diff --git a/damus/AppAccessibilityIdentifiers.swift b/damus/AppAccessibilityIdentifiers.swift
index 293c63ea..9b4fd4ad 100644
--- a/damus/AppAccessibilityIdentifiers.swift
+++ b/damus/AppAccessibilityIdentifiers.swift
@@ -67,6 +67,9 @@ enum AppAccessibilityIdentifiers: String {
     /// The text view where the user types their note
     case post_composer_text_view
 
+    /// A user result in the mention autocomplete list
+    case post_composer_mention_user_result
+
 
     // MARK: Post button (FAB)
     // Prefix: `post_button`
diff --git a/damus/Features/Posting/Views/UserSearch.swift b/damus/Features/Posting/Views/UserSearch.swift
index bb129b94..a35383a6 100644
--- a/damus/Features/Posting/Views/UserSearch.swift
+++ b/damus/Features/Posting/Views/UserSearch.swift
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ struct UserSearch: View {
                         ForEach(users) { pk in
                             UserView(damus_state: damus_state, pubkey: pk)
                                 .contentShape(Rectangle())
+                                .accessibilityElement(children: .combine)
+                                .accessibilityIdentifier(AppAccessibilityIdentifiers.post_composer_mention_user_result.rawValue)
                                 .onTapGesture {
                                     on_user_tapped(pk: pk)
                                 }
diff --git a/damus/Shared/Components/Text/TextViewWrapper.swift b/damus/Shared/Components/Text/TextViewWrapper.swift
index 30307ff7..c4e93999 100644
--- a/damus/Shared/Components/Text/TextViewWrapper.swift
+++ b/damus/Shared/Components/Text/TextViewWrapper.swift
@@ -226,6 +226,13 @@ struct TextViewWrapper: UIViewRepresentable {
                     // This link will naturally disappear, so no work needs to be done in this range.
                     return
                 }
+                else if range.location == linkRange.location && range.length == 0 {
+                    // Inserting at the left edge of a link. Handle manually to prevent the
+                    // new character from becoming part of the link, but preserve the link.
+                    // This allows users to type before a mention without breaking it.
+                    performEditActionManually = true
+                    return
+                }
                 else if linkRange.intersection(range) != nil {
                     // If user tries to change an existing link directly, remove the link attribute
                     mutable.removeAttribute(.link, range: linkRange)
diff --git a/damusTests/PostViewTests.swift b/damusTests/PostViewTests.swift
index 8b7f4e5a..aa9400ef 100644
--- a/damusTests/PostViewTests.swift
+++ b/damusTests/PostViewTests.swift
@@ -107,12 +107,13 @@ final class PostViewTests: XCTestCase {
             XCTAssertNil(newManuallyEditedContent.attribute(.link, at: 6, effectiveRange: nil))
         })
 
-        // Test adding text right at the start of a mention link, to check that the link is removed
+        // Test adding text right at the start of a mention link - link should be preserved
         content = NSMutableAttributedString(string: "Hello @user")
         content.addAttribute(.link, value: "damus:1234", range: NSRange(location: 6, length: 5))
         checkMentionLinkEditorHandling(content: content, replacementText: "a", replacementRange: NSRange(location: 6, length: 0), shouldBeAbleToChangeAutomatically: false, expectedNewCursorIndex: 7, handleNewContent: { newManuallyEditedContent in
             XCTAssertEqual(newManuallyEditedContent.string, "Hello a@user")
-            XCTAssertNil(newManuallyEditedContent.attribute(.link, at: 7, effectiveRange: nil))
+            // Link should be preserved and shifted to position 7 (after the inserted "a")
+            XCTAssertNotNil(newManuallyEditedContent.attribute(.link, at: 7, effectiveRange: nil))
         })
 
         // Test that removing one link does not affect the other
diff --git a/damusUITests/damusUITests.swift b/damusUITests/damusUITests.swift
index 574512de..9558c46c 100644
--- a/damusUITests/damusUITests.swift
+++ b/damusUITests/damusUITests.swift
@@ -225,6 +225,74 @@ class damusUITests: XCTestCase {
         app.buttons[AID.post_composer_cancel_button.rawValue].tap()
     }
 
+    /// Tests that typing before a mention doesn't break the mention.
+    /// This guards against regressions like https://github.com/damus-io/damus/issues/3460
+    /// where inserting text before a mention would unlink it.
+    ///
+    /// The test creates a real mention link by selecting from autocomplete,
+    /// then types text before it and verifies the mention text is preserved.
+    /// Note: Link attribute preservation is verified in unit tests (PostViewTests).
+    func testTypingBeforeMentionPreservesMention() throws {
+        try self.loginIfNotAlready()
+
+        // Open post composer
+        guard app.buttons[AID.post_button.rawValue].waitForExistence(timeout: 10) else {
+            throw DamusUITestError.timeout_waiting_for_element
+        }
+        app.buttons[AID.post_button.rawValue].tap()
+
+        guard app.textViews[AID.post_composer_text_view.rawValue].waitForExistence(timeout: 5) else {
+            throw DamusUITestError.timeout_waiting_for_element
+        }
+
+        let textView = app.textViews[AID.post_composer_text_view.rawValue]
+        textView.tap()
+
+        // Type "@" to trigger mention autocomplete
+        textView.typeText("@")
+
+        // Wait for autocomplete results to appear and tap on a user to create a real mention link
+        let mentionResult = app.otherElements[AID.post_composer_mention_user_result.rawValue].firstMatch
+        guard mentionResult.waitForExistence(timeout: 5) else {
+            // If no autocomplete results (no contacts loaded), skip this test gracefully
+            app.buttons[AID.post_composer_cancel_button.rawValue].tap()
+            throw XCTSkip("No mention autocomplete results available - contacts may not be loaded")
+        }
+        mentionResult.tap()
+
+        // Wait for mention to be inserted (text should contain more than just "@")
+        let mentionInsertedPredicate = NSPredicate(format: "value CONTAINS[c] '@' AND value.length > 1")
+        let mentionInserted = expectation(for: mentionInsertedPredicate, evaluatedWith: textView)
+        wait(for: [mentionInserted], timeout: 3)
+
+        // Get the current text which should contain the mention (e.g., "@username ")
+        let textAfterMention = textView.value as? String ?? ""
+        XCTAssertTrue(textAfterMention.contains("@"),
+                      "Text should contain a mention after selection but was '\(textAfterMention)'")
+
+        // Move cursor to the beginning and type a prefix
+        let startCoordinate = textView.coordinate(withNormalizedOffset: CGVector(dx: 0.01, dy: 0.5))
+        startCoordinate.tap()
+
+        // Type prefix text before the mention
+        textView.typeText("Hey ")
+
+        // Wait for the prefix to be inserted
+        let prefixInsertedPredicate = NSPredicate(format: "value BEGINSWITH 'Hey '")
+        let prefixInserted = expectation(for: prefixInsertedPredicate, evaluatedWith: textView)
+        wait(for: [prefixInserted], timeout: 3)
+
+        // Verify the text contains both the prefix and the mention is preserved
+        let finalText = textView.value as? String ?? ""
+        XCTAssertTrue(finalText.hasPrefix("Hey "),
+                      "Text should start with 'Hey ' but was '\(finalText)'")
+        XCTAssertTrue(finalText.contains("@"),
+                      "Text should still contain the mention '@' but was '\(finalText)'")
+
+        // Cancel to clean up
+        app.buttons[AID.post_composer_cancel_button.rawValue].tap()
+    }
+
     enum DamusUITestError: Error {
         case timeout_waiting_for_element
     }