diff --git a/app/realtime/router.py b/app/realtime/router.py
index f8adce4..34e0533 100644
--- a/app/realtime/router.py
+++ b/app/realtime/router.py
@@ -40,6 +40,15 @@ async def websocket_gateway(websocket: WebSocket) -> None:
                 raw_data = await websocket.receive_json()
                 try:
                     event = IncomingRealtimeEvent.model_validate(raw_data)
+                    if event.event == "ping":
+                        await websocket.send_json(
+                            OutgoingRealtimeEvent(
+                                event="pong",
+                                payload={},
+                                timestamp=datetime.now(timezone.utc),
+                            ).model_dump(mode="json")
+                        )
+                        continue
                     await _dispatch_event(db, user.id, event)
                 except ValidationError:
                     await websocket.send_json(
diff --git a/app/realtime/schemas.py b/app/realtime/schemas.py
index 4ffb6b2..82de8bb 100644
--- a/app/realtime/schemas.py
+++ b/app/realtime/schemas.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ RealtimeEventName = Literal[
     "message_delivered",
     "user_online",
     "user_offline",
+    "pong",
     "error",
 ]
 
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ class MessageStatusPayload(BaseModel):
 
 
 class IncomingRealtimeEvent(BaseModel):
-    event: Literal["send_message", "typing_start", "typing_stop", "message_read", "message_delivered"]
+    event: Literal["send_message", "typing_start", "typing_stop", "message_read", "message_delivered", "ping"]
     payload: dict[str, Any]
 
 
diff --git a/web/src/hooks/useRealtime.ts b/web/src/hooks/useRealtime.ts
index 444da73..56fac91 100644
--- a/web/src/hooks/useRealtime.ts
+++ b/web/src/hooks/useRealtime.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ export function useRealtime() {
   const typingByChat = useRef<Record<number, Set<number>>>({});
   const wsRef = useRef<WebSocket | null>(null);
   const reconnectTimeoutRef = useRef<number | null>(null);
+  const heartbeatIntervalRef = useRef<number | null>(null);
+  const watchdogIntervalRef = useRef<number | null>(null);
+  const lastPongAtRef = useRef<number>(Date.now());
   const reconnectAttemptsRef = useRef(0);
   const manualCloseRef = useRef(false);
 
@@ -42,6 +45,23 @@ export function useRealtime() {
 
       ws.onopen = () => {
         reconnectAttemptsRef.current = 0;
+        lastPongAtRef.current = Date.now();
+        if (heartbeatIntervalRef.current !== null) {
+          window.clearInterval(heartbeatIntervalRef.current);
+        }
+        if (watchdogIntervalRef.current !== null) {
+          window.clearInterval(watchdogIntervalRef.current);
+        }
+        heartbeatIntervalRef.current = window.setInterval(() => {
+          if (ws.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
+            ws.send(JSON.stringify({ event: "ping", payload: {} }));
+          }
+        }, 20000);
+        watchdogIntervalRef.current = window.setInterval(() => {
+          if (Date.now() - lastPongAtRef.current > 65000 && ws.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
+            ws.close();
+          }
+        }, 15000);
         void useChatStore.getState().loadChats();
       };
 
@@ -80,6 +100,9 @@ export function useRealtime() {
             void chatStore.loadChats();
           }
         }
+        if (event.event === "pong") {
+          lastPongAtRef.current = Date.now();
+        }
         if (event.event === "typing_start") {
           const chatId = Number(event.payload.chat_id);
           const userId = Number(event.payload.user_id);
@@ -143,6 +166,14 @@ export function useRealtime() {
       };
 
       ws.onclose = () => {
+        if (heartbeatIntervalRef.current !== null) {
+          window.clearInterval(heartbeatIntervalRef.current);
+          heartbeatIntervalRef.current = null;
+        }
+        if (watchdogIntervalRef.current !== null) {
+          window.clearInterval(watchdogIntervalRef.current);
+          watchdogIntervalRef.current = null;
+        }
         if (manualCloseRef.current) {
           return;
         }
@@ -160,6 +191,14 @@ export function useRealtime() {
 
     return () => {
       manualCloseRef.current = true;
+      if (heartbeatIntervalRef.current !== null) {
+        window.clearInterval(heartbeatIntervalRef.current);
+        heartbeatIntervalRef.current = null;
+      }
+      if (watchdogIntervalRef.current !== null) {
+        window.clearInterval(watchdogIntervalRef.current);
+        watchdogIntervalRef.current = null;
+      }
       if (reconnectTimeoutRef.current !== null) {
         window.clearTimeout(reconnectTimeoutRef.current);
         reconnectTimeoutRef.current = null;