diff --git a/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.test.ts b/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.test.ts
index 27663017097..55e48f54394 100644
--- a/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.test.ts
@@ -442,6 +442,14 @@ describe('importCookiesFromBrowser Chromium', () => {
       expect(
         copyFileSyncMock.mock.calls.some(([source]) => source === `${sourceCookiesPath}-wal`)
       ).toBe(true)
+      expect(
+        copyFileSyncMock.mock.calls.some(
+          ([source, destination]) =>
+            source === sourceCookiesPath &&
+            typeof destination === 'string' &&
+            destination.includes(join('userData', 'cookie-import-snapshots'))
+        )
+      ).toBe(true)
       expect(
         ['', '-wal', '-shm'].map((suffix) => readFileSync(sourceCookiesPath + suffix))
       ).toEqual(sourceFilesBefore)
diff --git a/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.ts b/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.ts
index 3191509d30c..de52cfbdc84 100644
--- a/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.ts
+++ b/src/main/browser/browser-cookie-import.ts
@@ -1522,7 +1522,12 @@ export async function importCookiesFromBrowser(
   try {
     // Why: the browser can commit cookies only to WAL while it remains open;
     // snapshot retries prevent pairing the main DB with a racing WAL generation.
-    sourceSnapshot = createChromiumCookieSnapshot(browser.cookiesPath)
+    // Why: snapshot bytes are sensitive — keep them under userData, not os.tmpdir().
+    const snapshotTempRoot = join(app.getPath('userData'), 'cookie-import-snapshots')
+    mkdirSync(snapshotTempRoot, { recursive: true })
+    sourceSnapshot = createChromiumCookieSnapshot(browser.cookiesPath, {
+      tempRoot: snapshotTempRoot
+    })
   } catch (err) {
     try {
       unlinkSync(stagingCookiesPath)
diff --git a/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.test.ts b/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.test.ts
index 16fbd50a63f..db334e81097 100644
--- a/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import type * as NodeFs from 'node:fs'
 
-const { beforeCopyMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({ beforeCopyMock: vi.fn() }))
+const { beforeCopyMock, rmSyncShouldThrow } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  beforeCopyMock: vi.fn(),
+  rmSyncShouldThrow: { value: false }
+}))
 
 vi.mock('node:fs', async (importOriginal) => {
   const actual = await importOriginal<typeof NodeFs>()
@@ -10,6 +13,12 @@ vi.mock('node:fs', async (importOriginal) => {
     copyFileSync: (...args: Parameters<typeof actual.copyFileSync>) => {
       beforeCopyMock(...args)
       return actual.copyFileSync(...args)
+    },
+    rmSync: (...args: Parameters<typeof actual.rmSync>) => {
+      if (rmSyncShouldThrow.value) {
+        throw new Error('cleanup failed')
+      }
+      return actual.rmSync(...args)
     }
   }
 })
@@ -21,6 +30,8 @@ import { DatabaseSync } from 'node:sqlite'
 import { createChromiumCookieTestDatabase } from './browser-cookie-import-test-database'
 import { createChromiumCookieSnapshot } from './chromium-cookie-snapshot'
 
+const SNAPSHOT_ATTEMPTS = 5
+
 function sourceFiles(databasePath: string): Map<string, Buffer> {
   const files = new Map<string, Buffer>()
   for (const suffix of ['', '-wal', '-shm'] as const) {
@@ -44,10 +55,12 @@ describe('createChromiumCookieSnapshot', () => {
     root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-chromium-snapshot-test-'))
     writer = null
     beforeCopyMock.mockReset()
+    rmSyncShouldThrow.value = false
   })
 
   afterEach(() => {
     writer?.close()
+    rmSyncShouldThrow.value = false
     rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true })
   })
 
@@ -103,7 +116,10 @@ describe('createChromiumCookieSnapshot', () => {
       }
     })
 
-    const snapshot = createChromiumCookieSnapshot(sourcePath, { tempRoot: root })
+    const snapshot = createChromiumCookieSnapshot(sourcePath, {
+      tempRoot: root,
+      retryBackoffMs: 0
+    })
     const database = new DatabaseSync(snapshot.databasePath, { readOnly: true })
     const row = database.prepare("SELECT value FROM cookies WHERE name = 'raced-in'").get()
     database.close()
@@ -127,7 +143,10 @@ describe('createChromiumCookieSnapshot', () => {
       }
     })
 
-    const snapshot = createChromiumCookieSnapshot(sourcePath, { tempRoot: root })
+    const snapshot = createChromiumCookieSnapshot(sourcePath, {
+      tempRoot: root,
+      retryBackoffMs: 0
+    })
     const database = new DatabaseSync(snapshot.databasePath, { readOnly: true })
     const row = database.prepare("SELECT value FROM cookies WHERE name = 'checkpointed'").get()
     database.close()
@@ -137,6 +156,89 @@ describe('createChromiumCookieSnapshot', () => {
     snapshot.cleanup()
   })
 
+  it('backs off between unstable attempts before a successful snapshot', () => {
+    const sourcePath = join(root, 'Chrome', 'Default', 'Cookies')
+    createChromiumCookieTestDatabase(sourcePath, []).close()
+    const sleep = vi.fn()
+    let raceCount = 0
+    beforeCopyMock.mockImplementation((source: string) => {
+      if (source === sourcePath && raceCount < 2) {
+        raceCount += 1
+        if (!writer) {
+          writer = new DatabaseSync(sourcePath)
+          writer.exec('PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL; PRAGMA wal_autocheckpoint = 0;')
+        }
+        writer.exec(
+          `INSERT INTO cookies (creation_utc, host_key, name, value, path, expires_utc, is_secure, is_httponly, samesite) VALUES (${raceCount}, '.example.com', 'raced-${raceCount}', 'v${raceCount}', '/', 0, 0, 0, 0)`
+        )
+      }
+    })
+
+    const snapshot = createChromiumCookieSnapshot(sourcePath, {
+      tempRoot: root,
+      retryBackoffMs: 40,
+      sleep
+    })
+    const database = new DatabaseSync(snapshot.databasePath, { readOnly: true })
+    const rows = database.prepare('SELECT name FROM cookies ORDER BY name').all()
+    database.close()
+
+    expect(rows).toEqual([
+      expect.objectContaining({ name: 'raced-1' }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ name: 'raced-2' })
+    ])
+    expect(sleep).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    expect(sleep).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, 40)
+    expect(sleep).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, 40)
+    expect(beforeCopyMock.mock.calls.filter(([source]) => source === sourcePath)).toHaveLength(3)
+    snapshot.cleanup()
+  })
+
+  it('throws after exhausting unstable snapshot attempts and leaves no temp dirs', () => {
+    const sourcePath = join(root, 'Chrome', 'Default', 'Cookies')
+    const snapshotsRoot = join(root, 'snapshots')
+    mkdirSync(snapshotsRoot)
+    writer = createChromiumCookieTestDatabase(sourcePath, [{ name: 'session', value: 'value' }], {
+      journalMode: 'wal'
+    })
+    const sleep = vi.fn()
+    let mutation = 0
+    beforeCopyMock.mockImplementation((source: string) => {
+      if (source === sourcePath) {
+        mutation += 1
+        writer?.exec(
+          `INSERT INTO cookies (creation_utc, host_key, name, value, path, expires_utc, is_secure, is_httponly, samesite) VALUES (${mutation}, '.example.com', 'mut-${mutation}', 'v', '/', 0, 0, 0, 0)`
+        )
+      }
+    })
+
+    expect(() =>
+      createChromiumCookieSnapshot(sourcePath, {
+        tempRoot: snapshotsRoot,
+        retryBackoffMs: 15,
+        sleep
+      })
+    ).toThrow('Chromium cookies database changed while creating a snapshot')
+    expect(beforeCopyMock.mock.calls.filter(([source]) => source === sourcePath)).toHaveLength(
+      SNAPSHOT_ATTEMPTS
+    )
+    expect(sleep).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(SNAPSHOT_ATTEMPTS - 1)
+    expect(sleep).toHaveBeenCalledWith(15)
+    expect(readdirSync(snapshotsRoot)).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('preserves the original error when cleanup fails after snapshot failure', () => {
+    const snapshotsRoot = join(root, 'snapshots')
+    mkdirSync(snapshotsRoot)
+    rmSyncShouldThrow.value = true
+
+    expect(() =>
+      createChromiumCookieSnapshot(join(root, 'missing', 'Cookies'), {
+        tempRoot: snapshotsRoot
+      })
+    ).toThrow('does not exist')
+  })
+
   it('removes a partial snapshot when a WAL copy fails', () => {
     const sourcePath = join(root, 'Chrome', 'Default', 'Cookies')
     const snapshotsRoot = join(root, 'snapshots')
diff --git a/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.ts b/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.ts
index 4b54e98be8d..847ea036e57 100644
--- a/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.ts
+++ b/src/main/browser/chromium-cookie-snapshot.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
-import { copyFileSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, statSync, unlinkSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { copyFileSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, statSync, unlinkSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
 
 const SNAPSHOT_ATTEMPTS = 5
+// Why: continuous Chromium writers can keep all immediate retries inside one
+// write burst; a short pause lets the burst settle without making import laggy.
+const SNAPSHOT_RETRY_BACKOFF_MS = 25
 
 type FileState = {
   device: bigint
@@ -18,7 +21,21 @@ export type ChromiumCookieSnapshot = {
 }
 
 type ChromiumCookieSnapshotOptions = {
+  /** Prefer a private app path (e.g. userData); tests inject an isolated root. */
   tempRoot?: string
+  /** Delay between failed snapshot attempts. Defaults to 25ms. */
+  retryBackoffMs?: number
+  /** Injectable sleep for tests; defaults to portable Atomics.wait sleep. */
+  sleep?: (ms: number) => void
+}
+
+function sleepSync(ms: number): void {
+  if (ms <= 0) {
+    return
+  }
+  // Why: keep createChromiumCookieSnapshot synchronous for the import pipeline;
+  // Atomics.wait is the portable bounded sleep without child_process/platform tools.
+  Atomics.wait(new Int32Array(new SharedArrayBuffer(4)), 0, 0, ms)
 }
 
 function removeSnapshotDirectory(path: string): void {
@@ -52,6 +69,9 @@ function readFileState(path: string): FileState | null {
 }
 
 function sameFileState(left: FileState | null, right: FileState | null): boolean {
+  // Why: mtime/ctime equality is coarse FS stability only; concurrent writers that
+  // finish within the same timestamp quantum can still pass. Retries + backoff
+  // shrink that window but cannot eliminate it without content hashing.
   if (!left || !right) {
     return left === right
   }
@@ -117,12 +137,21 @@ export function createChromiumCookieSnapshot(
   sourcePath: string,
   options: ChromiumCookieSnapshotOptions = {}
 ): ChromiumCookieSnapshot {
-  const snapshotDir = mkdtempSync(join(options.tempRoot ?? tmpdir(), 'orca-cookie-import-'))
+  // Why: cookie DB bytes are sensitive; production passes userData via tempRoot.
+  // Fall back to os.tmpdir() so unit tests can import this module without Electron.
+  const tempRoot = options.tempRoot ?? tmpdir()
+  mkdirSync(tempRoot, { recursive: true })
+  const snapshotDir = mkdtempSync(join(tempRoot, 'orca-cookie-import-'))
   const databasePath = join(snapshotDir, 'Cookies')
   let keepSnapshot = false
+  const sleep = options.sleep ?? sleepSync
+  const backoffMs = options.retryBackoffMs ?? SNAPSHOT_RETRY_BACKOFF_MS
 
   try {
     for (let attempt = 0; attempt < SNAPSHOT_ATTEMPTS; attempt += 1) {
+      if (attempt > 0) {
+        sleep(backoffMs)
+      }
       if (copyStableAttempt(sourcePath, databasePath)) {
         keepSnapshot = true
         return {
@@ -134,7 +163,11 @@ export function createChromiumCookieSnapshot(
     throw new Error('Chromium cookies database changed while creating a snapshot')
   } finally {
     if (!keepSnapshot) {
-      removeSnapshotDirectory(snapshotDir)
+      try {
+        removeSnapshotDirectory(snapshotDir)
+      } catch {
+        // Why: cleanup must not replace the original snapshot failure for the caller.
+      }
     }
   }
 }