diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/user-stream.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/user-stream.js.es6
index 49c02b4e61e..fc80dc94ef7 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/user-stream.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/models/user-stream.js.es6
@@ -28,11 +28,21 @@ export default RestModel.extend({
 
   baseUrl: url('itemsLoaded', 'user.username_lower', '/user_actions.json?offset=%@&username=%@'),
 
-  filterBy(filter) {
-    this.setProperties({ filter, itemsLoaded: 0, content: [], lastLoadedUrl: null });
+  filterBy(filter, noContentHelpKey) {
+    this.setProperties({
+      filter,
+      itemsLoaded: 0,
+      content: [],
+      noContentHelpKey: noContentHelpKey,
+      lastLoadedUrl: null
+    });
     return this.findItems();
   },
 
+  noContent: function() {
+    return this.get('loaded') && this.get('content').length === 0;
+  }.property('loaded', 'content.@each'),
+
   remove(userAction) {
     // 1) remove the user action from the child groups
     this.get("content").forEach(function (ua) {
@@ -61,6 +71,9 @@ export default RestModel.extend({
     if (this.get('filterParam')) {
       findUrl += "&filter=" + this.get('filterParam');
     }
+    if (this.get('noContentHelpKey')) {
+      findUrl += "&no_results_help_key=" + this.get('noContentHelpKey');
+    }
 
     // Don't load the same stream twice. We're probably at the end.
     const lastLoadedUrl = this.get('lastLoadedUrl');
@@ -69,6 +82,9 @@ export default RestModel.extend({
     if (this.get('loading')) { return Ember.RSVP.resolve(); }
     this.set('loading', true);
     return ajax(findUrl, {cache: 'false'}).then( function(result) {
+      if (result && result.no_results_help) {
+        self.set('noContentHelp', result.no_results_help);
+      }
       if (result && result.user_actions) {
         const copy = Em.A();
         result.user_actions.forEach(function(action) {
@@ -78,11 +94,11 @@ export default RestModel.extend({
 
         self.get('content').pushObjects(UserAction.collapseStream(copy));
         self.setProperties({
-          loaded: true,
           itemsLoaded: self.get('itemsLoaded') + result.user_actions.length
         });
       }
     }).finally(function() {
+      self.set('loaded', true);
       self.set('loading', false);
       self.set('lastLoadedUrl', findUrl);
     });
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-bookmarks.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-bookmarks.js.es6
index cb14c181538..49ad23d1bc4 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-bookmarks.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-bookmarks.js.es6
@@ -2,5 +2,6 @@ import UserActivityStreamRoute from "discourse/routes/user-activity-stream";
 import UserAction from "discourse/models/user-action";
 
 export default UserActivityStreamRoute.extend({
-  userActionType: UserAction.TYPES["bookmarks"]
+  userActionType: UserAction.TYPES["bookmarks"],
+  noContentHelpKey: "user_activity.no_bookmarks"
 });
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-likes-given.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-likes-given.js.es6
index 13a0e5b9863..852f67ab27e 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-likes-given.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-likes-given.js.es6
@@ -2,5 +2,6 @@ import UserActivityStreamRoute from "discourse/routes/user-activity-stream";
 import UserAction from "discourse/models/user-action";
 
 export default UserActivityStreamRoute.extend({
-  userActionType: UserAction.TYPES["likes_given"]
+  userActionType: UserAction.TYPES["likes_given"],
+  noContentHelpKey: 'no_likes_given'
 });
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-stream.js.es6 b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-stream.js.es6
index 7447d712179..4fbf8e4300c 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-stream.js.es6
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/routes/user-activity-stream.js.es6
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ export default Discourse.Route.extend(ViewingActionType, {
   },
 
   afterModel() {
-    return this.modelFor("user").get("stream").filterBy(this.get("userActionType"));
+    return this.modelFor("user").get("stream").filterBy(this.get("userActionType"), this.get("noContentHelpKey"));
   },
 
   renderTemplate() {
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/user/stream.hbs b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/user/stream.hbs
index 0a06e728c81..220ae57ba8a 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/user/stream.hbs
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/discourse/templates/user/stream.hbs
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+{{#if model.noContent}}
+  <div class='no-content'>
+    {{{model.noContentHelp}}}
+  </div>
+{{/if}}
 {{#user-stream stream=model}}
   {{#each model.content as |item|}}
     {{stream-item item=item removeBookmark="removeBookmark"}}
diff --git a/app/controllers/user_actions_controller.rb b/app/controllers/user_actions_controller.rb
index 6ff74ec995d..fea9ec4183f 100644
--- a/app/controllers/user_actions_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/user_actions_controller.rb
@@ -24,7 +24,21 @@ class UserActionsController < ApplicationController
       UserAction.stream(opts)
     end
 
-    render_serialized(stream, UserActionSerializer, root: 'user_actions')
+    stream = stream.to_a
+    if stream.length == 0 && (help_key = params['no_results_help_key'])
+      if user.id == guardian.user.try(:id)
+        help_key += ".self"
+      else
+        help_key += ".other"
+      end
+      render json: {
+        user_action: [],
+        no_results_help: I18n.t(help_key)
+      }
+    else
+      render_serialized(stream, UserActionSerializer, root: 'user_actions')
+    end
+
   end
 
   def show
diff --git a/config/locales/server.en.yml b/config/locales/server.en.yml
index 573685dca4f..09e54a10602 100644
--- a/config/locales/server.en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/server.en.yml
@@ -599,6 +599,14 @@ en:
       description: 'Vote for this post'
       long_form: 'voted for this post'
 
+  user_activity:
+    no_bookmarks:
+      self: "You have no bookmarked posts, bookmarking posts allows you to easily access them later on."
+      other: "No bookmarks."
+    no_likes_given:
+      self: "You have not liked any posts."
+      other: "No liked posts."
+
   topic_flag_types:
     spam:
       title: 'Spam'
diff --git a/spec/controllers/user_actions_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/user_actions_controller_spec.rb
index a161c2f90d3..ca0c0df4a5c 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/user_actions_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/user_actions_controller_spec.rb
@@ -24,6 +24,28 @@ describe UserActionsController do
       expect(action["post_number"]).to eq(1)
     end
 
+    it 'renders help text if provided for self' do
+      logged_in = log_in
+
+      xhr :get, :index, filter: UserAction::LIKE, username: logged_in.username, no_results_help_key: "user_activity.no_bookmarks"
+
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      parsed = JSON.parse(response.body)
+
+      expect(parsed["no_results_help"]).to eq(I18n.t("user_activity.no_bookmarks.self"))
+
+    end
+
+    it 'renders help text for others' do
+      user = Fabricate(:user)
+      xhr :get, :index, filter: UserAction::LIKE, username: user.username, no_results_help_key: "user_activity.no_bookmarks"
+
+      expect(response.status).to eq(200)
+      parsed = JSON.parse(response.body)
+
+      expect(parsed["no_results_help"]).to eq(I18n.t("user_activity.no_bookmarks.other"))
+    end
+
     context "queued posts" do
       context "without access" do
         let(:user) { Fabricate(:user) }