diff --git a/PLAN.md b/PLAN.md
index 071fed4..5f0e4ef 100644
--- a/PLAN.md
+++ b/PLAN.md
@@ -361,6 +361,48 @@ modes the reverted features did.
   real drifted second device (only one browser session available this
   round, same recurring constraint as everything else that needs two real
   logins).
+- **In-player overlay added 2026-07-09.** User-requested (correctly pushing
+  back on an earlier "not possible without patching jellyfin-web" claim --
+  plugins like InPlayerEpisodePreview prove the pattern exists): the stats
+  panel + sync button now also appear *inside the video player page*, not
+  just on the standalone stats page.
+  - Mechanism: an `IStartupFilter` registered from plugin DI adds
+    `SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware` to the front of the pipeline, which
+    intercepts responses for `/web/` and `/web/index.html` and injects a
+    `<script src="/SyncPlus/Stats/Client.js" defer>` tag before `</body>`
+    **in the served response only** -- deliberately NOT the
+    write-to-index.html-on-disk approach other plugins default to, because
+    in the linuxserver image (dev and the real k8s deployment alike)
+    index.html is root-owned while Jellyfin runs unprivileged, so disk
+    writes fail with permission errors there (the known issue
+    InPlayerEpisodePreview's README warns about). Response interception has
+    no permission problem and leaves nothing behind on uninstall. The
+    middleware also strips `Accept-Encoding` on those requests (so
+    downstream compression can't garble the `</body>` marker) and drops
+    `ETag`/`Last-Modified` on modified responses (so browsers can't
+    cache-revalidate back to an uninjected copy).
+  - `GET /SyncPlus/Stats/Client.js` serves the overlay script
+    (`[AllowAnonymous]` -- script tags fetch without auth; the script itself
+    only calls auth-gated endpoints via `window.ApiClient.accessToken()`,
+    available because the script runs inside the real SPA).
+  - `GET /SyncPlus/Stats/Mine` -- new non-admin endpoint returning only the
+    *caller's own group's* stats (regular viewers aren't admins, and the
+    admin-gated all-groups endpoint would leak other users' sessions).
+    Returns `{"Group": null}`-shaped response when not in a group (nulls
+    are omitted by Jellyfin's JSON serializer, so the body is literally
+    `{}` -- the overlay JS handles `undefined` fine).
+  - Overlay design: deliberately does NOT hook into jellyfin-web's OSD
+    button DOM (minified class names churn across releases) -- it floats
+    its own fixed-position "SyncPlus" pill + panel, shown only while a
+    `<video>` element exists on the page. Survives web client updates at
+    the cost of not looking native.
+  - **Server-side verified 2026-07-09**: script tag confirmed present in
+    served `/web/index.html` and `/web/` (including with
+    `Accept-Encoding: gzip, br` requests), `Client.js` serves as
+    `application/javascript` and passes `node --check`, `Mine` returns 200
+    with token / 401 without. **Browser-side behavior (overlay appearing
+    during playback, panel polling, sync button) handed to the user to
+    test** -- not yet verified as of this note.
 
 ## Open questions (revisit before/at the relevant phase, not now)
 
diff --git a/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/PluginServiceRegistrator.cs b/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/PluginServiceRegistrator.cs
index e94f06e..201a049 100644
--- a/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/PluginServiceRegistrator.cs
+++ b/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/PluginServiceRegistrator.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ using Jellyfin.Plugin.SyncPlus.SyncPlay;
 using MediaBrowser.Controller;
 using MediaBrowser.Controller.Plugins;
 using MediaBrowser.Controller.SyncPlay;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
 using ConcreteSyncPlayManager = Emby.Server.Implementations.SyncPlay.SyncPlayManager;
 
@@ -20,5 +21,10 @@ public class PluginServiceRegistrator : IPluginServiceRegistrator
         // RegisterServices runs after core's, so this registration wins for resolution.
         serviceCollection.AddSingleton<ConcreteSyncPlayManager>();
         serviceCollection.AddSingleton<ISyncPlayManager, SyncPlusSyncPlayManager>();
+
+        // Injects the in-player overlay script tag into served index.html -- see
+        // SyncPlusIndexInjection.cs for why this is a startup filter and why it
+        // intercepts responses instead of writing to the file on disk.
+        serviceCollection.AddSingleton<IStartupFilter, SyncPlusIndexInjectionStartupFilter>();
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/SyncPlay/SyncPlusIndexInjection.cs b/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/SyncPlay/SyncPlusIndexInjection.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47c9924
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/SyncPlay/SyncPlusIndexInjection.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
+
+namespace Jellyfin.Plugin.SyncPlus.SyncPlay;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Registers <see cref="SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware"/> at the front of the request
+/// pipeline. An <see cref="IStartupFilter"/> registered in DI is the one seam a plugin
+/// has for adding middleware -- plugins can't touch Jellyfin's own <c>Startup.Configure</c>,
+/// but startup filters are resolved from the final service provider when the pipeline is
+/// built, and plugin <c>RegisterServices</c> runs early enough to land there. Same
+/// technique the "File Transformation" plugin ecosystem uses.
+/// </summary>
+public class SyncPlusIndexInjectionStartupFilter : IStartupFilter
+{
+    /// <inheritdoc />
+    public Action<IApplicationBuilder> Configure(Action<IApplicationBuilder> next)
+        => app =>
+        {
+            app.UseMiddleware<SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware>();
+            next(app);
+        };
+}
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Injects a <c>&lt;script&gt;</c> tag for the plugin's in-player overlay
+/// (<see cref="SyncPlusStatsController.GetClientScript"/>) into the *served*
+/// <c>index.html</c> response, on the fly. Deliberately does not write to the file on
+/// disk: in the linuxserver image (dev and the real k8s deployment alike) index.html is
+/// owned by root while Jellyfin runs as an unprivileged user, so the disk-write approach
+/// other plugins default to (e.g. InPlayerEpisodePreview) fails with permission errors
+/// there. Intercepting the response instead has no permission problem and leaves nothing
+/// behind if the plugin is removed.
+/// </summary>
+public class SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware
+{
+    private const string ScriptTag = "<script src=\"/SyncPlus/Stats/Client.js\" defer></script>";
+
+    private readonly RequestDelegate _next;
+    private readonly ILogger<SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware> _logger;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware"/> class.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="next">The next middleware in the pipeline.</param>
+    /// <param name="logger">Instance of the <see cref="ILogger{SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware}"/> interface.</param>
+    public SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware(RequestDelegate next, ILogger<SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware> logger)
+    {
+        _next = next;
+        _logger = logger;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Intercepts index.html responses and injects the overlay script tag.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="context">The HTTP context.</param>
+    /// <returns>A task.</returns>
+    public async Task InvokeAsync(HttpContext context)
+    {
+        var path = context.Request.Path.Value ?? string.Empty;
+        var isIndex = path.Equals("/web/", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
+            || path.Equals("/web/index.html", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+
+        if (!isIndex)
+        {
+            await _next(context).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Downstream middleware would otherwise gzip/brotli the body before it gets back
+        // to us, making the </body> marker unfindable. Dropping Accept-Encoding for this
+        // one request keeps the body plain; index.html is ~5KB, the loss is irrelevant.
+        context.Request.Headers.Remove("Accept-Encoding");
+
+        var originalBody = context.Response.Body;
+        using var buffer = new MemoryStream();
+        context.Response.Body = buffer;
+
+        try
+        {
+            await _next(context).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+            var isHtml = context.Response.ContentType?.Contains("text/html", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ?? false;
+            if (context.Response.StatusCode == StatusCodes.Status200OK && isHtml)
+            {
+                var html = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(buffer.ToArray());
+                var injected = html.Replace("</body>", ScriptTag + "</body>", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+                var bytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(injected);
+
+                if (injected.Length == html.Length)
+                {
+                    _logger.LogWarning("SyncPlus: served index.html contains no </body> tag, overlay script not injected");
+                }
+
+                // The stale validators describe the unmodified file; leaving them would let
+                // a browser cache-revalidate its way back to an uninjected copy.
+                context.Response.Headers.Remove("ETag");
+                context.Response.Headers.Remove("Last-Modified");
+                context.Response.ContentLength = bytes.Length;
+                await originalBody.WriteAsync(bytes).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                buffer.Position = 0;
+                await buffer.CopyToAsync(originalBody).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            }
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            context.Response.Body = originalBody;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/SyncPlay/SyncPlusStatsController.cs b/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/SyncPlay/SyncPlusStatsController.cs
index 486c05a..c6207db 100644
--- a/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/SyncPlay/SyncPlusStatsController.cs
+++ b/src/JellyfinSyncPlus/SyncPlay/SyncPlusStatsController.cs
@@ -65,6 +65,22 @@ public class SyncPlusStatsController : ControllerBase
         return Content(StatsPageHtml, "text/html");
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Serves the in-player overlay script. A script tag pointing here gets injected
+    /// into the served <c>index.html</c> by <see cref="SyncPlusIndexInjectionMiddleware"/>,
+    /// so this runs inside the real jellyfin-web SPA with access to <c>window.ApiClient</c>
+    /// -- same reason the standalone stats page can read the login token. Anonymous
+    /// because script tags are fetched without auth headers; the script itself only
+    /// calls auth-gated endpoints.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>The client-side overlay script.</returns>
+    [HttpGet("Client.js")]
+    [AllowAnonymous]
+    public ContentResult GetClientScript()
+    {
+        return Content(ClientScriptJs, "application/javascript");
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets a live snapshot of every active SyncPlay group's members and their drift
     /// relative to whoever in the group is furthest behind.
@@ -74,76 +90,109 @@ public class SyncPlusStatsController : ControllerBase
     [Authorize(Policy = Policies.RequiresElevation)]
     public ActionResult<IReadOnlyList<GroupStatsDto>> GetStats()
     {
-        var sessionsByDevice = _sessionManager.Sessions
-            .Where(s => !string.IsNullOrEmpty(s.DeviceId))
-            .GroupBy(s => s.DeviceId)
-            .ToDictionary(g => g.Key, g => g.First());
+        var sessionsByDevice = GetSessionsByDevice();
 
         var result = new List<GroupStatsDto>();
         foreach (var (groupId, deviceIds) in _membershipStore.GetAllGroups())
         {
-            var members = new List<MemberStatsDto>();
-            long? laggardTicks = null;
-
-            foreach (var deviceId in deviceIds)
-            {
-                if (!sessionsByDevice.TryGetValue(deviceId, out var session))
-                {
-                    continue;
-                }
-
-                var positionTicks = session.PlayState?.PositionTicks;
-                if (positionTicks is not null && !(session.PlayState?.IsPaused ?? false))
-                {
-                    laggardTicks = laggardTicks is null ? positionTicks : Math.Min(laggardTicks.Value, positionTicks.Value);
-                }
-            }
-
-            foreach (var deviceId in deviceIds)
-            {
-                if (!sessionsByDevice.TryGetValue(deviceId, out var session))
-                {
-                    members.Add(new MemberStatsDto { DeviceId = deviceId, Connected = false });
-                    continue;
-                }
-
-                var positionTicks = session.PlayState?.PositionTicks;
-                var transcoding = session.TranscodingInfo;
-
-                members.Add(new MemberStatsDto
-                {
-                    DeviceId = deviceId,
-                    Connected = true,
-                    DeviceName = session.DeviceName,
-                    UserName = session.UserName,
-                    NowPlaying = session.NowPlayingItem?.Name,
-                    PositionTicks = positionTicks,
-                    PositionFormatted = positionTicks is null ? null : TimeSpan.FromTicks(positionTicks.Value).ToString(@"hh\:mm\:ss"),
-                    DriftMs = positionTicks is null || laggardTicks is null
-                        ? null
-                        : (positionTicks.Value - laggardTicks.Value) / TimeSpan.TicksPerMillisecond,
-                    IsPaused = session.PlayState?.IsPaused,
-                    PlayMethod = session.PlayState?.PlayMethod?.ToString(),
-                    Bitrate = transcoding?.Bitrate,
-                    VideoCodec = transcoding?.VideoCodec,
-                    AudioCodec = transcoding?.AudioCodec,
-                    Container = transcoding?.Container,
-                    IsVideoDirect = transcoding is null ? null : transcoding.IsVideoDirect,
-                    IsAudioDirect = transcoding is null ? null : transcoding.IsAudioDirect,
-                    TranscodeReasons = transcoding is null ? null : transcoding.TranscodeReasons.ToString()
-                });
-            }
-
-            result.Add(new GroupStatsDto
-            {
-                GroupId = groupId,
-                Members = members
-            });
+            result.Add(BuildGroupStats(groupId, deviceIds, sessionsByDevice));
         }
 
         return result;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets the live stats for the calling device's own SyncPlay group only. Unlike
+    /// <see cref="GetStats"/> this is open to any authenticated user, because it only
+    /// ever exposes the group the caller is themselves a member of -- it's what the
+    /// in-player overlay (served by <see cref="GetClientScript"/>) polls, and regular
+    /// viewers aren't admins.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>The caller's group stats, with <c>Group</c> null when not in a group.</returns>
+    [HttpGet("Mine")]
+    [Authorize]
+    public ActionResult<MyGroupStatsDto> GetMyStats()
+    {
+        var deviceId = User.Claims.FirstOrDefault(c => c.Type == DeviceIdClaimType)?.Value;
+        var groupId = string.IsNullOrEmpty(deviceId) ? null : _membershipStore.GetGroupForDevice(deviceId);
+        if (groupId is null || !_membershipStore.GetAllGroups().TryGetValue(groupId.Value, out var deviceIds))
+        {
+            return new MyGroupStatsDto { Group = null };
+        }
+
+        return new MyGroupStatsDto { Group = BuildGroupStats(groupId.Value, deviceIds, GetSessionsByDevice()) };
+    }
+
+    private Dictionary<string, SessionInfo> GetSessionsByDevice()
+        => _sessionManager.Sessions
+            .Where(s => !string.IsNullOrEmpty(s.DeviceId))
+            .GroupBy(s => s.DeviceId)
+            .ToDictionary(g => g.Key, g => g.First());
+
+    private static GroupStatsDto BuildGroupStats(
+        Guid groupId,
+        IReadOnlyCollection<string> deviceIds,
+        Dictionary<string, SessionInfo> sessionsByDevice)
+    {
+        var members = new List<MemberStatsDto>();
+        long? laggardTicks = null;
+
+        foreach (var deviceId in deviceIds)
+        {
+            if (!sessionsByDevice.TryGetValue(deviceId, out var session))
+            {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            var positionTicks = session.PlayState?.PositionTicks;
+            if (positionTicks is not null && !(session.PlayState?.IsPaused ?? false))
+            {
+                laggardTicks = laggardTicks is null ? positionTicks : Math.Min(laggardTicks.Value, positionTicks.Value);
+            }
+        }
+
+        foreach (var deviceId in deviceIds)
+        {
+            if (!sessionsByDevice.TryGetValue(deviceId, out var session))
+            {
+                members.Add(new MemberStatsDto { DeviceId = deviceId, Connected = false });
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            var positionTicks = session.PlayState?.PositionTicks;
+            var transcoding = session.TranscodingInfo;
+
+            members.Add(new MemberStatsDto
+            {
+                DeviceId = deviceId,
+                Connected = true,
+                DeviceName = session.DeviceName,
+                UserName = session.UserName,
+                NowPlaying = session.NowPlayingItem?.Name,
+                PositionTicks = positionTicks,
+                PositionFormatted = positionTicks is null ? null : TimeSpan.FromTicks(positionTicks.Value).ToString(@"hh\:mm\:ss"),
+                DriftMs = positionTicks is null || laggardTicks is null
+                    ? null
+                    : (positionTicks.Value - laggardTicks.Value) / TimeSpan.TicksPerMillisecond,
+                IsPaused = session.PlayState?.IsPaused,
+                PlayMethod = session.PlayState?.PlayMethod?.ToString(),
+                Bitrate = transcoding?.Bitrate,
+                VideoCodec = transcoding?.VideoCodec,
+                AudioCodec = transcoding?.AudioCodec,
+                Container = transcoding?.Container,
+                IsVideoDirect = transcoding is null ? null : transcoding.IsVideoDirect,
+                IsAudioDirect = transcoding is null ? null : transcoding.IsAudioDirect,
+                TranscodeReasons = transcoding is null ? null : transcoding.TranscodeReasons.ToString()
+            });
+        }
+
+        return new GroupStatsDto
+        {
+            GroupId = groupId,
+            Members = members
+        };
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// One-shot: seeks the calling device's own session to match whoever in its SyncPlay
     /// group is furthest behind (never the other direction -- if the caller is themselves
@@ -385,6 +434,112 @@ public class SyncPlusStatsController : ControllerBase
 </html>
 """;
 
+    // The in-player overlay. Deliberately does NOT depend on jellyfin-web's OSD button
+    // DOM (class names in the minified bundle change between releases); it only checks
+    // for the presence of a <video> element and floats its own fixed-position UI on top.
+    // That makes it survive web client updates at the cost of not looking native.
+    private const string ClientScriptJs = """
+(function () {
+  'use strict';
+  if (window.__syncPlusInjected) { return; }
+  window.__syncPlusInjected = true;
+
+  function token() {
+    try { return window.ApiClient ? window.ApiClient.accessToken() : null; } catch (e) { return null; }
+  }
+
+  var root = document.createElement('div');
+  root.id = 'syncPlusOverlay';
+  root.style.cssText = 'position:fixed;top:70px;left:12px;z-index:99999;display:none;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#ddd;';
+  root.innerHTML =
+    '<button id="syncPlusToggle" style="background:rgba(0,0,0,.55);color:#bbb;border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25);border-radius:4px;padding:4px 10px;cursor:pointer;font-size:12px;">SyncPlus</button>' +
+    '<div id="syncPlusPanel" style="display:none;margin-top:6px;background:rgba(0,0,0,.75);border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.15);border-radius:6px;padding:10px 12px;min-width:260px;">' +
+      '<div id="syncPlusRows" style="margin-bottom:8px;">Not in a SyncPlay group.</div>' +
+      '<button id="syncPlusSyncBtn" style="background:#00a4dc;color:#fff;border:none;border-radius:3px;padding:5px 12px;cursor:pointer;font-size:12px;">Sync me to group</button>' +
+      '<div id="syncPlusResult" style="margin-top:6px;color:#999;font-size:12px;"></div>' +
+    '</div>';
+  document.body.appendChild(root);
+
+  var panel = root.querySelector('#syncPlusPanel');
+  var rows = root.querySelector('#syncPlusRows');
+  var result = root.querySelector('#syncPlusResult');
+  var pollHandle = null;
+
+  function driftColor(ms) {
+    if (ms === null || ms === undefined) { return '#999'; }
+    if (ms >= 3000) { return '#ff6b6b'; }
+    if (ms >= 1000) { return '#ffb86b'; }
+    return '#6bd68b';
+  }
+
+  function render(group) {
+    if (!group) {
+      rows.textContent = 'Not in a SyncPlay group.';
+      return;
+    }
+    var html = '';
+    (group.Members || []).forEach(function (m) {
+      if (!m.Connected) { return; }
+      var drift = m.DriftMs === null || m.DriftMs === undefined ? '-' : m.DriftMs + ' ms';
+      html += '<div style="display:flex;justify-content:space-between;gap:12px;padding:2px 0;">' +
+        '<span>' + (m.UserName || '?') + ' (' + (m.PlayMethod || '-') + (m.IsPaused ? ', paused' : '') + ')</span>' +
+        '<span style="color:' + driftColor(m.DriftMs) + ';">' + drift + '</span></div>';
+    });
+    rows.innerHTML = html || 'No connected members.';
+  }
+
+  function refresh() {
+    var t = token();
+    if (!t) { return; }
+    fetch('/SyncPlus/Stats/Mine', { headers: { 'X-Emby-Token': t } })
+      .then(function (r) { if (!r.ok) { throw new Error('HTTP ' + r.status); } return r.json(); })
+      .then(function (d) { render(d.Group); })
+      .catch(function (e) { rows.textContent = 'Stats error: ' + e.message; });
+  }
+
+  root.querySelector('#syncPlusToggle').addEventListener('click', function () {
+    var open = panel.style.display !== 'none';
+    panel.style.display = open ? 'none' : 'block';
+    if (pollHandle) { clearInterval(pollHandle); pollHandle = null; }
+    if (!open) { refresh(); pollHandle = setInterval(refresh, 1000); }
+  });
+
+  root.querySelector('#syncPlusSyncBtn').addEventListener('click', function () {
+    var t = token();
+    if (!t) { result.textContent = 'Not logged in.'; return; }
+    result.textContent = 'Syncing...';
+    fetch('/SyncPlus/Stats/Sync', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'X-Emby-Token': t } })
+      .then(function (r) { return r.json(); })
+      .then(function (d) { result.textContent = d.Message || 'Done.'; })
+      .catch(function (e) { result.textContent = 'Error: ' + e.message; });
+  });
+
+  // Only show while something is actually playing in the web player.
+  setInterval(function () {
+    var video = document.querySelector('video');
+    var show = !!video;
+    root.style.display = show ? 'block' : 'none';
+    if (!show && pollHandle) {
+      clearInterval(pollHandle);
+      pollHandle = null;
+      panel.style.display = 'none';
+    }
+  }, 1000);
+})();
+""";
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Result of <see cref="GetMyStats"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public class MyGroupStatsDto
+    {
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets the caller's group stats, or null when the caller isn't in a
+        /// SyncPlay group.
+        /// </summary>
+        public GroupStatsDto? Group { get; set; }
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Result of a <see cref="SyncMe"/> call.
     /// </summary>