diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/session-title-utils.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/session-title-utils.ts
index ce856512f7..26f975adeb 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/lib/session-title-utils.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/lib/session-title-utils.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,12 @@ const LEGACY_DEFAULT_TITLES = new Set([
   "nova conversa",
   "yeni görev",
   "yeni sohbet",
+  "neue aufgabe",
+  "nouvelle tâche",
+  "nueva tarea",
+  "neuer chat",
+  "nuevo chat",
+  "nouvelle discussion",
 ]);
 /** Sidebar/topbar title budget for the local first-prompt fallback. */
 const PROMPT_FALLBACK_TITLE_LENGTH = 48;
diff --git a/apps/desktop/test/session-title-prompt-fallback.test.mjs b/apps/desktop/test/session-title-prompt-fallback.test.mjs
index 9ccf46094f..a4d7ee5349 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/test/session-title-prompt-fallback.test.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/test/session-title-prompt-fallback.test.mjs
@@ -96,3 +96,52 @@ test("automatic AI titles stay plugin-owned", () => {
   assert.doesNotMatch(store, /triggerAutoTitleSummarization/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(main, /IPC\.invoke\.sessionSummarizeTitle/);
 });
+
+test("the German, French and Spanish placeholders are recognized as default titles (#1755)", async (t) => {
+  // The renderer lowercases chat.untitledTask before persisting; the host
+  // list and this legacy set must recognize those forms or auto-titling
+  // never runs in those locales. nav.newChat resolves through the same
+  // two-sided comparison.
+  const locales = [
+    ["de", "Neue Aufgabe", "Neuer Chat"],
+    ["fr", "Nouvelle tâche", "Nouvelle discussion"],
+    ["es", "Nueva tarea", "Nuevo chat"],
+  ];
+  for (const [locale, untitled, newChat] of locales) {
+    assert.equal(
+      catalogs[locale].chat.untitledTask,
+      untitled,
+      `${locale} catalog must still own its untitledTask label`,
+    );
+    assert.equal(
+      catalogs[locale].nav.newChat,
+      newChat,
+      `${locale} catalog must still own its newChat label`,
+    );
+    assert.equal(isDefaultSessionTitle(untitled), true, `${locale} untitledTask`);
+    assert.equal(
+      isDefaultSessionTitle(untitled.toLowerCase()),
+      true,
+      `${locale} untitledTask lowercased`,
+    );
+    assert.equal(isDefaultSessionTitle(newChat), true, `${locale} newChat`);
+    assert.equal(
+      isDefaultSessionTitle(newChat.toLowerCase()),
+      true,
+      `${locale} newChat lowercased`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Host side stays in sync: both label families, stored lowercase, compared
+  // through to_lowercase so a non-ASCII uppercase letter cannot slip past.
+  assert.match(
+    host,
+    /"neue aufgabe",\s*\n\s*"nouvelle tâche",\s*\n\s*"nueva tarea",\s*\n\s*"neuer chat",\s*\n\s*"nuevo chat",\s*\n\s*"nouvelle discussion",/,
+    "PLACEHOLDER_TITLES must carry the German, French and Spanish labels for both keys",
+  );
+  assert.match(
+    host,
+    /to_lowercase\(\)/,
+    "is_default_title compares through to_lowercase",
+  );
+});
diff --git a/crates/host-core/src/db/session_title_source_migration.rs b/crates/host-core/src/db/session_title_source_migration.rs
index 8c853a6a8d..0cc485c8e7 100644
--- a/crates/host-core/src/db/session_title_source_migration.rs
+++ b/crates/host-core/src/db/session_title_source_migration.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@ fn migrate_v22_to_v23_tx(tx: &Transaction<'_>) -> Result<()> {
                  WHEN title IN ('', 'New task', 'New chat', '新建任务', '新对话',
                                 '新建任務', '新對話', '새 작업', '새 채팅',
                                 'Tarefa sem título', 'Nova conversa',
-                                'Yeni görev', 'Yeni sohbet') THEN 'default'
+                                'Yeni görev', 'Yeni sohbet', 'Neue Aufgabe',
+                                'Nouvelle tâche', 'Nueva tarea', 'Neuer Chat',
+                                'Nuevo chat', 'Nouvelle discussion') THEN 'default'
                  ELSE 'manual'
              END",
             [],
diff --git a/crates/host-core/src/sessions.rs b/crates/host-core/src/sessions.rs
index df89a3dcc5..fd7a3650d1 100644
--- a/crates/host-core/src/sessions.rs
+++ b/crates/host-core/src/sessions.rs
@@ -342,29 +342,39 @@ pub struct SearchHit {
 /// The renderer creates a session with its localized `chat.untitledTask` label
 /// and also recognizes `nav.newChat`, so host-core has to recognize the same
 /// values: it owns title eligibility and cannot read the renderer catalog when
-/// it decides whether a title may still be replaced. German, Spanish, and
-/// French fall back to the English label. Keep this in sync with the migration
-/// list in `db/session_title_source_migration.rs` and `LEGACY_DEFAULT_TITLES`
-/// in the renderer.
-const PLACEHOLDER_TITLES: [&str; 13] = [
+/// it decides whether a title may still be replaced. Every entry is stored
+/// lowercased and compared through `to_lowercase`, because both localized
+/// keys the renderer writes — `chat.untitledTask` and `nav.newChat` — have
+/// their own label per locale, and a non-ASCII uppercase letter (a future
+/// "Ñö..." entry) would slip past ASCII-case-insensitive matching (#1755).
+/// Keep this in sync with the migration list in
+/// `db/session_title_source_migration.rs` and `LEGACY_DEFAULT_TITLES` in the
+/// renderer.
+const PLACEHOLDER_TITLES: [&str; 19] = [
     "",
-    "New task",
-    "New chat",
+    "new task",
+    "new chat",
     "新建任务",
     "新对话",
     "新建任務",
     "新對話",
     "새 작업",
     "새 채팅",
-    "Tarefa sem título",
-    "Nova conversa",
-    "Yeni görev",
-    "Yeni sohbet",
+    "tarefa sem título",
+    "nova conversa",
+    "yeni görev",
+    "yeni sohbet",
+    "neue aufgabe",
+    "nouvelle tâche",
+    "nueva tarea",
+    "neuer chat",
+    "nuevo chat",
+    "nouvelle discussion",
 ];
 
 fn is_default_title(title: &str) -> bool {
-    let t = title.trim();
-    PLACEHOLDER_TITLES.iter().any(|p| p.eq_ignore_ascii_case(t))
+    let t = title.trim().to_lowercase();
+    PLACEHOLDER_TITLES.iter().any(|p| *p == t)
 }
 
 // ---- UiMessage ⇄ transcript record mapping -----------------------------------
@@ -4269,6 +4279,19 @@ pub fn get_token_usage_history(
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn default_title_matches_the_german_french_and_spanish_placeholders() {
+        // The renderer lowercases `chat.untitledTask` before persisting (#1755);
+        // the nav.newChat labels resolve through the same to_lowercase path.
+        assert!(is_default_title("neue aufgabe"));
+        assert!(is_default_title("Nouvelle tâche"));
+        assert!(is_default_title("nueva tarea"));
+        assert!(is_default_title("Neuer Chat"));
+        assert!(is_default_title("nuevo chat"));
+        assert!(is_default_title("Nouvelle discussion"));
+        assert!(!is_default_title("real session name"));
+    }
     use crate::workspace::simple_canonicalize;
 
     fn test_db() -> Database {
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/types/settings.ts b/packages/shared/src/types/settings.ts
index 2bf997b9e3..26d6d96cb4 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/types/settings.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/types/settings.ts
@@ -172,13 +172,14 @@ export type AppSettings = {
   preventScreenSleep?: boolean;
   /**
    * Sidebar project "running" affordances. The master switch gates both
-   * sub-switches; absent means disabled, so a fresh install shows a clean
-   * sidebar until the user opts in.
+   * sub-switches; absent means enabled — the renderer normalizes
+   * `!== false` to on, so a fresh install shows the running badge and rail
+   * until the user turns them off (#1749).
    */
   sidebarRunningIndicators?: boolean;
-  /** Count badge beside a project name. Only honored while the master is on. */
+  /** Count badge beside a project name. On unless explicitly disabled. */
   sidebarRunningBadge?: boolean;
-  /** Activity rail down the project group. Only honored while the master is on. */
+  /** Activity rail down the project group. On unless explicitly disabled. */
   sidebarRunningRail?: boolean;
   /**
    * Last-reply date shown at the right edge of session rows. Absent means