diff --git a/server/notification-routes.ts b/server/notification-routes.ts
index 3b718ab..4562c07 100644
--- a/server/notification-routes.ts
+++ b/server/notification-routes.ts
@@ -13,9 +13,8 @@ export const notificationRouter = new Hono();
 
 // Proxy all notification requests to encryptid
 notificationRouter.all("/*", async (c) => {
-  const path = `/api/notifications${c.req.path === "/" ? "" : c.req.path}`;
-  const search = new URL(c.req.url).search;
-  const targetUrl = `${ENCRYPTID_URL}${path}${search}`;
+  const url = new URL(c.req.url);
+  const targetUrl = `${ENCRYPTID_URL}${url.pathname}${url.search}`;
 
   const headers = new Headers(c.req.raw.headers);
   headers.delete("host");
@@ -32,8 +31,8 @@ notificationRouter.all("/*", async (c) => {
   } catch (e: any) {
     console.error("[notifications proxy] Failed to reach encryptid:", e?.message);
     // Return safe fallbacks instead of hanging
-    if (c.req.path === "/count") return c.json({ unreadCount: 0 });
-    if (c.req.path === "/") return c.json({ notifications: [] });
+    if (url.pathname.endsWith("/count")) return c.json({ unreadCount: 0 });
+    if (url.pathname === "/api/notifications") return c.json({ notifications: [] });
     return c.json({ error: "Notification service unavailable" }, 503);
   }
 });