diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d010c4b..b4be02e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1369,7 +1369,9 @@ Things I chose while building, with the reasoning:
     homework wording (no tips — the tips are deck-specific), and the route screens pass a single
     message with no stages or progress. Cancel stays a 44px touch target and the icon animation
     respects `prefers-reduced-motion`. Verified by the freeze-loading, review, wizard and mobile
-    suites.
+    suites. The link overlay is portalled to `<body>`: inside a glass card `backdrop-filter` makes
+    the card a containing block for `position: fixed`, so the overlay was squeezed into a 44px
+    strip of the card instead of covering the viewport (the review suite now measures it).
 
 59. **Adding a deck or a homework syncs itself.** Sync used to be push-on-demand only: a deck
     frozen on the laptop sat in `dirty` until someone opened Settings and pressed Sync now. The two
diff --git a/components/LinkLoadingScreen.tsx b/components/LinkLoadingScreen.tsx
index c3d1a51..3837d95 100644
--- a/components/LinkLoadingScreen.tsx
+++ b/components/LinkLoadingScreen.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 "use client";
 
 import { useLinkStatus } from "next/link";
+import { createPortal } from "react-dom";
 
 import { RouteLoading } from "@/components/RouteLoading";
 
@@ -9,15 +10,21 @@ import { RouteLoading } from "@/components/RouteLoading";
  * `<Link>` starts navigating — before any response arrives — so a slow route
  * never looks like a dead tap. Renders nothing while idle and disappears with
  * the page that owns it.
+ *
+ * Portalled to <body>: the link sits inside a glass card, and `backdrop-filter`
+ * makes such an ancestor a containing block for `position: fixed` — rendered
+ * in place, the overlay was confined to a 44px strip of the card instead of the
+ * viewport.
  */
 export function LinkLoadingScreen({ messageKey }: { messageKey: string }) {
   const { pending } = useLinkStatus();
 
-  if (!pending) return null;
+  if (!pending || typeof document === "undefined") return null;
 
-  return (
-    <div className="pointer-events-none fixed inset-0 z-50">
+  return createPortal(
+    <div className="pointer-events-none fixed inset-0 z-50 bg-[color-mix(in_oklab,var(--page)_88%,transparent)]">
       <RouteLoading messageKey={messageKey} />
-    </div>
+    </div>,
+    document.body,
   );
 }
diff --git a/public/sw.js b/public/sw.js
index 289a99f..b083a25 100644
--- a/public/sw.js
+++ b/public/sw.js
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
  *
  * Bumping CACHE_VERSION is how a new deploy invalidates old assets.
  */
-const CACHE_VERSION = "freezmo-v47";
+const CACHE_VERSION = "freezmo-v48";
 const SHELL_CACHE = `${CACHE_VERSION}-shell`;
 const ASSET_CACHE = `${CACHE_VERSION}-assets`;
 
diff --git a/tests/review-test.mjs b/tests/review-test.mjs
index d8d649a..a8cc54a 100644
--- a/tests/review-test.mjs
+++ b/tests/review-test.mjs
@@ -54,6 +54,19 @@ async function makeReviewPage(locale = "en") {
   check("loading screen appears immediately on tap", loadingAt !== null && loadingAt - tClick < 1000, `${loadingAt ? loadingAt - tClick : "never"} ms`);
   check("still on the library while stalled", page.url().replace(BASE, "") === "/", page.url());
   check("spinner is visible", (await page.getByRole("status").count()) >= 1);
+  /* The overlay is portalled to <body>: rendered inside the glass card it was
+     confined to a 44px strip of that card (backdrop-filter is a containing
+     block for fixed descendants). */
+  const overlay = await page.evaluate(() => {
+    const status = document.querySelector('[role="status"][aria-busy="true"]');
+    const rect = status?.parentElement?.getBoundingClientRect();
+    return rect ? { w: Math.round(rect.width), h: Math.round(rect.height) } : null;
+  });
+  check(
+    "loading overlay covers the viewport",
+    overlay !== null && overlay.w >= 380 && overlay.h >= 800,
+    JSON.stringify(overlay),
+  );
 
   release();
   let sessionAt = null;