diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 6e1a655..249fe6a 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -86,6 +86,21 @@ Bitmaps emitted to `StateFlow`s are **never eagerly recycled** immediately after
 - Error/success dismiss indicators use cancellable `Job` tracking to prevent race conditions
 - `writeExifToUri()` returns boolean and logs at ERROR level on failure
 
+### Orientation policy (do not change without asking)
+
+- Activity is `screenOrientation="portrait"` in the manifest. The GL surface and Compose layout therefore never rotate.
+- The camera passthrough uses a fixed 90° texcoord rotation (`texCoordsBack`/`texCoordsFront`). There is no `setTargetRotation`/`setDisplayRotation`/`getTransformMatrix`-based rotation tracking — past attempts (v1.1.6 through v1.1.13) all introduced subtle bugs and were reverted.
+- The camera image lives in the device's portrait frame and visually follows the phone as it tilts. Per-orientation correctness comes from the EXIF orientation tag written at capture (`OrientationDetector.degreesToExifOrientation(rotationToDegrees(deviceRotation), isFrontCamera)`), not from rotating the bitmap.
+- `OrientationEventListener` (`viewModel.currentRotation`) is for EXIF only. It is **not** the same as `Display.rotation`: it fires at the 45° tilt threshold while the activity rotates later, so it must not drive anything that has to stay in sync with the GL surface.
+- `SurfaceTexture.getTransformMatrix()` with a custom `SurfaceProvider` does not change on `Preview.targetRotation` updates; rebinding doesn't reliably help either. Don't go down that road again.
+
+### Local Android testing
+
+- AVD: `tilfluktsrom` (Pixel 6, API 35, Google APIs) at `~/.android/avd/`. Boot with `emulator -avd tilfluktsrom -no-snapshot-save -gpu swiftshader_indirect -no-audio`.
+- `adb -s emulator-5554 emu rotate` cycles `ROTATION_0 → 3 → 2 → 1 → 0` (decrements by 90°), not the other way.
+- The default virtual scene is too rotationally symmetric to verify which way is "up". For orientation testing, pass `-virtualscene-poster wall=/path/to/marker.png` and ensure the scene camera faces the wall, or just don't trust emulator screenshots as proof of correct orientation.
+- Camera bitmaps captured at startup tend to look black for a few seconds while CameraX rebinds. Wait ≥10 s after `am start` before screenshotting.
+
 ## Permissions
 
 | Permission | Purpose | Notes |
diff --git a/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index c56c4e9..9fed438 100644
--- a/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
         <activity
             android:name=".MainActivity"
             android:exported="true"
-            android:screenOrientation="fullSensor"
+            android:screenOrientation="portrait"
             android:configChanges="orientation|screenSize|screenLayout|keyboardHidden"
             android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustNothing"
             android:theme="@style/Theme.TiltShiftCamera">
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/no/naiv/tiltshift/camera/ImageCaptureHandler.kt b/app/src/main/java/no/naiv/tiltshift/camera/ImageCaptureHandler.kt
index b0401e7..b93db9a 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/no/naiv/tiltshift/camera/ImageCaptureHandler.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/no/naiv/tiltshift/camera/ImageCaptureHandler.kt
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import kotlin.coroutines.resume
 import kotlin.math.cos
 import kotlin.math.sin
 import kotlin.math.sqrt
+import no.naiv.tiltshift.util.OrientationDetector
 
 /**
  * Handles capturing photos with the tilt-shift effect applied.
@@ -121,10 +122,19 @@ class ImageCaptureHandler(
                 var thumbnail: Bitmap? = null
                 try {
                     thumbnail = createThumbnail(captureResult.processed)
+                    // Camera bitmap is in the device's portrait frame (CameraX
+                    // rotated the sensor 90° because the activity is locked to
+                    // portrait). Tag the EXIF with the user's physical tilt
+                    // when they pressed the shutter so viewers display the
+                    // photo right-side-up regardless of how the phone was held.
+                    val exifOrientation = OrientationDetector.degreesToExifOrientation(
+                        OrientationDetector.rotationToDegrees(deviceRotation),
+                        isFrontCamera
+                    )
                     val result = photoSaver.saveBitmapPair(
                         original = captureResult.original,
                         processed = captureResult.processed,
-                        orientation = ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_NORMAL,
+                        orientation = exifOrientation,
                         location = location
                     )
                     if (result is SaveResult.Success) {
diff --git a/version.properties b/version.properties
index ba10bb5..214906f 100644
--- a/version.properties
+++ b/version.properties
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 versionMajor=1
 versionMinor=1
-versionPatch=10
-versionCode=12
+versionPatch=15
+versionCode=17