diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 52ccbd2..73f74df 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -11,13 +11,12 @@ you subscribe to it with your own atproto account.
   `<link rel="site.standard.document">` head tags as hints. Verification is
   bidirectional: the well-known endpoint at the publication record's own `url`
   must return the record's at-uri.
-- The toolbar icon shows per-tab status as a small dot overlaid on the logo's
-  bottom-right corner: grey refresh dot while checking, green dot for a
-  verified publication (hollow green ring when signed out, so subscription
-  state is unknown), green dot with a check when subscribed, amber dot with
-  an exclamation for an unverified candidate or a detection error, red dot
-  with an X when the page is not on standard.site. Non-http pages show the
-  bare logo.
+- The toolbar icon is always the substandard logo; per-tab status is shown
+  with Chrome's native action badge: grey `•` while checking, plain green
+  while a verified publication is detected (`?` on green when signed out, so
+  subscription state is unknown), `✓` on green when subscribed, `!` on amber
+  for an unverified candidate or a detection error, `x` on red when the page
+  is not on standard.site. Non-http pages carry no badge.
 - The popup shows the publication's name, icon, and description, plus the
   current article when the page has a document record.
 - The popup also carries a per-state status line (`src/lib/status.ts`), so
@@ -120,11 +119,11 @@ whitespace/EOF/JSON hygiene, the typecheck above, and `tofu fmt -check` for
 Layout:
 
 - `src/background.ts` — service worker: per-tab detection state, toolbar
-  icon states, public reads (records, subscription list)
+  badge states, public reads (records, subscription list)
 - `src/content.ts` — reads head link tags, reports to the worker
 - `src/lib/detection.ts` — well-known probing and verification
-- `src/lib/icon.ts` — icon state mapping and OffscreenCanvas compositing
-  (logo + status-dot overlay)
+- `src/lib/icon.ts` — state and badge mapping, plus the overscanned base
+  icon render
 - `src/lib/atproto.ts` — DID/handle resolution, public record fetches
 - `src/lib/oauth.ts` — OAuth client; extension pages only, never the worker
   (the browser OAuth client needs `window`/`localStorage`)