diff --git a/damus-c/block.h b/damus-c/block.h
index a4453af2..7fa4a75d 100644
--- a/damus-c/block.h
+++ b/damus-c/block.h
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ typedef struct note_block {
 } block_t;
 
 typedef struct note_blocks {
+    int words;
     int num_blocks;
     struct note_block *blocks;
 } blocks_t;
diff --git a/damus-c/damus.c b/damus-c/damus.c
index 8073e4ff..b13b4916 100644
--- a/damus-c/damus.c
+++ b/damus-c/damus.c
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ int damus_parse_content(struct note_blocks *blocks, const char *content) {
     struct note_block block;
     u8 *start, *pre_mention;
     
+    blocks->words = 0;
     blocks->num_blocks = 0;
     make_cursor((u8*)content, (u8*)content + strlen(content), &cur);
     
@@ -224,6 +225,11 @@ int damus_parse_content(struct note_blocks *blocks, const char *content) {
         cp = peek_char(&cur, -1);
         c  = peek_char(&cur, 0);
         
+        // new word
+        if (is_whitespace(cp) && !is_whitespace(c)) {
+            blocks->words++;
+        }
+        
         pre_mention = cur.p;
         if (cp == -1 || is_whitespace(cp) || c == '#') {
             if (c == '#' && (parse_mention_index(&cur, &block) || parse_hashtag(&cur, &block))) {
diff --git a/damus/Models/HomeModel.swift b/damus/Models/HomeModel.swift
index 94f72f2f..ef6f42cb 100644
--- a/damus/Models/HomeModel.swift
+++ b/damus/Models/HomeModel.swift
@@ -1170,7 +1170,7 @@ func process_local_notification(damus_state: DamusState, event ev: NostrEvent) {
     }
 
     if type == .text && damus_state.settings.mention_notification {
-        let blocks = ev.blocks(damus_state.keypair.privkey)
+        let blocks = ev.blocks(damus_state.keypair.privkey).blocks
         for case .mention(let mention) in blocks where mention.ref.ref_id == damus_state.keypair.pubkey {
             let content = NSAttributedString(render_note_content(ev: ev, profiles: damus_state.profiles, privkey: damus_state.keypair.privkey).content.attributed).string
             
diff --git a/damus/Models/Mentions.swift b/damus/Models/Mentions.swift
index d790dd5b..ba1904fa 100644
--- a/damus/Models/Mentions.swift
+++ b/damus/Models/Mentions.swift
@@ -150,7 +150,12 @@ func render_blocks(blocks: [Block]) -> String {
     }
 }
 
-func parse_mentions(content: String, tags: [[String]]) -> [Block] {
+struct Blocks {
+    let words: Int
+    let blocks: [Block]
+}
+
+func parse_mentions(content: String, tags: [[String]]) -> Blocks {
     var out: [Block] = []
     
     var bs = note_blocks()
@@ -174,9 +179,10 @@ func parse_mentions(content: String, tags: [[String]]) -> [Block] {
         i += 1
     }
     
+    let words = Int(bs.words)
     blocks_free(&bs)
     
-    return out
+    return Blocks(words: words, blocks: out)
 }
 
 func strblock_to_string(_ s: str_block_t) -> String? {
diff --git a/damus/Nostr/NostrEvent.swift b/damus/Nostr/NostrEvent.swift
index 2879ddef..1658c20e 100644
--- a/damus/Nostr/NostrEvent.swift
+++ b/damus/Nostr/NostrEvent.swift
@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ class NostrEvent: Codable, Identifiable, CustomStringConvertible, Equatable, Has
         return calculate_event_id(ev: self) == self.id
     }
     
-    private var _blocks: [Block]? = nil
-    func blocks(_ privkey: String?) -> [Block] {
+    private var _blocks: Blocks? = nil
+    func blocks(_ privkey: String?) -> Blocks {
         if let bs = _blocks {
             return bs
         }
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class NostrEvent: Codable, Identifiable, CustomStringConvertible, Equatable, Has
         return blocks
     }
 
-    func get_blocks(content: String) -> [Block] {
+    func get_blocks(content: String) -> Blocks {
         return parse_mentions(content: content, tags: self.tags)
     }
 
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ class NostrEvent: Codable, Identifiable, CustomStringConvertible, Equatable, Has
         if let rs = _event_refs {
             return rs
         }
-        let refs = interpret_event_refs(blocks: self.blocks(privkey), tags: self.tags)
+        let refs = interpret_event_refs(blocks: self.blocks(privkey).blocks, tags: self.tags)
         self._event_refs = refs
         return refs
     }
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ class NostrEvent: Codable, Identifiable, CustomStringConvertible, Equatable, Has
     func note_language(_ privkey: String?) -> String? {
         // Rely on Apple's NLLanguageRecognizer to tell us which language it thinks the note is in
         // and filter on only the text portions of the content as URLs and hashtags confuse the language recognizer.
-        let originalBlocks = blocks(privkey)
+        let originalBlocks = blocks(privkey).blocks
         let originalOnlyText = originalBlocks.compactMap { $0.is_text }.joined(separator: " ")
 
         // Only accept language recognition hypothesis if there's at least a 50% probability that it's accurate.
@@ -942,7 +942,7 @@ func last_etag(tags: [[String]]) -> String? {
 }
 
 func first_eref_mention(ev: NostrEvent, privkey: String?) -> Mention? {
-    let blocks = ev.blocks(privkey).filter { block in
+    let blocks = ev.blocks(privkey).blocks.filter { block in
         guard case .mention(let mention) = block else {
             return false
         }
diff --git a/damus/Views/NoteContentView.swift b/damus/Views/NoteContentView.swift
index f1716c99..7dbc79e4 100644
--- a/damus/Views/NoteContentView.swift
+++ b/damus/Views/NoteContentView.swift
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ struct NoteContentView: View {
             .onReceive(handle_notify(.profile_updated)) { notif in
                 let profile = notif.object as! ProfileUpdate
                 let blocks = event.blocks(damus_state.keypair.privkey)
-                for block in blocks {
+                for block in blocks.blocks {
                     switch block {
                     case .mention(let m):
                         if m.type == .pubkey && m.ref.ref_id == profile.pubkey {
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ struct NoteArtifacts: Equatable {
     }
     
     let content: CompatibleText
+    let words: Int
     let urls: [UrlType]
     let invoices: [Invoice]
     
@@ -278,7 +279,7 @@ struct NoteArtifacts: Equatable {
     
     static func just_content(_ content: String) -> NoteArtifacts {
         let txt = CompatibleText(attributed: AttributedString(stringLiteral: content))
-        return NoteArtifacts(content: txt, urls: [], invoices: [])
+        return NoteArtifacts(content: txt, words: 0, urls: [], invoices: [])
     }
 }
 
@@ -313,9 +314,10 @@ func render_note_content(ev: NostrEvent, profiles: Profiles, privkey: String?) -
     return render_blocks(blocks: blocks, profiles: profiles)
 }
 
-func render_blocks(blocks: [Block], profiles: Profiles) -> NoteArtifacts {
+func render_blocks(blocks bs: Blocks, profiles: Profiles) -> NoteArtifacts {
     var invoices: [Invoice] = []
     var urls: [UrlType] = []
+    let blocks = bs.blocks
     
     let one_note_ref = blocks
         .filter({ $0.is_note_mention })
@@ -369,7 +371,7 @@ func render_blocks(blocks: [Block], profiles: Profiles) -> NoteArtifacts {
         }
     }
 
-    return NoteArtifacts(content: txt, urls: urls, invoices: invoices)
+    return NoteArtifacts(content: txt, words: bs.words, urls: urls, invoices: invoices)
 }
 
 enum MediaUrl {