diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index eb42c18..5ed9538 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ tested.
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-27: on `/` and `/status`, a spinner beside the status turns one frame
+  each time the stats show more messages than the time before. A page that has
+  not seen more messages for three refreshes shows "stale" and the time since
+  then instead, in red (closes #152)
 - 2026-10-27: the WHOIS details of a Brazilian AS keep their accented letters.
   LACNIC's answer for such an AS comes from NIC.br, Brazil's registry, with each
   accented letter replaced. The details now come from NIC.br's own server,
diff --git a/internal/templates/index.html b/internal/templates/index.html
index bd8d5fe..4c408a5 100644
--- a/internal/templates/index.html
+++ b/internal/templates/index.html
@@ -107,9 +107,15 @@
         .stat-card.connected .stat-value {
             color: #27ae60;
         }
-        .stat-card.disconnected .stat-value {
+        .stat-card.disconnected .stat-value,
+        .stale {
             color: #e74c3c;
         }
+        /* The card has no room beside "Connected", so the spinner and "stale" go under it */
+        #freshness {
+            display: block;
+            font-size: 20px;
+        }
 
         /* Search section */
         .search-section {
@@ -297,7 +303,10 @@
     <main class="main-content">
         <div class="stats-grid">
             <div class="stat-card" id="status-card">
-                <div class="stat-value" id="stat-status">-</div>
+                <div class="stat-value">
+                    <span id="stat-status">-</span>
+                    <span id="freshness"></span>
+                </div>
                 <div class="stat-label">Status</div>
             </div>
             <div class="stat-card">
@@ -369,6 +378,44 @@
     </footer>
 
     <script nonce="{{.CSPNonce}}">
+        // The stats are fetched every REFRESH_PERIOD_MS. Next to the status, a
+        // spinner turns one frame each time an answer counts more messages
+        // than the one before. After STALE_AFTER_REFRESHES refreshes without
+        // such an answer, the spinner gives way to "stale" and the time since.
+        const REFRESH_PERIOD_MS = 5000;
+        const STALE_AFTER_REFRESHES = 3;
+        const MS_PER_SECOND = 1000;
+        const SPINNER_FRAMES = ['⠋', '⠙', '⠹', '⠸', '⠼', '⠴', '⠦', '⠧', '⠇', '⠏'];
+        const SPINNER_COLOURS = ['#e74c3c', '#e67e22', '#f1c40f', '#27ae60', '#3498db', '#9b59b6'];
+
+        let spinnerFrame = 0;
+        let lastMessageCount = null;
+        let lastFreshAt = Date.now();
+
+        // Turn the spinner when the message count has risen since the last answer.
+        function noteMessageCount(count) {
+            if (lastMessageCount !== null && count > lastMessageCount) {
+                spinnerFrame = (spinnerFrame + 1) % SPINNER_FRAMES.length;
+                lastFreshAt = Date.now();
+            }
+            lastMessageCount = count;
+            showFreshness();
+        }
+
+        function showFreshness() {
+            const freshness = document.getElementById('freshness');
+            const sinceFreshMs = Date.now() - lastFreshAt;
+            const stale = sinceFreshMs >= STALE_AFTER_REFRESHES * REFRESH_PERIOD_MS;
+            freshness.classList.toggle('stale', stale);
+            if (stale) {
+                freshness.textContent = 'stale for ' + Math.floor(sinceFreshMs / MS_PER_SECOND) + 's';
+                freshness.style.color = '';
+                return;
+            }
+            freshness.textContent = SPINNER_FRAMES[spinnerFrame];
+            freshness.style.color = SPINNER_COLOURS[spinnerFrame % SPINNER_COLOURS.length];
+        }
+
         function formatNumber(num) {
             if (num >= 1000000) {
                 return (num / 1000000).toFixed(1) + 'M';
@@ -390,6 +437,7 @@
                     const statusEl = document.getElementById('stat-status');
                     statusEl.textContent = data.connected ? 'Connected' : 'Disconnected';
                     statusCard.className = 'stat-card ' + (data.connected ? 'connected' : 'disconnected');
+                    noteMessageCount(data.total_messages);
 
                     document.getElementById('stat-routes').textContent = formatNumber(data.live_routes);
                     document.getElementById('stat-asns').textContent = formatNumber(data.asns);
@@ -536,9 +584,12 @@
             document.getElementById('ip-input').value = '';
         });
 
-        // Initial load and refresh stats every 5 seconds
+        // Initial load and refresh stats every REFRESH_PERIOD_MS. The freshness
+        // check runs every second on its own, so a request that never returns
+        // still turns the spinner into "stale".
         updateStats();
-        setInterval(updateStats, 5000);
+        setInterval(updateStats, REFRESH_PERIOD_MS);
+        setInterval(showFreshness, MS_PER_SECOND);
     </script>
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/internal/templates/status.html b/internal/templates/status.html
index 076de68..4061f7f 100644
--- a/internal/templates/status.html
+++ b/internal/templates/status.html
@@ -126,7 +126,8 @@
         .connected {
             color: #22c55e;
         }
-        .disconnected {
+        .disconnected,
+        .stale {
             color: #ef4444;
         }
         .error {
@@ -180,7 +181,10 @@
             <h2>RouteWatch</h2>
             <div class="metric">
                 <span class="metric-label">Status</span>
-                <span class="metric-value" id="connected">-</span>
+                <span>
+                    <span class="metric-value" id="connected">-</span>
+                    <span class="metric-value" id="freshness"></span>
+                </span>
             </div>
             <div class="metric">
                 <span class="metric-label">Uptime</span>
@@ -386,6 +390,44 @@
     </div>
 
     <script nonce="{{.CSPNonce}}">
+        // The stats are fetched every REFRESH_PERIOD_MS. Next to the status, a
+        // spinner turns one frame each time an answer counts more messages
+        // than the one before. After STALE_AFTER_REFRESHES refreshes without
+        // such an answer, the spinner gives way to "stale" and the time since.
+        const REFRESH_PERIOD_MS = 2000;
+        const STALE_AFTER_REFRESHES = 3;
+        const MS_PER_SECOND = 1000;
+        const SPINNER_FRAMES = ['⠋', '⠙', '⠹', '⠸', '⠼', '⠴', '⠦', '⠧', '⠇', '⠏'];
+        const SPINNER_COLOURS = ['#e74c3c', '#e67e22', '#f1c40f', '#27ae60', '#3498db', '#9b59b6'];
+
+        let spinnerFrame = 0;
+        let lastMessageCount = null;
+        let lastFreshAt = Date.now();
+
+        // Turn the spinner when the message count has risen since the last answer.
+        function noteMessageCount(count) {
+            if (lastMessageCount !== null && count > lastMessageCount) {
+                spinnerFrame = (spinnerFrame + 1) % SPINNER_FRAMES.length;
+                lastFreshAt = Date.now();
+            }
+            lastMessageCount = count;
+            showFreshness();
+        }
+
+        function showFreshness() {
+            const freshness = document.getElementById('freshness');
+            const sinceFreshMs = Date.now() - lastFreshAt;
+            const stale = sinceFreshMs >= STALE_AFTER_REFRESHES * REFRESH_PERIOD_MS;
+            freshness.classList.toggle('stale', stale);
+            if (stale) {
+                freshness.textContent = 'stale for ' + Math.floor(sinceFreshMs / MS_PER_SECOND) + 's';
+                freshness.style.color = '';
+                return;
+            }
+            freshness.textContent = SPINNER_FRAMES[spinnerFrame];
+            freshness.style.color = SPINNER_COLOURS[spinnerFrame % SPINNER_COLOURS.length];
+        }
+
         function formatBytes(bytes) {
             if (bytes === 0) return '0 B';
             const k = 1024;
@@ -569,7 +611,8 @@
                     const connectedEl = document.getElementById('connected');
                     connectedEl.textContent = data.connected ? 'Connected' : 'Disconnected';
                     connectedEl.className = 'metric-value ' + (data.connected ? 'connected' : 'disconnected');
-                    
+                    noteMessageCount(data.total_messages);
+
                     // Update all metrics
                     document.getElementById('uptime').textContent = data.uptime;
                     document.getElementById('go_version').textContent = data.go_version;
@@ -643,9 +686,12 @@
                 });
         }
         
-        // Update immediately and then every 2 seconds
+        // Update immediately and then every REFRESH_PERIOD_MS. The freshness
+        // check runs every second on its own, so a request that never returns
+        // still turns the spinner into "stale".
         updateStatus();
-        setInterval(updateStatus, 2000);
+        setInterval(updateStatus, REFRESH_PERIOD_MS);
+        setInterval(showFreshness, MS_PER_SECOND);
     </script>
     </main>
 
diff --git a/internal/templates/templates_test.go b/internal/templates/templates_test.go
index da1dd1c..ecc5cef 100644
--- a/internal/templates/templates_test.go
+++ b/internal/templates/templates_test.go
@@ -9,6 +9,20 @@ import (
 	"git.eeqj.de/sneak/routewatch/internal/templates"
 )
 
+// renderPage renders a page with the data every page needs.
+func renderPage(t *testing.T, tmpl *template.Template) string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	var page bytes.Buffer
+
+	err := tmpl.Execute(&page, struct{ CSPNonce string }{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("rendering the page: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	return page.String()
+}
+
 // TestFooterLicense renders the home and status pages and expects each footer
 // to name the licence in LICENSE, MIT, and not WTFPL.
 func TestFooterLicense(t *testing.T) {
@@ -28,14 +42,7 @@ func TestFooterLicense(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 
-			var page bytes.Buffer
-
-			err := tmpl.Execute(&page, struct{ CSPNonce string }{})
-			if err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("rendering the page: %v", err)
-			}
-
-			_, footer, found := strings.Cut(page.String(), "<footer")
+			_, footer, found := strings.Cut(renderPage(t, tmpl), "<footer")
 			if !found {
 				t.Fatal("the page has no footer")
 			}
@@ -52,3 +59,42 @@ func TestFooterLicense(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// TestFreshnessIndicator renders the home and status pages and expects each to
+// have, right after the status element, the element where the page's script
+// shows its spinner or "stale".
+func TestFreshnessIndicator(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	pages := map[string]struct {
+		tmpl      *template.Template
+		status    string
+		indicator string
+	}{
+		"index": {
+			tmpl:      templates.IndexTemplate(),
+			status:    `<span id="stat-status">-</span>`,
+			indicator: `<span id="freshness"></span>`,
+		},
+		"status": {
+			tmpl:      templates.StatusTemplate(),
+			status:    `<span class="metric-value" id="connected">-</span>`,
+			indicator: `<span class="metric-value" id="freshness"></span>`,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for name, page := range pages {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			_, afterStatus, found := strings.Cut(renderPage(t, page.tmpl), page.status)
+			if !found {
+				t.Fatalf("the page has no status element %s", page.status)
+			}
+
+			if !strings.HasPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(afterStatus), page.indicator) {
+				t.Errorf("the status element is not followed by %s", page.indicator)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}