diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionsExplainer.tsx b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionsExplainer.tsx
index fdafda7e6..12a325e58 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionsExplainer.tsx
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionsExplainer.tsx
@@ -21,8 +21,6 @@ const persistDismissed = () => {
   }
 };
 
-const ALWAYS_ON_CAPABILITIES = ['Hardware metrics'];
-
 const OPT_IN_CAPABILITIES = ['Assistant commands', 'Patrol remediation'];
 
 const AGENT_FACTS = [
@@ -113,34 +111,18 @@ export const ConnectionsExplainer: Component = () => {
               only path.
             </p>
 
-            <div class="mt-4 space-y-2">
-              <div>
-                <div class="mb-1 text-[10px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-muted">
-                  Always on
-                </div>
-                <div class="flex flex-wrap gap-1.5">
-                  <For each={ALWAYS_ON_CAPABILITIES}>
-                    {(label) => (
-                      <span class="inline-flex items-center rounded-full border border-border bg-surface px-2 py-0.5 text-[11px] font-medium text-base-content">
-                        {label}
-                      </span>
-                    )}
-                  </For>
-                </div>
+            <div class="mt-4">
+              <div class="mb-1 text-[10px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-muted">
+                Off by default, opt in per host
               </div>
-              <div>
-                <div class="mb-1 text-[10px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-muted">
-                  Off by default, opt in per host
-                </div>
-                <div class="flex flex-wrap gap-1.5">
-                  <For each={OPT_IN_CAPABILITIES}>
-                    {(label) => (
-                      <span class="inline-flex items-center rounded-full border border-dashed border-border bg-surface px-2 py-0.5 text-[11px] font-medium text-muted">
-                        {label}
-                      </span>
-                    )}
-                  </For>
-                </div>
+              <div class="flex flex-wrap gap-1.5">
+                <For each={OPT_IN_CAPABILITIES}>
+                  {(label) => (
+                    <span class="inline-flex items-center rounded-full border border-dashed border-border bg-surface px-2 py-0.5 text-[11px] font-medium text-muted">
+                      {label}
+                    </span>
+                  )}
+                </For>
               </div>
             </div>
 
diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/ConnectionsExplainer.test.tsx b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/ConnectionsExplainer.test.tsx
index 239246058..f3bb1c26b 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/ConnectionsExplainer.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/ConnectionsExplainer.test.tsx
@@ -29,12 +29,23 @@ describe('ConnectionsExplainer', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText(/Primary source for workloads/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it('surfaces concrete agent capabilities and trust facts users care about', () => {
+  it('calls out that Assistant / Patrol command execution is opt-in, not default', () => {
     render(() => <ConnectionsExplainer />);
 
-    for (const capability of ['Hardware metrics', 'Assistant commands', 'Patrol remediation']) {
+    expect(screen.getByText(/off by default, opt in per host/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    for (const capability of ['Assistant commands', 'Patrol remediation']) {
       expect(screen.getByText(capability)).toBeInTheDocument();
     }
+    // The old "Always on: Hardware metrics" framing read as unavoidable
+    // surveillance. The agent paragraph already names what it collects;
+    // we don't restate it as an always-on chip.
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/^Always on$/i)).toBeNull();
+    expect(screen.queryByText('Hardware metrics')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('surfaces trust facts users care about', () => {
+    render(() => <ConnectionsExplainer />);
+
     for (const fact of ['Single Go binary', '~13 MB download', 'No runtime dependencies', 'Open source']) {
       expect(screen.getByText(fact)).toBeInTheDocument();
     }