diff --git a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-gestures.c b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-gestures.c
index 375a0710..6c63183b 100644
--- a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-gestures.c
+++ b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-gestures.c
@@ -390,28 +390,30 @@ tp_gesture_handle_state_none(struct tp_dispatch *tp, uint64_t time)
 	first = touches[0];
 	second = touches[1];
 
-	/* For 3+ finger gestures we cheat. A human hand's finger
-	 * arrangement means that for a 3 or 4 finger swipe gesture, the
-	 * fingers are roughly arranged in a horizontal line.
-	 * They will all move in the same direction, so we can simply look
-	 * at the left and right-most ones only. If we have fake touches, we
-	 * just take the left/right-most real touch position, since the fake
-	 * touch has the same location as one of those.
+	/* For 3+ finger gestures, we only really need to track two touches.
+	 * The human hand's finger arrangement means that for a pinch, the
+	 * bottom-most touch will always be the thumb, and the top-most touch
+	 * will always be one of the fingers.
 	 *
-	 * For a 3 or 4 finger pinch gesture, 2 or 3 fingers are roughly in
-	 * a horizontal line, with the thumb below and left (right-handed
-	 * users) or right (left-handed users). Again, the row of non-thumb
-	 * fingers moves identically so we can look at the left and
-	 * right-most only and then treat it like a two-finger
-	 * gesture.
+	 * For 3+ finger swipes, the fingers will likely (but not necessarily)
+	 * be in a horizontal line. They all move together, regardless, so it
+	 * doesn't really matter which two of those touches we track.
+	 *
+	 * Tracking top and bottom is a change from previous versions, where
+	 * we tracked leftmost and rightmost. This change enables:
+	 *
+	 * - More accurate pinch detection if thumb is near the center
+	 * - Better resting-thumb detection while two-finger scrolling
+	 * - On capable hardware, allow 3- or 4-finger swipes with resting
+	 *   thumb or held-down clickpad
 	 */
 	if (ntouches > 2) {
 		second = touches[0];
 
 		for (i = 1; i < ntouches && i < tp->num_slots; i++) {
-			if (touches[i]->point.x < first->point.x)
+			if (touches[i]->point.y < first->point.y)
 				first = touches[i];
-			else if (touches[i]->point.x > second->point.x)
+			else if (touches[i]->point.y >= second->point.y)
 				second = touches[i];
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-thumb.c b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-thumb.c
index 3d9f9991..2beaa54c 100644
--- a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-thumb.c
+++ b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad-thumb.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 /* distance between fingers to assume it is not a scroll */
 #define SCROLL_MM_X 35
 #define SCROLL_MM_Y 25
+#define THUMB_TIMEOUT ms2us(100)
 
 static inline const char*
 thumb_state_to_str(enum tp_thumb_state state)
@@ -271,13 +272,15 @@ tp_thumb_update_multifinger(struct tp_dispatch *tp)
 	struct tp_touch *t;
 	struct tp_touch *first = NULL,
 			*second = NULL,
-			*newest = NULL;
+			*newest = NULL,
+			*oldest = NULL;
 	struct device_coords distance;
 	struct phys_coords mm;
+
 	unsigned int speed_exceeded_count = 0;
 
 	/* Get the first and second bottom-most touches, the max speed exceeded
-	 * count overall, and the newest touch (or one of them, if more).
+	 * count overall, and the newest and oldest touches.
 	 */
 	tp_for_each_touch(tp, t) {
 		if (t->state == TOUCH_NONE ||
@@ -290,6 +293,10 @@ tp_thumb_update_multifinger(struct tp_dispatch *tp)
 		speed_exceeded_count = max(speed_exceeded_count,
 		                           t->speed.exceeded_count);
 
+		if (!oldest || t->initial_time < oldest->initial_time) {
+			oldest = t;
+		}
+
 		if (!first) {
 			first = t;
 			continue;
@@ -315,11 +322,12 @@ tp_thumb_update_multifinger(struct tp_dispatch *tp)
 
 	/* Speed-based thumb detection: if an existing finger is moving, and
 	 * a new touch arrives, mark it as a thumb if it doesn't qualify as a
-	 * 2-finger scroll.
+	 * 2-finger scroll. Also account for a thumb dropping onto the touchpad
+	 * while scrolling or swiping.
 	 */
 	if (newest &&
 	    tp->thumb.state == THUMB_STATE_FINGER &&
-	    tp->nfingers_down == 2 &&
+	    tp->nfingers_down >= 2 &&
 	    speed_exceeded_count > 5 &&
 	    (tp->scroll.method != LIBINPUT_CONFIG_SCROLL_2FG ||
 	     (mm.x > SCROLL_MM_X || mm.y > SCROLL_MM_Y))) {
@@ -330,20 +338,43 @@ tp_thumb_update_multifinger(struct tp_dispatch *tp)
 		return;
 	}
 
-	/* Position-based thumb detection: When a new touch arrives, check the
-	 * two lowest touches. If they qualify for 2-finger scrolling, clear
-	 * thumb status.
+	/* Contextual thumb detection: When a new touch arrives, check the
+	 * timing and position of the two lowest touches.
 	 *
-	 * If they were in distinct diagonal position, then mark the lower
-	 * touch (based on pinch_eligible) as either PINCH or SUPPRESSED. If
-	 * we're too close together for a thumb, lift that.
+	 * If both touches are very close, regardless of timing, and no matter
+	 * their absolute position on the touchpad, count them both as live
+	 * to support responsive two-finger scrolling.
 	 */
-	if (mm.y > SCROLL_MM_Y && mm.x > SCROLL_MM_X) {
+
+	if (mm.x < SCROLL_MM_X && mm.y < SCROLL_MM_Y) {
+		tp_thumb_lift(tp);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	/* If all the touches arrived within a very short time, and all of them
+	 * are above the lower_thumb_line, assume the touches are all live to
+	 * enable double, triple, and quadruple taps, clicks, and gestures. (If
+	 * there is an actual resting thumb, it will be detected later based on
+	 * the behavior of the other touches.)
+	 */
+
+	if ((newest->initial_time - oldest->initial_time) < THUMB_TIMEOUT &&
+         first->point.y < tp->thumb.lower_thumb_line) {
+		tp_thumb_lift(tp);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	/* If we're past the THUMB_TIMEOUT, and the touches are relatively far
+	 * apart, then the new touch is unlikely to be a tap or clickfinger.
+	 * Proceed with pre-1.14.901 thumb detection.
+	*/
+
+	if (mm.y > SCROLL_MM_Y) {
 		if (tp->thumb.pinch_eligible)
 			tp_thumb_pinch(tp, first);
 		else
 			tp_thumb_suppress(tp, first);
-	} else if (mm.x < SCROLL_MM_X && mm.y < SCROLL_MM_Y) {
+	} else {
 		tp_thumb_lift(tp);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.c b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.c
index 42e8dec6..f84102fe 100644
--- a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.c
+++ b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.c
@@ -350,6 +350,7 @@ tp_begin_touch(struct tp_dispatch *tp, struct tp_touch *t, uint64_t time)
 	t->dirty = true;
 	t->state = TOUCH_BEGIN;
 	t->time = time;
+	t->initial_time = time;
 	t->was_down = true;
 	tp->nfingers_down++;
 	t->palm.time = time;
diff --git a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.h b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.h
index b981a610..75a87d4a 100644
--- a/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.h
+++ b/src/evdev-mt-touchpad.h
@@ -158,6 +158,7 @@ struct tp_touch {
 	bool dirty;
 	struct device_coords point;
 	uint64_t time;
+	uint64_t initial_time;
 	int pressure;
 	bool is_tool_palm; /* MT_TOOL_PALM */
 	int major, minor;