diff --git a/.changeset/expose-snapshot-header.md b/.changeset/expose-snapshot-header.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e3ada927ed3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/expose-snapshot-header.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@core/sync-service": patch
+---
+
+Include the `electric-snapshot` response header in `access-control-expose-headers` so that cross-origin browser clients can read it.
diff --git a/.changeset/quiet-actors-argue.md b/.changeset/quiet-actors-argue.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f922b81b89d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/quiet-actors-argue.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@electric-sql/client": patch
+---
+
+Fix duplicate download of subset snapshot responses caused by the chunk prefetcher mistaking them for a normal chunk to prefetch.
diff --git a/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/api/response.ex b/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/api/response.ex
index 6a99d063358..4eb85417e18 100644
--- a/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/api/response.ex
+++ b/packages/sync-service/lib/electric/shapes/api/response.ex
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ defmodule Electric.Shapes.Api.Response do
   @electric_schema_header "electric-schema"
   @electric_up_to_date_header "electric-up-to-date"
   @electric_has_data_header "electric-has-data"
+  @electric_snapshot_header "electric-snapshot"
   @electric_known_error_header "electric-internal-known-error"
   @retry_after_header "retry-after"
 
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ defmodule Electric.Shapes.Api.Response do
     @electric_offset_header,
     @electric_schema_header,
     @electric_up_to_date_header,
+    @electric_snapshot_header,
     @electric_known_error_header,
     @retry_after_header
   ]
@@ -207,7 +209,7 @@ defmodule Electric.Shapes.Api.Response do
   defp put_resp_headers(conn, %__MODULE__{response_type: :subset} = response) do
     conn
     |> put_cache_header("cache-control", "no-cache", response.api)
-    |> Plug.Conn.put_resp_header("electric-snapshot", "true")
+    |> Plug.Conn.put_resp_header(@electric_snapshot_header, "true")
     |> put_shape_handle_header(response)
     |> put_schema_header(response)
     |> put_offset_header(response)
diff --git a/packages/typescript-client/src/constants.ts b/packages/typescript-client/src/constants.ts
index 37441524235..b929186f3cb 100644
--- a/packages/typescript-client/src/constants.ts
+++ b/packages/typescript-client/src/constants.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ export const SHAPE_HANDLE_HEADER = `electric-handle`
 export const CHUNK_LAST_OFFSET_HEADER = `electric-offset`
 export const SHAPE_SCHEMA_HEADER = `electric-schema`
 export const CHUNK_UP_TO_DATE_HEADER = `electric-up-to-date`
+export const SNAPSHOT_HEADER = `electric-snapshot`
 export const COLUMNS_QUERY_PARAM = `columns`
 export const LIVE_CACHE_BUSTER_QUERY_PARAM = `cursor`
 export const EXPIRED_HANDLE_QUERY_PARAM = `expired_handle`
diff --git a/packages/typescript-client/src/fetch.ts b/packages/typescript-client/src/fetch.ts
index cfd6ef5ac61..accde8273fd 100644
--- a/packages/typescript-client/src/fetch.ts
+++ b/packages/typescript-client/src/fetch.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   SHAPE_SCHEMA_HEADER,
   SHAPE_HANDLE_HEADER,
   SHAPE_HANDLE_QUERY_PARAM,
+  SNAPSHOT_HEADER,
   SUBSET_PARAM_LIMIT,
   SUBSET_PARAM_OFFSET,
   SUBSET_PARAM_ORDER_BY,
@@ -475,10 +476,13 @@ function getNextChunkUrl(url: string, res: Response): string | void {
   const shapeHandle = res.headers.get(SHAPE_HANDLE_HEADER)
   const lastOffset = res.headers.get(CHUNK_LAST_OFFSET_HEADER)
   const isUpToDate = res.headers.has(CHUNK_UP_TO_DATE_HEADER)
+  const isSnapshot = res.headers.get(SNAPSHOT_HEADER) === `true`
 
   // only prefetch if shape handle and offset for next chunk are available, and
   // response is not already up-to-date
-  if (!shapeHandle || !lastOffset || isUpToDate) return
+  // snapshot (subset) responses are one-shot and must never be prefetched:
+  // there is no "next chunk" URL for them, only a repeat of the same request
+  if (!shapeHandle || !lastOffset || isUpToDate || isSnapshot) return
 
   const nextUrl = new URL(url)
 
diff --git a/packages/typescript-client/test/fetch.test.ts b/packages/typescript-client/test/fetch.test.ts
index 6a44652b653..91cd353900e 100644
--- a/packages/typescript-client/test/fetch.test.ts
+++ b/packages/typescript-client/test/fetch.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,11 @@ import {
   createFetchWithConsumedMessages,
   parseRetryAfterHeader,
 } from '../src/fetch'
-import { CHUNK_LAST_OFFSET_HEADER, SHAPE_HANDLE_HEADER } from '../src/constants'
+import {
+  CHUNK_LAST_OFFSET_HEADER,
+  SHAPE_HANDLE_HEADER,
+  SNAPSHOT_HEADER,
+} from '../src/constants'
 
 describe(`createFetchWithBackoff`, () => {
   const initialDelay = 10
@@ -392,6 +396,51 @@ describe(`createFetchWithChunkBuffer`, () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it(`should not prefetch a snapshot (subset) GET response`, async () => {
+    const fetchWrapper = createFetchWithChunkBuffer(mockFetch)
+    const snapshotUrl = `https://example.com/v1/shape?table=foo&subset__limit=50`
+    const snapshotResponse = new Response(`[]`, {
+      status: 200,
+      headers: responseHeaders({
+        [SHAPE_HANDLE_HEADER]: `123`,
+        [CHUNK_LAST_OFFSET_HEADER]: `456`,
+        [SNAPSHOT_HEADER]: `true`,
+      }),
+    })
+
+    mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce(snapshotResponse)
+
+    const result = await fetchWrapper(snapshotUrl)
+    await sleep()
+
+    expect(result).toBe(snapshotResponse)
+    // Snapshot responses must not trigger a speculative prefetch of the
+    // same subset filters — the client only ever issues one such request.
+    expect(mockFetch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it(`should prefetch when the snapshot header is not true`, async () => {
+    const fetchWrapper = createFetchWithChunkBuffer(mockFetch)
+    const initialResponse = new Response(`initial chunk`, {
+      status: 200,
+      headers: responseHeaders({
+        [SHAPE_HANDLE_HEADER]: `123`,
+        [CHUNK_LAST_OFFSET_HEADER]: `456`,
+        [SNAPSHOT_HEADER]: `false`,
+      }),
+    })
+    const nextResponse = new Response(`next chunk`, { status: 200 })
+
+    mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce(initialResponse)
+    mockFetch.mockResolvedValueOnce(nextResponse)
+
+    const result = await fetchWrapper(baseUrl)
+
+    expect(result).toBe(initialResponse)
+    const nextUrl = sortUrlParams(`${baseUrl}&handle=123&offset=456`)
+    expect(mockFetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(nextUrl, expect.anything())
+  })
+
   it(`should not prefetch for non-GET requests`, async () => {
     const fetchWrapper = createFetchWithChunkBuffer(mockFetch)
     const postResponse = new Response(`snapshot chunk`, {