diff --git a/backend/server/adventures/views/collection_view.py b/backend/server/adventures/views/collection_view.py
index 39e8bcc8..f8909e68 100644
--- a/backend/server/adventures/views/collection_view.py
+++ b/backend/server/adventures/views/collection_view.py
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class CollectionViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
         if self.action == 'destroy':
             return Collection.objects.filter(user=self.request.user.id)
         
-        if self.action in ['update', 'partial_update']:
+        if self.action in ['update', 'partial_update', 'leave']:
             return Collection.objects.filter(
                 Q(user=self.request.user.id) | Q(shared_with=self.request.user)
             ).distinct()
@@ -115,9 +115,9 @@ class CollectionViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
                 Q(is_public=True) | Q(user=self.request.user.id) | Q(shared_with=self.request.user)
             ).distinct()
         
-        # For list action, include collections owned by the user or shared with the user, that are not archived
+        # For list action and default base queryset, return collections owned by the user (exclude shared)
         return Collection.objects.filter(
-            (Q(user=self.request.user.id) | Q(shared_with=self.request.user)) & Q(is_archived=False)
+            Q(user=self.request.user.id) & Q(is_archived=False)
         ).distinct()
 
     def get_queryset(self):
@@ -131,8 +131,10 @@ class CollectionViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
         if not request.user.is_authenticated:
             return Response({"error": "User is not authenticated"}, status=400)
         
+        # List should only return collections owned by the requesting user (shared collections are available
+        # via the `shared` action).
         queryset = Collection.objects.filter(
-            (Q(user=request.user.id) | Q(shared_with=request.user)) & Q(is_archived=False)
+            Q(user=request.user.id) & Q(is_archived=False)
         ).distinct().select_related('user').prefetch_related(
             Prefetch(
                 'locations__images',
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/collections/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/collections/+page.svelte
index 609fa307..48b8cdae 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/collections/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/collections/+page.svelte
@@ -210,11 +210,37 @@
 			});
 
 			if (res.ok) {
+				// Try to parse returned collection data
+				let data: any = null;
+				try {
+					data = await res.json();
+				} catch (e) {
+					data = null;
+				}
+
 				// Remove invite from list
 				invites = invites.filter((i) => i.id !== invite.id);
 				addToast('success', `${$t('invites.accepted')} "${invite.name}"`);
-				// Optionally refresh shared collections
-				await goto(window.location.pathname, { invalidateAll: true });
+
+				// If API returned the accepted collection, add it to sharedCollections immediately
+				if (data && (data.collection || data.result || data.id)) {
+					// Normalize expected shapes: {collection: {...}} or collection object directly
+					const newCollection = data.collection ? data.collection : data;
+					// Prepend so it's visible at top
+					sharedCollections = [newCollection as SlimCollection, ...sharedCollections];
+				} else {
+					// Fallback: refresh shared collections from API
+					try {
+						const sharedRes = await fetch(`/api/collections/shared/?nested=true`);
+						if (sharedRes.ok) {
+							const sharedData = await sharedRes.json();
+							// Prefer results if paginated
+							sharedCollections = sharedData.results ? sharedData.results : sharedData;
+						}
+					} catch (e) {
+						// ignore fallback errors; user already got success toast
+					}
+				}
 			} else {
 				const error = await res.json();
 				addToast('error', error.error || $t('invites.accept_failed'));