diff --git a/internal/api/client/streaming/stream.go b/internal/api/client/streaming/stream.go
index 88c682a75..1f34e3447 100644
--- a/internal/api/client/streaming/stream.go
+++ b/internal/api/client/streaming/stream.go
@@ -149,60 +149,78 @@
 //		'400':
 //			description: bad request
 func (m *Module) StreamGETHandler(c *gin.Context) {
+	var (
+		account     *gtsmodel.Account
+		errWithCode gtserror.WithCode
+	)
 
-	// First we check for a query param provided access token
+	// Try query param access token.
 	token := c.Query(AccessTokenQueryKey)
 	if token == "" {
-		// Else we check the HTTP header provided token
+		// Try fallback HTTP header provided token.
 		token = c.GetHeader(AccessTokenHeader)
 	}
 
-	var account *gtsmodel.Account
 	if token != "" {
-		// Check the explicit token
-		var errWithCode gtserror.WithCode
+		// Token was provided, use it to authorize stream.
 		account, errWithCode = m.processor.Stream().Authorize(c.Request.Context(), token)
-		if errWithCode != nil {
-			apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, errWithCode, m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
-			return
-		}
 	} else {
-		// If no explicit token was provided, try regular oauth
-		auth, errStr := oauth.Authed(c, true, true, true, true)
-		if errStr != nil {
-			err := gtserror.NewErrorUnauthorized(errStr, errStr.Error())
-			apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, err, m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
-			return
-		}
-		account = auth.Account
+		// No explicit token was provided:
+		// try regular oauth as a last resort.
+		account, errWithCode = func() (*gtsmodel.Account, gtserror.WithCode) {
+			authed, err := oauth.Authed(c, true, true, true, true)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, gtserror.NewErrorUnauthorized(err, err.Error())
+			}
+
+			return authed.Account, nil
+		}()
 	}
 
-	// Get the initial stream type, if there is one.
-	// By appending other query params to the streamType,
-	// we can allow for streaming for specific list IDs
-	// or hashtags.
+	if errWithCode != nil {
+		apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, errWithCode, m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Get the initial requested stream type, if there is one.
 	streamType := c.Query(StreamQueryKey)
+
+	// By appending other query params to the streamType, we
+	// can allow streaming for specific list IDs or hashtags.
+	// The streamType in this case will end up looking like
+	// `hashtag:example` or `list:01H3YF48G8B7KTPQFS8D2QBVG8`.
 	if list := c.Query(StreamListKey); list != "" {
 		streamType += ":" + list
 	} else if tag := c.Query(StreamTagKey); tag != "" {
 		streamType += ":" + tag
 	}
 
-	stream, errWithCode := m.processor.Stream().Open(c.Request.Context(), account, streamType)
+	// Open a stream with the processor; this lets processor
+	// functions pass messages into a channel, which we can
+	// then read from and put into a websockets connection.
+	stream, errWithCode := m.processor.Stream().Open(
+		c.Request.Context(),
+		account,
+		streamType,
+	)
 	if errWithCode != nil {
 		apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, errWithCode, m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
 		return
 	}
 
-	l := log.WithContext(c.Request.Context()).
+	l := log.
+		WithContext(c.Request.Context()).
 		WithFields(kv.Fields{
-			{"account", account.Username},
+			{"username", account.Username},
 			{"streamID", stream.ID},
-			{"streamType", streamType},
 		}...)
 
-	// Upgrade the incoming HTTP request, which hijacks the underlying
-	// connection and reuses it for the websocket (non-http) protocol.
+	// Upgrade the incoming HTTP request. This hijacks the
+	// underlying connection and reuses it for the websocket
+	// (non-http) protocol.
+	//
+	// If the upgrade fails, then Upgrade replies to the client
+	// with an HTTP error response.
 	wsConn, err := m.wsUpgrade.Upgrade(c.Writer, c.Request, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		l.Errorf("error upgrading websocket connection: %v", err)
@@ -210,125 +228,208 @@ func (m *Module) StreamGETHandler(c *gin.Context) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	l.Info("opened websocket connection")
+
+	// We perform the main websocket rw loops in a separate
+	// goroutine in order to let the upgrade handler return.
+	// This prevents the upgrade handler from holding open any
+	// throttle / rate-limit request tokens which could become
+	// problematic on instances with multiple users.
+	go m.handleWSConn(account.Username, wsConn, stream)
+}
+
+// handleWSConn handles a two-way websocket streaming connection.
+// It will both read messages from the connection, and push messages
+// into the connection. If any errors are encountered while reading
+// or writing (including expected errors like clients leaving), the
+// connection will be closed.
+func (m *Module) handleWSConn(username string, wsConn *websocket.Conn, stream *streampkg.Stream) {
+	// Create new context for the lifetime of this connection.
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+
+	l := log.
+		WithContext(ctx).
+		WithFields(kv.Fields{
+			{"username", username},
+			{"streamID", stream.ID},
+		}...)
+
+	// Create ticker to send keepalive pings
+	pinger := time.NewTicker(m.dTicker)
+
+	// Read messages coming from the Websocket client connection into the server.
 	go func() {
-		// We perform the main websocket send loop in a separate
-		// goroutine in order to let the upgrade handler return.
-		// This prevents the upgrade handler from holding open any
-		// throttle / rate-limit request tokens which could become
-		// problematic on instances with multiple users.
-		l.Info("opened websocket connection")
-		defer l.Info("closed websocket connection")
+		defer cancel()
+		m.readFromWSConn(ctx, username, wsConn, stream)
+	}()
 
-		// Create new context for lifetime of the connection
-		ctx, cncl := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	// Write messages coming from the processor into the Websocket client connection.
+	go func() {
+		defer cancel()
+		m.writeToWSConn(ctx, username, wsConn, stream, pinger)
+	}()
 
-		// Create ticker to send alive pings
-		pinger := time.NewTicker(m.dTicker)
+	// Wait for either the read or write functions to close, to indicate
+	// that the client has left, or something else has gone wrong.
+	<-ctx.Done()
 
-		defer func() {
-			// Signal done
-			cncl()
+	// Tidy up underlying websocket connection.
+	if err := wsConn.Close(); err != nil {
+		l.Errorf("error closing websocket connection: %v", err)
+	}
 
-			// Close websocket conn
-			_ = wsConn.Close()
+	// Close processor channel so the processor knows
+	// not to send any more messages to this stream.
+	close(stream.Hangup)
 
-			// Close processor stream
-			close(stream.Hangup)
+	// Stop ping ticker (tiny resource saving).
+	pinger.Stop()
 
-			// Stop ping ticker
-			pinger.Stop()
-		}()
+	l.Info("closed websocket connection")
+}
 
-		go func() {
-			// Signal done
-			defer cncl()
+// readFromWSConn reads control messages coming in from the given
+// websockets connection, and modifies the subscription StreamTypes
+// of the given stream accordingly after acquiring a lock on it.
+//
+// This is a blocking function; will return only on read error or
+// if the given context is canceled.
+func (m *Module) readFromWSConn(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	username string,
+	wsConn *websocket.Conn,
+	stream *streampkg.Stream,
+) {
+	l := log.
+		WithContext(ctx).
+		WithFields(kv.Fields{
+			{"username", username},
+			{"streamID", stream.ID},
+		}...)
 
-			for {
-				// We have to listen for received websocket messages in
-				// order to trigger the underlying wsConn.PingHandler().
-				//
-				// Read JSON objects from the client and act on them
-				var msg map[string]string
-				err := wsConn.ReadJSON(&msg)
-				if err != nil {
-					if ctx.Err() == nil {
-						// Only log error if the connection was not closed
-						// by us. Uncanceled context indicates this is the case.
-						l.Errorf("error reading from websocket: %v", err)
-					}
-					return
-				}
-				l.Tracef("received message from websocket: %v", msg)
+readLoop:
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			// Connection closed.
+			break readLoop
 
-				// If the message contains 'stream' and 'type' fields, we can
-				// update the set of timelines that are subscribed for events.
-				updateType, ok := msg["type"]
-				if !ok {
-					l.Warn("'type' field not provided")
-					continue
+		default:
+			// Read JSON objects from the client and act on them.
+			var msg map[string]string
+			if err := wsConn.ReadJSON(&msg); err != nil {
+				// Only log an error if something weird happened.
+				// See: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6455.html#section-11.7
+				if websocket.IsUnexpectedCloseError(err, []int{
+					websocket.CloseNormalClosure,
+					websocket.CloseGoingAway,
+					websocket.CloseNoStatusReceived,
+				}...) {
+					l.Errorf("error reading from websocket: %v", err)
 				}
 
-				updateStream, ok := msg["stream"]
-				if !ok {
-					l.Warn("'stream' field not provided")
-					continue
-				}
-
-				// Ignore if the updateStreamType is unknown (or missing),
-				// so a bad client can't cause extra memory allocations
-				if !slices.Contains(streampkg.AllStatusTimelines, updateStream) {
-					l.Warnf("unknown 'stream' field: %v", msg)
-					continue
-				}
-
-				updateList, ok := msg["list"]
-				if ok {
-					updateStream += ":" + updateList
-				}
-
-				switch updateType {
-				case "subscribe":
-					stream.Lock()
-					stream.StreamTypes[updateStream] = true
-					stream.Unlock()
-				case "unsubscribe":
-					stream.Lock()
-					delete(stream.StreamTypes, updateStream)
-					stream.Unlock()
-				default:
-					l.Warnf("invalid 'type' field: %v", msg)
-				}
+				// The connection is gone; no
+				// further streaming possible.
+				break readLoop
 			}
-		}()
 
-		for {
-			select {
-			// Connection closed
-			case <-ctx.Done():
-				return
+			// Messages *from* the WS connection are infrequent
+			// and usually interesting, so log this at info.
+			l.Infof("received message from websocket: %v", msg)
 
-			// Received next stream message
-			case msg := <-stream.Messages:
-				l.Tracef("sending message to websocket: %+v", msg)
-				if err := wsConn.WriteJSON(msg); err != nil {
-					l.Debugf("error writing json to websocket: %v", err)
-					return
-				}
+			// If the message contains 'stream' and 'type' fields, we can
+			// update the set of timelines that are subscribed for events.
+			updateType, ok := msg["type"]
+			if !ok {
+				l.Warn("'type' field not provided")
+				continue
+			}
 
-				// Reset on each successful send.
-				pinger.Reset(m.dTicker)
+			updateStream, ok := msg["stream"]
+			if !ok {
+				l.Warn("'stream' field not provided")
+				continue
+			}
 
-			// Send keep-alive "ping"
-			case <-pinger.C:
-				l.Trace("pinging websocket ...")
-				if err := wsConn.WriteMessage(
-					websocket.PingMessage,
-					[]byte{},
-				); err != nil {
-					l.Debugf("error writing ping to websocket: %v", err)
-					return
-				}
+			// Ignore if the updateStreamType is unknown (or missing),
+			// so a bad client can't cause extra memory allocations
+			if !slices.Contains(streampkg.AllStatusTimelines, updateStream) {
+				l.Warnf("unknown 'stream' field: %v", msg)
+				continue
+			}
+
+			updateList, ok := msg["list"]
+			if ok {
+				updateStream += ":" + updateList
+			}
+
+			switch updateType {
+			case "subscribe":
+				stream.Lock()
+				stream.StreamTypes[updateStream] = true
+				stream.Unlock()
+			case "unsubscribe":
+				stream.Lock()
+				delete(stream.StreamTypes, updateStream)
+				stream.Unlock()
+			default:
+				l.Warnf("invalid 'type' field: %v", msg)
 			}
 		}
-	}()
+	}
+
+	l.Debug("finished reading from websocket connection")
+}
+
+// writeToWSConn receives messages coming from the processor via the
+// given stream, and writes them into the given websockets connection.
+// This function also handles sending ping messages into the websockets
+// connection to keep it alive when no other activity occurs.
+//
+// This is a blocking function; will return only on write error or
+// if the given context is canceled.
+func (m *Module) writeToWSConn(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	username string,
+	wsConn *websocket.Conn,
+	stream *streampkg.Stream,
+	pinger *time.Ticker,
+) {
+	l := log.
+		WithContext(ctx).
+		WithFields(kv.Fields{
+			{"username", username},
+			{"streamID", stream.ID},
+		}...)
+
+writeLoop:
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			// Connection closed.
+			break writeLoop
+
+		case msg := <-stream.Messages:
+			// Received a new message from the processor.
+			l.Tracef("writing message to websocket: %+v", msg)
+			if err := wsConn.WriteJSON(msg); err != nil {
+				l.Debugf("error writing json to websocket: %v", err)
+				break writeLoop
+			}
+
+			// Reset pinger on successful send, since
+			// we know the connection is still there.
+			pinger.Reset(m.dTicker)
+
+		case <-pinger.C:
+			// Time to send a keep-alive "ping".
+			l.Trace("writing ping control message to websocket")
+			if err := wsConn.WriteControl(websocket.PingMessage, nil, time.Time{}); err != nil {
+				l.Debugf("error writing ping to websocket: %v", err)
+				break writeLoop
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	l.Debug("finished writing to websocket connection")
 }
diff --git a/internal/api/client/streaming/streaming.go b/internal/api/client/streaming/streaming.go
index edddeab73..303e16cd3 100644
--- a/internal/api/client/streaming/streaming.go
+++ b/internal/api/client/streaming/streaming.go
@@ -42,15 +42,18 @@ type Module struct {
 }
 
 func New(processor *processing.Processor, dTicker time.Duration, wsBuf int) *Module {
+	// We expect CORS requests for websockets,
+	// (via eg., semaphore.social) so be lenient.
+	// TODO: make this customizable?
+	checkOrigin := func(r *http.Request) bool { return true }
+
 	return &Module{
 		processor: processor,
 		dTicker:   dTicker,
 		wsUpgrade: websocket.Upgrader{
-			ReadBufferSize:  wsBuf, // we don't expect reads
+			ReadBufferSize:  wsBuf,
 			WriteBufferSize: wsBuf,
-
-			// we expect cors requests (via eg., semaphore.social) so be lenient
-			CheckOrigin: func(r *http.Request) bool { return true },
+			CheckOrigin:     checkOrigin,
 		},
 	}
 }