diff --git a/srcs/backend/services/friends.js b/srcs/backend/services/friends.js
index ad2f66b..a9de380 100644
--- a/srcs/backend/services/friends.js
+++ b/srcs/backend/services/friends.js
@@ -178,6 +178,29 @@ async function declineFriendRequest(userId, fromUserId) {
     }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Get list of friend IDs for a user (for quick lookup)
+ */
+async function getFriendIds(userId) {
+    try {
+        const result = await query(
+            `SELECT
+                CASE
+                    WHEN f.id_user1 = $1 THEN f.id_user2
+                    ELSE f.id_user1
+                END as friend_id
+             FROM friendship f
+             WHERE (f.id_user1 = $1 OR f.id_user2 = $1)
+             AND f.status = 'accepted'`,
+            [userId]
+        );
+        return result.rows.map(row => row.friend_id);
+    } catch (err) {
+        console.error('Get friend IDs error:', err);
+        return [];
+    }
+}
+
 /**
  * Remove a friend
  */
@@ -207,6 +230,7 @@ async function removeFriend(userId, friendId) {
 
 export default {
     getFriends,
+    getFriendIds,
     getPendingRequests,
     searchUsers,
     sendFriendRequest,
diff --git a/srcs/backend/services/socket.js b/srcs/backend/services/socket.js
index d1b5229..6f5cea1 100644
--- a/srcs/backend/services/socket.js
+++ b/srcs/backend/services/socket.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
 import chatService from './global_chat.js';
+import friendsService from './friends.js';
 
 function setupSocketIO(io)
 {
@@ -21,11 +22,27 @@ function setupSocketIO(io)
 		}
 	});
 
-	io.on('connection', (socket) =>
+	io.on('connection', async (socket) =>
 	{
 		console.log(`User connected: ${socket.user.username}`);
 
 		socket.join('general-chat');
+
+		// Send recent messages and friend IDs on connection
+		try {
+			const [recentMessages, friendIds] = await Promise.all([
+				chatService.getRecentMessages(50),
+				friendsService.getFriendIds(socket.user.userId)
+			]);
+
+			socket.emit('chat-init', {
+				messages: recentMessages,
+				friendIds: friendIds
+			});
+		} catch (err) {
+			console.error('Error fetching initial data:', err);
+		}
+
 		socket.on('chat-message', async(data) =>
 		{
 			try
@@ -33,7 +50,8 @@ function setupSocketIO(io)
 				const message = await chatService.saveMessage(socket.user.userId, data.content);
 				socket.broadcast.to('general-chat').emit('chat-message',
 				{
-					id:message.id,
+					id: message.id,
+					sender_id: socket.user.userId,
 					username: socket.user.username,
 					content: message.content,
 					created_at: message.created_at
diff --git a/srcs/frontend/src/global_chat.js b/srcs/frontend/src/global_chat.js
index 7983b12..b2b121b 100644
--- a/srcs/frontend/src/global_chat.js
+++ b/srcs/frontend/src/global_chat.js
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ export class GlobalChat extends Window {
 
         this.socket = null;
         this.connected = false;
+        this.friendIds = new Set();
 
         this.buildUI();
         this.bindEvents();
@@ -100,15 +101,17 @@ export class GlobalChat extends Window {
      * @param {string} username - User name
      * @param {string} content - Message content
      * @param {boolean} isOwn - Is this the current user's message
+     * @param {boolean} isFriend - Is this user a friend
      */
-    addChatMessage(username, content, isOwn = false) {
+    addChatMessage(username, content, isOwn = false, isFriend = false) {
         const msg = this.createElement('div', CSS.CHAT_MESSAGE);
 
         if (isOwn) {
             msg.classList.add('chat__message--own');
         }
 
-        msg.innerHTML = `<strong>${this.escapeHtml(username)}:</strong> ${this.escapeHtml(content)}`;
+        const friendIndicator = isFriend ? '<span class="chat__friend-indicator"></span>' : '';
+        msg.innerHTML = `${friendIndicator}<strong>${this.escapeHtml(username)}:</strong> ${this.escapeHtml(content)}`;
         this.output.appendChild(msg);
         this.scrollToBottom();
     }
@@ -252,8 +255,21 @@ export class GlobalChat extends Window {
             eventBus.emit(Events.CHAT_DISCONNECTED, { reason });
         });
 
+        // Handle initial data (recent messages + friend IDs)
+        this.socket.on('chat-init', (data) => {
+            console.log('Received chat init data:', data.messages.length, 'messages');
+            this.friendIds = new Set(data.friendIds || []);
+
+            // Display recent messages
+            data.messages.forEach(msg => {
+                const isFriend = this.friendIds.has(msg.sender_id);
+                this.addChatMessage(msg.username, msg.content, false, isFriend);
+            });
+        });
+
         this.socket.on('chat-message', (msg) => {
-            this.addChatMessage(msg.username, msg.content);
+            const isFriend = this.friendIds.has(msg.sender_id);
+            this.addChatMessage(msg.username, msg.content, false, isFriend);
             eventBus.emit(Events.CHAT_MESSAGE_RECEIVED, msg);
         });
     }
diff --git a/srcs/frontend/src/style.css b/srcs/frontend/src/style.css
index f24acab..4714622 100644
--- a/srcs/frontend/src/style.css
+++ b/srcs/frontend/src/style.css
@@ -382,6 +382,16 @@ body {
     align-self: flex-end;
 }
 
+.chat__friend-indicator {
+    display: inline-block;
+    width: 8px;
+    height: 8px;
+    background-color: var(--color-success);
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    margin-right: var(--spacing-xs);
+    vertical-align: middle;
+}
+
 .chat__system {
     color: var(--color-text-muted);
     font-size: var(--font-size-sm);