diff --git a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/BlockedRouteException.kt b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/BlockedRouteException.kt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7c3fc9cb69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/BlockedRouteException.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Vitor Pamplona
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
+ * this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
+ * the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use,
+ * copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the
+ * Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+ * copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
+ * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR
+ * COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
+ * AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
+ * WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+package com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.service.okhttp
+
+import com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.commons.privacy.BlockReason
+import java.io.IOException
+
+/**
+ * Thrown when a request targets a hidden-service hostname whose matching
+ * privacy daemon is disabled. The fail-closed semantics chosen by the user —
+ * we never silently fall back to a clearnet route for `.onion` / `.i2p` URLs.
+ *
+ * Subclass of [IOException] so the existing HTTP error paths in Coil, OkHttp
+ * call factories, etc. propagate it without changes. Callers that want to
+ * present a clearer UI ("enable Tor/I2P to view this content") can
+ * pattern-match on the type / reason instead of inspecting the message.
+ */
+class BlockedRouteException(
+    val reason: BlockReason,
+) : IOException(messageFor(reason)) {
+    companion object {
+        fun messageFor(reason: BlockReason): String =
+            when (reason) {
+                BlockReason.ONION_REQUIRES_TOR ->
+                    "Cannot reach .onion address: Tor is disabled. Enable Tor in Privacy Options."
+                BlockReason.I2P_REQUIRES_I2P ->
+                    "Cannot reach .i2p address: I2P is disabled. Enable I2P in Privacy Options."
+            }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/DualHttpClientManager.kt b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/DualHttpClientManager.kt
index 7b271de2e3..0b54490010 100644
--- a/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/DualHttpClientManager.kt
+++ b/amethyst/src/main/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/DualHttpClientManager.kt
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.stateIn
 import okhttp3.Call
 import okhttp3.OkHttpClient
 import okhttp3.Request
-import java.io.IOException
 import java.net.InetSocketAddress
 import java.net.Proxy
 
@@ -126,15 +125,7 @@ class DualHttpClientManager(
     fun getDynamicCallFactory(useProxy: Boolean) = DynamicCallFactory(useProxy, this)
 
     companion object {
-        fun blockedException(reason: BlockReason): IOException =
-            IOException(
-                when (reason) {
-                    BlockReason.ONION_REQUIRES_TOR ->
-                        "Cannot reach .onion address: Tor is disabled. Enable Tor in Privacy Options."
-                    BlockReason.I2P_REQUIRES_I2P ->
-                        "Cannot reach .i2p address: I2P is disabled. Enable I2P in Privacy Options."
-                },
-            )
+        fun blockedException(reason: BlockReason): BlockedRouteException = BlockedRouteException(reason)
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/amethyst/src/test/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/BlockedRouteExceptionTest.kt b/amethyst/src/test/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/BlockedRouteExceptionTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..60ea602b42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/amethyst/src/test/java/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/service/okhttp/BlockedRouteExceptionTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Vitor Pamplona
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
+ * this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
+ * the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use,
+ * copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the
+ * Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+ * subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+ * copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
+ * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR
+ * COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
+ * AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
+ * WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+package com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.service.okhttp
+
+import com.vitorpamplona.amethyst.commons.privacy.BlockReason
+import org.junit.Assert.assertEquals
+import org.junit.Assert.assertSame
+import org.junit.Assert.assertTrue
+import org.junit.Test
+
+class BlockedRouteExceptionTest {
+    @Test
+    fun onionMessage_mentionsTorAndOnion() {
+        val e = BlockedRouteException(BlockReason.ONION_REQUIRES_TOR)
+        assertSame(BlockReason.ONION_REQUIRES_TOR, e.reason)
+        assertTrue("message should mention Tor: ${e.message}", e.message!!.contains("Tor", ignoreCase = true))
+        assertTrue("message should mention .onion: ${e.message}", e.message!!.contains(".onion"))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun i2pMessage_mentionsI2pAndDotI2p() {
+        val e = BlockedRouteException(BlockReason.I2P_REQUIRES_I2P)
+        assertSame(BlockReason.I2P_REQUIRES_I2P, e.reason)
+        assertTrue("message should mention I2P: ${e.message}", e.message!!.contains("I2P"))
+        assertTrue("message should mention .i2p: ${e.message}", e.message!!.contains(".i2p"))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun dualHttpClientManagerCompanion_returnsBlockedRouteException_withReason() {
+        // Pins the factory return type so callers can pattern-match without losing the reason.
+        val e: BlockedRouteException = DualHttpClientManager.blockedException(BlockReason.ONION_REQUIRES_TOR)
+        assertEquals(BlockReason.ONION_REQUIRES_TOR, e.reason)
+    }
+}