diff --git a/src/lib/components/Navigation.svelte b/src/lib/components/Navigation.svelte
index e155c03..186a93f 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/Navigation.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/Navigation.svelte
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@
     <NavLi href="/visualize">Visualize</NavLi>
     <NavLi href="/start">Getting Started</NavLi>
     <NavLi href="/events">Events</NavLi>
-    <NavLi href="/my-notes">My Notes</NavLi>
+    {#if userState.signedIn}
+      <NavLi href="/my-notes">My Notes</NavLi>
+    {/if}
     <NavLi href="/about">About</NavLi>
     <NavLi href="/contact">Contact</NavLi>
     <NavLi>
diff --git a/src/lib/ndk.ts b/src/lib/ndk.ts
index 45e9097..92d2430 100644
--- a/src/lib/ndk.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ndk.ts
@@ -91,20 +91,8 @@ function clearPersistentRelaySet(): void {
   }
 }
 
-// Subscribe to userStore changes and update ndkSignedIn accordingly
-userStore.subscribe(async (userState) => {
-  ndkSignedIn.set(userState.signedIn);
-  
-  // Refresh relay stores when user state changes
-  const ndk = get(ndkInstance);
-  if (ndk) {
-    try {
-      await refreshRelayStores(ndk);
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.warn('[NDK.ts] Failed to refresh relay stores on user state change:', error);
-    }
-  }
-});
+// AI-NOTE: userStore subscription moved to initNdk function to prevent initialization errors
+// The subscription will be set up after userStore is properly initialized
 
 /**
  * Custom authentication policy that handles NIP-42 authentication manually
@@ -655,6 +643,21 @@ export function initNdk(): NDK {
 
   attemptConnection();
 
+  // AI-NOTE: Set up userStore subscription after NDK initialization to prevent initialization errors
+  userStore.subscribe(async (userState) => {
+    ndkSignedIn.set(userState.signedIn);
+    
+    // Refresh relay stores when user state changes
+    const ndk = get(ndkInstance);
+    if (ndk) {
+      try {
+        await refreshRelayStores(ndk);
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.warn('[NDK.ts] Failed to refresh relay stores on user state change:', error);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+
   return ndk;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/routes/my-notes/+page.svelte b/src/routes/my-notes/+page.svelte
index 4841b4c..852d31e 100644
--- a/src/routes/my-notes/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/my-notes/+page.svelte
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <script lang="ts">
   import { onMount } from "svelte";
+  import { goto } from "$app/navigation";
   import { userStore } from "$lib/stores/userStore";
   import { ndkInstance } from "$lib/ndk";
   import type { NDKEvent } from "@nostr-dev-kit/ndk";
@@ -9,26 +10,26 @@
   import asciidoctor from "asciidoctor";
   import { postProcessAsciidoctorHtml } from "$lib/utils/markup/asciidoctorPostProcessor";
 
-  let events: NDKEvent[] = [];
-  let loading = true;
-  let error: string | null = null;
-  let showTags: Record<string, boolean> = {};
-  let renderedContent: Record<string, string> = {};
+  let events: NDKEvent[] = $state([]);
+  let loading = $state(true);
+  let error: string | null = $state(null);
+  let showTags: Record<string, boolean> = $state({});
+  let renderedContent: Record<string, string> = $state({});
 
   // Tag type and tag filter state
   const tagTypes = ["t", "title", "m", "w"]; // 'm' is MIME type
-  let selectedTagTypes: Set<string> = new Set();
+  let selectedTagTypes: Set<string> = $state(new Set());
   let tagTypeLabels: Record<string, string> = {
     t: "hashtag",
     title: "",
     m: "mime",
     w: "wiki",
   };
-  let tagFilter: Set<string> = new Set();
+  let tagFilter: Set<string> = $state(new Set());
 
   // Unique tags by type
-  let uniqueTagsByType: Record<string, Set<string>> = {};
-  let allUniqueTags: Set<string> = new Set();
+  let uniqueTagsByType: Record<string, Set<string>> = $state({});
+  let allUniqueTags: Set<string> = $state(new Set());
 
   async function fetchMyNotes() {
     loading = true;
@@ -132,7 +133,7 @@
   }
 
   // Compute which tags to show in the filter
-  $: tagsToShow = (() => {
+  let tagsToShow = $derived.by(() => {
     if (selectedTagTypes.size === 0) {
       return [];
     }
@@ -143,10 +144,10 @@
       }
     }
     return Array.from(tags).sort();
-  })();
+  });
 
   // Compute filtered events
-  $: filteredEvents = (() => {
+  let filteredEvents = $derived.by(() => {
     if (selectedTagTypes.size === 0 && tagFilter.size === 0) {
       return events;
     }
@@ -164,7 +165,17 @@
       // Otherwise, event must have at least one of the selected tags
       return relevantTags.some((tag) => tagFilter.has(tag[1]));
     });
-  })();
+  });
+
+  // AI-NOTE: Check authentication status immediately and redirect if not logged in
+  $effect(() => {
+    const user = get(userStore);
+    if (!user.signedIn) {
+      // Redirect to home page if not logged in
+      goto('/');
+      return;
+    }
+  });
 
   onMount(fetchMyNotes);
 </script>