diff --git a/crates/ui-egui/src/panels/detail.rs b/crates/ui-egui/src/panels/detail.rs
index 84531132b..7fd50d00f 100644
--- a/crates/ui-egui/src/panels/detail.rs
+++ b/crates/ui-egui/src/panels/detail.rs
@@ -2390,7 +2390,11 @@ fn mask_overlay(app: &mut LightcraftApp, ui: &mut egui::Ui, resp: &egui::Respons
         // the photo (issue #2549)
         use lightcraft_pipeline::MaskView;
         let colored = matches!(MaskView::parse(&app.ui.mask_overlay_mode).unwrap_or_default(), MaskView::Color | MaskView::ColorOnBw);
-        let shown = (app.ui.mask_overlay || app.ui.mask_overlay_all) && !(colored && app.ui.mask_overlay_opacity <= 0.0);
+        // the all-masks overlay ([`view_overlay`]) shows only visible masks, and gives way to the
+        // selected mask's when none has anything in it (a stroke goes into the selected mask, or a new one)
+        let visible = active.and_then(|id| d.masks.iter().find(|m| m.id == id)).is_none_or(|m| m.visible);
+        let all = app.ui.mask_overlay_all && (visible || d.masks.iter().any(|m| m.visible && !m.components.is_empty()));
+        let shown = if all { visible } else { app.ui.mask_overlay } && !(colored && app.ui.mask_overlay_opacity <= 0.0);
         if shown && let Some(Gesture::Brush { points, pressure }) = &app.gesture {
             let screen: Vec<Pos2> = points.iter().map(|q| map.screen(*q)).collect();
             // opacity 0 only gets here in the image views, which ignore it: a fixed tint there
diff --git a/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs b/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs
index f6841129f..7c221bef5 100644
--- a/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs
+++ b/crates/ui-egui/src/tests_masking.rs
@@ -1880,6 +1880,14 @@ fn a_brush_stroke_is_not_tinted_while_the_mask_overlay_is_hidden() {
     }
     pointer(&mut h, json!([{"kind": "up", "x": 0.85, "y": 0.75}]));
     assert_eq!(develop(&h).masks.len(), 1, "every stroke went into the one mask");
+
+    // a hidden mask isn't in the all-masks overlay: nor is the stroke being painted into it
+    let id = develop(&h).masks[0].id;
+    exec(&mut h, "mask.visible", json!({"id": id, "visible": false}));
+    let (photo, held) = hold_fast_stroke(&mut h, 0.9);
+    let t = tinted(&photo, &held);
+    assert!(t.is_empty(), "the all-masks overlay tints a stroke into a hidden mask: {} of 74 points, first {:?}", t.len(), t.first());
+    pointer(&mut h, json!([{"kind": "up", "x": 0.85, "y": 0.9}]));
 }
 
 #[test]