diff --git a/jni/AGENTS.md b/jni/AGENTS.md
index 182be13a2..fc82c47dd 100644
--- a/jni/AGENTS.md
+++ b/jni/AGENTS.md
@@ -18,8 +18,9 @@ package `app.opendocument.core`. Mirrors the surface of the python bindings
 
 - **Handle model**: a Java wrapper owns a heap-allocated copy of the C++ value
   handle (`odr::DecodedFile`, `odr::Element`, ...) referenced by a `long`.
-  `NativeResource` frees it via `Cleaner`/`AutoCloseable`; each class has a
-  static `destroy(long)` native deleting the concrete C++ type.
+  `NativeResource` frees it via a `PhantomReference` reaper thread and
+  `AutoCloseable`; each class has a static `destroy(long)` native deleting the
+  concrete C++ type.
 - **Typed views are re-derived per call**: element/file handles always point to
   the *base* type (`odr::Element`, `odr::DecodedFile`); natives of typed Java
   classes call `as_paragraph()`/`as_text_file()` etc. on each call. Never store
@@ -46,6 +47,15 @@ package `app.opendocument.core`. Mirrors the surface of the python bindings
   don't marshal it unconditionally.
 - New public C++ API? Extend the matching `jni_*.cpp` + Java class and add a
   JUnit test.
+- **Android API level 26 is the java floor**: OpenDocument.droid consumes this
+  artifact with `minSdk = 26`, and android ships a much older `java.*` than the
+  `--release 17` compiler accepts. Anything newer fails at runtime, on device
+  only, with `NoClassDefFoundError`/`NoSuchMethodError`. Known traps, all of
+  which android added far later than the JDK: `java.lang.ref.Cleaner` (API 33,
+  hence the `PhantomReference` reaper), `List.of`/`Set.of`/`Map.of` (API 34),
+  `Optional.isEmpty` (API 33), `java.time` (API 26 only in part). Core library
+  desugaring does not cover `java.lang.ref`, and an app cannot shim a `java.*`
+  class, so the fix always has to happen here.
 - C++ sources follow the repo clang-format; Java follows the
   google-java-format style (2-space indent), no enforced formatter yet.
 - Tests must stay hermetic: build inputs inline in `tests/.../TestFiles.java`;
diff --git a/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/Html.java b/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/Html.java
index f65190887..5df74e729 100644
--- a/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/Html.java
+++ b/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/Html.java
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package app.opendocument.core;
 
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 
 /**
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ public final class Html {
 
   Html(HtmlConfig config, HtmlPage[] pages) {
     this.config = config;
-    this.pages = List.of(pages);
+    this.pages = Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(pages));
   }
 
   public HtmlConfig config() {
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@ public static final class Content {
 
     Content(String html, LocatedResource[] resources) {
       this.html = html;
-      this.resources = List.of(resources);
+      this.resources = Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(resources));
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/NativeResource.java b/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/NativeResource.java
index 675345196..5e08bddf7 100644
--- a/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/NativeResource.java
+++ b/jni/java/app/opendocument/core/NativeResource.java
@@ -1,29 +1,67 @@
 package app.opendocument.core;
 
-import java.lang.ref.Cleaner;
+import java.lang.ref.PhantomReference;
+import java.lang.ref.ReferenceQueue;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import java.util.function.LongConsumer;
 
 /**
  * Owns a handle to a heap-allocated native object. The native object is freed
  * on {@link #close()} or, at the latest, when the garbage collector reclaims
- * this wrapper (via {@link Cleaner}).
+ * this wrapper.
  *
  * <p>Navigation results (e.g. document elements) keep the object they
  * originate from reachable through {@code owner}, so a root object is not
  * collected while handles into it are alive.
+ *
+ * <p>The post-mortem free is a {@link PhantomReference} drained by a daemon
+ * thread rather than a {@link java.lang.ref.Cleaner}, which is exactly what a
+ * Cleaner does internally. Cleaner is a JDK 9 API that android only ships from
+ * API level 33, and OpenDocument.droid targets API 26; referencing it made the
+ * whole class fail to load there with a {@code NoClassDefFoundError}, and core
+ * library desugaring does not cover {@code java.lang.ref}.
  */
 public abstract class NativeResource implements AutoCloseable {
-  private static final Cleaner CLEANER = Cleaner.create();
+  private static final ReferenceQueue<NativeResource> QUEUE = new ReferenceQueue<>();
+
+  /**
+   * Keeps the pending {@link Destroyer}s reachable. A phantom reference that is
+   * itself collected never gets enqueued, so the native object behind it would
+   * leak instead of being freed.
+   */
+  private static final Set<Destroyer> PENDING = ConcurrentHashMap.newKeySet();
+
+  static {
+    Thread reaper =
+        new Thread(
+            () -> {
+              while (true) {
+                try {
+                  ((Destroyer) QUEUE.remove()).destroy();
+                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                  Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+                  return;
+                } catch (RuntimeException | Error e) {
+                  // one broken destructor must not stop the others from running
+                }
+              }
+            },
+            "odr-core-native-resource-reaper");
+    reaper.setDaemon(true);
+    reaper.start();
+  }
 
   private final long handle;
   private final Object owner;
-  private final Cleaner.Cleanable cleanable;
+  private final Destroyer destroyer;
   private volatile boolean closed;
 
   NativeResource(long handle, Object owner, LongConsumer destroyer) {
     this.handle = handle;
     this.owner = owner;
-    this.cleanable = CLEANER.register(this, new Destroyer(handle, destroyer));
+    this.destroyer = new Destroyer(this, handle, destroyer);
   }
 
   /** The native handle; valid only while this object is open. */
@@ -42,12 +80,37 @@ final Object owner() {
   @Override
   public void close() {
     closed = true;
-    cleanable.clean();
+    destroyer.destroy();
   }
 
-  private record Destroyer(long handle, LongConsumer destroy) implements Runnable {
-    @Override
-    public void run() {
+  /**
+   * Frees one native object, at most once, whether it is reached through
+   * {@link #close()} or through the reference queue.
+   *
+   * <p>Holds no reference to the {@link NativeResource} other than the phantom
+   * one - a strong one would keep the wrapper alive forever.
+   */
+  private static final class Destroyer extends PhantomReference<NativeResource> {
+    private final long handle;
+    private final LongConsumer destroy;
+    private final AtomicBoolean destroyed = new AtomicBoolean();
+
+    Destroyer(NativeResource referent, long handle, LongConsumer destroy) {
+      super(referent, QUEUE);
+
+      this.handle = handle;
+      this.destroy = destroy;
+
+      PENDING.add(this);
+    }
+
+    void destroy() {
+      if (!destroyed.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      PENDING.remove(this);
+      clear();
       destroy.accept(handle);
     }
   }