diff --git a/src/db/databaseUtil.ts b/src/db/databaseUtil.ts
index d68926fe..132316a5 100644
--- a/src/db/databaseUtil.ts
+++ b/src/db/databaseUtil.ts
@@ -117,34 +117,14 @@ export async function retrieveSettingsForActiveAccount(): Promise<Settings> {
         return defaultSettings;
       }
 
-      // Map and filter settings
+      // Map settings
       const overrideSettings = mapColumnsToValues(
         result.columns,
         result.values,
       )[0] as Settings;
-      const overrideSettingsFiltered = Object.fromEntries(
-        Object.entries(overrideSettings).filter(([_, v]) => v !== null),
-      );
-
-      // Merge settings
-      const settings = { ...defaultSettings, ...overrideSettingsFiltered };
-
-      // Handle searchBoxes parsing
-      if (settings.searchBoxes) {
-        try {
-          // @ts-expect-error - the searchBoxes field is a string in the DB
-          settings.searchBoxes = JSON.parse(settings.searchBoxes);
-        } catch (error) {
-          logConsoleAndDb(
-            `[databaseUtil] Failed to parse searchBoxes for ${defaultSettings.activeDid}: ${error}`,
-            true,
-          );
-          // Reset to empty array on parse failure
-          settings.searchBoxes = [];
-        }
-      }
 
-      return settings;
+      // Use the new mergeSettings function for consistency
+      return mergeSettings(defaultSettings, overrideSettings);
     } catch (error) {
       logConsoleAndDb(
         `[databaseUtil] Failed to retrieve account settings for ${defaultSettings.activeDid}: ${error}`,
@@ -312,3 +292,128 @@ export function mapColumnsToValues(
     return obj;
   });
 }
+
+/**
+ * Retrieves settings for a specific account by DID
+ * @param accountDid - The DID of the account to retrieve settings for
+ * @returns Promise<Settings> Combined settings for the specified account
+ */
+export async function getSettingsForAccount(accountDid: string): Promise<Settings> {
+  try {
+    // Get default settings first
+    const defaultSettings = await retrieveSettingsForDefaultAccount();
+    
+    // Get account-specific settings
+    const platform = PlatformServiceFactory.getInstance();
+    const result = await platform.dbQuery(
+      "SELECT * FROM settings WHERE accountDid = ?",
+      [accountDid],
+    );
+
+    if (!result?.values?.length) {
+      logConsoleAndDb(
+        `[databaseUtil] No account-specific settings found for ${accountDid}`,
+      );
+      return defaultSettings;
+    }
+
+    // Map and merge settings
+    const overrideSettings = mapColumnsToValues(
+      result.columns,
+      result.values,
+    )[0] as Settings;
+    
+    return mergeSettings(defaultSettings, overrideSettings);
+  } catch (error) {
+    logConsoleAndDb(
+      `[databaseUtil] Failed to retrieve settings for account ${accountDid}: ${error}`,
+      true,
+    );
+    // Return default settings on error
+    return await retrieveSettingsForDefaultAccount();
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Retrieves only account-specific settings for a given DID (without merging with defaults)
+ * @param accountDid - The DID of the account to retrieve settings for
+ * @returns Promise<Settings> Account-specific settings only
+ */
+export async function getAccountSpecificSettings(accountDid: string): Promise<Settings> {
+  try {
+    const platform = PlatformServiceFactory.getInstance();
+    const result = await platform.dbQuery(
+      "SELECT * FROM settings WHERE accountDid = ?",
+      [accountDid],
+    );
+
+    if (!result?.values?.length) {
+      logConsoleAndDb(
+        `[databaseUtil] No account-specific settings found for ${accountDid}`,
+      );
+      return {};
+    }
+
+    // Map settings
+    const settings = mapColumnsToValues(
+      result.columns,
+      result.values,
+    )[0] as Settings;
+
+    // Handle searchBoxes parsing
+    if (settings.searchBoxes) {
+      try {
+        // @ts-expect-error - the searchBoxes field is a string in the DB
+        settings.searchBoxes = JSON.parse(settings.searchBoxes);
+      } catch (error) {
+        logConsoleAndDb(
+          `[databaseUtil] Failed to parse searchBoxes for ${accountDid}: ${error}`,
+          true,
+        );
+        // Reset to empty array on parse failure
+        settings.searchBoxes = [];
+      }
+    }
+
+    return settings;
+  } catch (error) {
+    logConsoleAndDb(
+      `[databaseUtil] Failed to retrieve account-specific settings for ${accountDid}: ${error}`,
+      true,
+    );
+    return {};
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Merges default settings with account-specific settings using consistent logic
+ * @param defaultSettings - The default/master settings
+ * @param accountSettings - The account-specific settings to merge
+ * @returns Settings - Merged settings with account-specific overrides
+ */
+export function mergeSettings(defaultSettings: Settings, accountSettings: Settings): Settings {
+  // Filter out null values from account settings
+  const accountSettingsFiltered = Object.fromEntries(
+    Object.entries(accountSettings).filter(([_, v]) => v !== null),
+  );
+
+  // Perform shallow merge (account settings override defaults)
+  const mergedSettings = { ...defaultSettings, ...accountSettingsFiltered };
+
+  // Handle searchBoxes parsing if present
+  if (mergedSettings.searchBoxes) {
+    try {
+      // @ts-expect-error - the searchBoxes field is a string in the DB
+      mergedSettings.searchBoxes = JSON.parse(mergedSettings.searchBoxes);
+    } catch (error) {
+      logConsoleAndDb(
+        `[databaseUtil] Failed to parse searchBoxes during merge: ${error}`,
+        true,
+      );
+      // Reset to empty array on parse failure
+      mergedSettings.searchBoxes = [];
+    }
+  }
+
+  return mergedSettings;
+}
diff --git a/src/db/index.ts b/src/db/index.ts
index 0f879fb1..4bba7250 100644
--- a/src/db/index.ts
+++ b/src/db/index.ts
@@ -265,6 +265,43 @@ export async function retrieveSettingsForActiveAccount(): Promise<Settings> {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Retrieves settings for a specific account by DID
+ * @param accountDid - The DID of the account to retrieve settings for
+ * @returns Promise<Settings> Combined settings for the specified account
+ */
+export async function getSettingsForAccount(accountDid: string): Promise<Settings> {
+  const defaultSettings = await retrieveSettingsForDefaultAccount();
+  const overrideSettings =
+    (await db.settings
+      .where("accountDid")
+      .equals(accountDid)
+      .first()) || {};
+  return R.mergeDeepRight(defaultSettings, overrideSettings);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Retrieves only account-specific settings for a given DID (without merging with defaults)
+ * @param accountDid - The DID of the account to retrieve settings for
+ * @returns Promise<Settings> Account-specific settings only
+ */
+export async function getAccountSpecificSettings(accountDid: string): Promise<Settings> {
+  return (await db.settings
+    .where("accountDid")
+    .equals(accountDid)
+    .first()) || {};
+}
+
+/**
+ * Merges default settings with account-specific settings using consistent logic
+ * @param defaultSettings - The default/master settings
+ * @param accountSettings - The account-specific settings to merge
+ * @returns Settings - Merged settings with account-specific overrides
+ */
+export function mergeSettings(defaultSettings: Settings, accountSettings: Settings): Settings {
+  return R.mergeDeepRight(defaultSettings, accountSettings);
+}
+
 export async function updateAccountSettings(
   accountDid: string,
   settingsChanges: Settings,