diff --git a/changelog.d/maintenance/12554-electron-44.md b/changelog.d/maintenance/12554-electron-44.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..41b5e50f53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/maintenance/12554-electron-44.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- **chore(electron):** upgrade the desktop app to Electron 44 (Chromium 152, Node 24.18.1) ([#12217](https://github.com/diegosouzapw/OmniRoute/pull/12217)). **Requires macOS 13 (Ventura) or later** — Chromium dropped macOS 12 (Monterey), so Monterey users must stay on an earlier OmniRoute desktop build. Windows and Linux are unaffected; the app already shipped only x64/arm64, so Electron 44 dropping 32-bit builds changes nothing. Removes the `openAsHidden`/`wasOpenedAsHidden` login-item fields deleted in Electron 44 — hidden autostart continues to work through the `--hidden` argument registered with the login item ([#12554](https://github.com/diegosouzapw/OmniRoute/pull/12554))
diff --git a/electron/lib/windowLifecycle.js b/electron/lib/windowLifecycle.js
index 8a75a4a18d..cea524ab37 100644
--- a/electron/lib/windowLifecycle.js
+++ b/electron/lib/windowLifecycle.js
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 /** Pure helpers for deciding and driving the Electron dashboard window lifecycle. */
 
-function shouldStartHidden({ argv = [], loginItemSettings = {} } = {}) {
-  return (
-    argv.includes("--hidden") ||
-    argv.includes("--minimized") ||
-    loginItemSettings.wasOpenedAsHidden === true
-  );
+// Electron 44 removed `openAsHidden`/`wasOpenedAsHidden` from
+// `app.set/getLoginItemSettings()` (they only ever worked on macOS 12 and below, which
+// Electron 44 no longer supports). The hidden-autostart contract is now carried solely by
+// the `--hidden` argument registered with the login item.
+function shouldStartHidden({ argv = [] } = {}) {
+  return argv.includes("--hidden") || argv.includes("--minimized");
 }
 
 function showOrCreateWindow({ appReady, getWindow, createWindow }) {
diff --git a/electron/main.js b/electron/main.js
index 19f232226b..2010fe5683 100644
--- a/electron/main.js
+++ b/electron/main.js
@@ -1113,7 +1113,6 @@ function setupIpcHandlers() {
     try {
       app.setLoginItemSettings({
         openAtLogin: true,
-        openAsHidden: true,
         args: ["--hidden"],
       });
       return true;
@@ -1153,7 +1152,6 @@ app.whenReady().then(async () => {
     !isHeadless &&
     shouldStartHidden({
       argv: process.argv,
-      loginItemSettings: app.getLoginItemSettings(),
     });
   keepAliveWithoutWindows = startHidden;
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/electron-lazy-window.test.ts b/tests/unit/electron-lazy-window.test.ts
index f9d3f97677..08515bd570 100644
--- a/tests/unit/electron-lazy-window.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/electron-lazy-window.test.ts
@@ -8,14 +8,31 @@ const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 const { shouldStartHidden, showOrCreateWindow } = require("../../electron/lib/windowLifecycle");
 
 describe("Electron hidden-start window lifecycle", () => {
-  it("detects explicit hidden flags and OS login-item hidden launches", () => {
+  it("detects explicit hidden flags", () => {
     assert.equal(shouldStartHidden({ argv: ["electron", "--hidden"] }), true);
     assert.equal(shouldStartHidden({ argv: ["electron", "--minimized"] }), true);
+    assert.equal(shouldStartHidden({ argv: ["electron"] }), false);
+    assert.equal(shouldStartHidden(), false);
+  });
+
+  // Electron 44 removed `wasOpenedAsHidden` from `app.getLoginItemSettings()`, so a hidden
+  // autostart is signalled ONLY by the `--hidden` argument the login item registers. Guards
+  // against re-introducing a dependency on the removed field.
+  it("ignores login-item settings entirely", () => {
     assert.equal(
       shouldStartHidden({ argv: ["electron"], loginItemSettings: { wasOpenedAsHidden: true } }),
+      false
+    );
+    assert.equal(
+      shouldStartHidden({ argv: ["electron", "--hidden"], loginItemSettings: {} }),
       true
     );
-    assert.equal(shouldStartHidden({ argv: ["electron"], loginItemSettings: {} }), false);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the --hidden argument registered with the login item", () => {
+    const mainJs = readFileSync(join(import.meta.dirname, "../../electron/main.js"), "utf8");
+    assert.match(mainJs, /openAtLogin: true,\s*\n\s*args: \["--hidden"\],/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(mainJs, /openAsHidden/);
   });
 
   it("creates the dashboard only when an explicit open action has no live window", () => {