle).await?;
+    info!(
+        did = %ev.did,
+        handle = %handle,
+        rows_updated = rows,
+        "backfilled handle on posts (account event)"
+    );
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// Pull a handle string out of a Jetstream event fragment. Returns
+/// `None` if the fragment is absent or doesn't carry a usable
+/// `handle` string field.
+fn extract_handle(fragment: &Option<Value>) -> Option<String> {
+    fragment
+        .as_ref()
+        .and_then(|v| v.get("handle"))
+        .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
+        .map(|s| s.trim().to_string())
+        .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+}
+
 /// Spawn the background task that drains the cursor-flush channel and
 /// writes the running maximum to the DB. Returns when the receiver is
 /// dropped (i.e. the main process is shutting down).