diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/frontend/ws/WebSocketSessions.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/frontend/ws/WebSocketSessions.java
index 37b86eeb..8e63d8d5 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/frontend/ws/WebSocketSessions.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/frontend/ws/WebSocketSessions.java
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ public class WebSocketSessions {
 
 	public void sendMessage(User user, String text) {
 		Set<Session> userSessions = sessions.get(user.getId());
-		if (!userSessions.isEmpty()) {
+		if (userSessions != null && !userSessions.isEmpty()) {
 			log.debug("sending '{}' to {} users via websocket", text, userSessions.size());
 			for (Session userSession : userSessions) {
 				if (userSession.isOpen()) {