diff --git a/scripts/system/libreportal-ownership b/scripts/system/libreportal-ownership
index 6fcce7a..90534f9 100644
--- a/scripts/system/libreportal-ownership
+++ b/scripts/system/libreportal-ownership
@@ -136,7 +136,16 @@ _webui_bind_access() {
 secret_dir() {
     local mode cowner; mode="$(_mode)"; cowner="$(_container_owner "$mode")"
     local parent="$WEBUI_DIR/frontend/data"
-    [[ -d "$parent" ]] || { echo "libreportal-ownership: no WebUI data dir at $parent" >&2; return 1; }
+    # Create the parent rather than requiring it. The install reconciles WebUI
+    # ownership before the container has made frontend/data, so demanding it
+    # already exist meant this returned 1 there and the drop was simply absent
+    # on a fresh install — silently, since the caller has no reason to check.
+    # Ownership is only set when we are the ones creating it; an existing
+    # directory belongs to the container and is left exactly as it is.
+    if [[ ! -d "$parent" ]]; then
+        mkdir -p -- "$parent" || return 1
+        chown "$cowner:$cowner" -- "$parent" || return 1
+    fi
     local d="$parent/.secrets"
     mkdir -p -- "$d" || return 1
     chown "$cowner:$MANAGER" -- "$d" || return 1