@@ -270,6 +270,7 @@ out of the box with `just setup` or `just relay`. Common overrides:
 | `BUZZ_REQUIRE_AUTH_TOKEN`       | `false`                     | When true, REST requires NIP-98 (no `X-Pubkey` fallback) |
 | `BUZZ_REQUIRE_RELAY_MEMBERSHIP` | `false`                     | When true, only pubkeys in `relay_members` can connect |
 | `BUZZ_REQUIRE_MEDIA_GET_AUTH`   | `false`                     | When true, `GET`/`HEAD /media/*` require Blossom kind 24242 `t=get` auth plus relay membership. |
+| `BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED`            | `true`                      | Tamper-evident event/media audit log. Set `false`/`0`/`off` to skip its DB pool and writes. Does not disable the separate moderation audit trail. |
 | `BUZZ_AUTO_MIGRATE`             | `false`                     | Opt in with `true`/`1`/`yes`/`on` to run embedded SQLx migrations on relay startup |
 | `RELAY_OWNER_PUBKEY`              | unset                       | Bootstrapped as `owner` in `relay_members` at first start |
 | `BUZZ_ALLOW_NIP_OA_AUTH`        | `false`                     | Enable NIP-OA owner attestation for membership |
 
@@ -420,24 +420,25 @@ pub async fn upload_blob(
     .increment(1);
 
     // Audit via bounded channel — same pattern as event audit.
-    let desc = descriptor.clone();
-    if let Err(e) = state
-        .audit_tx
-        .send(NewAuditEntry {
-            community_id: auth.tenant.community(),
-            action: AuditAction::MediaUploaded,
-            actor_pubkey: Some(auth.auth_event.pubkey.to_bytes().to_vec()),
-            object_id: Some(desc.sha256.clone()),
-            detail: serde_json::json!({
-                "sha256": desc.sha256,
-                "size": desc.size,
-                "mime": desc.mime_type,
-            }),
-        })
-        .await
-    {
-        tracing::error!("Media audit channel closed — entry lost: {e}");
-        metrics::counter!("buzz_audit_send_errors_total").increment(1);
+    if let Some(audit_tx) = &state.audit_tx {
+        let desc = descriptor.clone();
+        if let Err(e) = audit_tx
+            .send(NewAuditEntry {
+                community_id: auth.tenant.community(),
+                action: AuditAction::MediaUploaded,
+                actor_pubkey: Some(auth.auth_event.pubkey.to_bytes().to_vec()),
+                object_id: Some(desc.sha256.clone()),
+                detail: serde_json::json!({
+                    "sha256": desc.sha256,
+                    "size": desc.size,
+                    "mime": desc.mime_type,
+                }),
+            })
+            .await
+        {
+            tracing::error!("Media audit channel closed — entry lost: {e}");
+            metrics::counter!("buzz_audit_send_errors_total").increment(1);
+        }
     }
 
     Ok(Json(descriptor))
 
@@ -190,6 +190,11 @@ pub struct Config {
     /// serving media GET/HEAD. Default off for staged client rollout.
     pub require_media_get_auth: bool,
 
+    /// Whether tamper-evident event/media audit logging is enabled. Defaults to true.
+    /// This does not control the separate `moderation_actions` audit trail.
+    /// Set `BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED=false` for deployments that do not require it.
+    pub audit_enabled: bool,
+
     /// Optional override for ephemeral channel TTL (in seconds).
     /// When set, any channel created with a TTL tag will use this value instead
     /// of the client-provided one. Useful for testing ephemeral expiry quickly.
@@ -341,9 +346,9 @@ fn parse_push_gateway_delivery_url(raw: &str) -> Result<url::Url, ConfigError> {
     Ok(url)
 }
 
-fn parse_optional_bool(name: &str) -> Result<bool, ConfigError> {
+fn parse_bool(name: &str, default: bool) -> Result<bool, ConfigError> {
     match std::env::var(name) {
-        Err(std::env::VarError::NotPresent) => Ok(false),
+        Err(std::env::VarError::NotPresent) => Ok(default),
         Err(error) => Err(ConfigError::InvalidValue(format!(
             "{name} must be valid UTF-8: {error}"
         ))),
@@ -357,6 +362,10 @@ fn parse_optional_bool(name: &str) -> Result<bool, ConfigError> {
     }
 }
 
+fn parse_optional_bool(name: &str) -> Result<bool, ConfigError> {
+    parse_bool(name, false)
+}
+
 fn ensure_git_repo_path(
     raw: impl Into<std::path::PathBuf>,
 ) -> Result<std::path::PathBuf, ConfigError> {
@@ -738,6 +747,7 @@ impl Config {
         let terms_markdown = read_policy_markdown("BUZZ_TERMS_OF_SERVICE_MARKDOWN")?;
         let privacy_markdown = read_policy_markdown("BUZZ_PRIVACY_POLICY_MARKDOWN")?;
         let age_attestation_required = parse_optional_bool("BUZZ_AGE_ATTESTATION_REQUIRED")?;
+        let audit_enabled = parse_bool("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", true)?;
         let join_policy = if terms_markdown.is_none()
             && privacy_markdown.is_none()
             && !age_attestation_required
@@ -849,6 +859,7 @@ impl Config {
             media_max_concurrent_uploads_per_pubkey,
             media_uploads_per_minute,
             require_media_get_auth,
+            audit_enabled,
             ephemeral_ttl_override,
             git_repo_path,
             git_max_pack_bytes,
@@ -953,6 +964,39 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn audit_logging_defaults_on_and_accepts_explicit_off() {
+        let _guard = ENV_MUTEX.lock().unwrap();
+        let previous = std::env::var_os("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED");
+        std::env::remove_var("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED");
+        assert!(parse_bool("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", true).unwrap());
+        std::env::set_var("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", "false");
+        assert!(!parse_bool("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", true).unwrap());
+        if let Some(value) = previous {
+            std::env::set_var("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", value);
+        } else {
+            std::env::remove_var("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn audit_logging_rejects_invalid_boolean() {
+        let _guard = ENV_MUTEX.lock().unwrap();
+        let previous = std::env::var_os("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED");
+        std::env::set_var("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", "sometimes");
+        let result = parse_bool("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", true);
+        if let Some(value) = previous {
+            std::env::set_var("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED", value);
+        } else {
+            std::env::remove_var("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED");
+        }
+        assert!(matches!(
+            result,
+            Err(ConfigError::InvalidValue(ref message))
+                if message.contains("BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED")
+        ));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn join_policy_age_attestation_rejects_invalid_boolean() {
         let _guard = ENV_MUTEX.lock().unwrap();
 
@@ -545,6 +545,9 @@ async fn enqueue_event_created_audit(
     actor_pubkey_hex: &str,
     event_id_hex: &str,
 ) {
+    let Some(audit_tx) = &state.audit_tx else {
+        return;
+    };
     // Audit via bounded channel (capacity 1000). Uses .send().await so entries
     // are never silently dropped — backpressure propagates to the event handler
     // if the queue is full. This is intentional: the audit advisory lock already
@@ -568,7 +571,7 @@ async fn enqueue_event_created_audit(
             "channel_id": stored_event.channel_id,
         }),
     };
-    if let Err(e) = state.audit_tx.send(audit_entry).await {
+    if let Err(e) = audit_tx.send(audit_entry).await {
         error!(event_id = %event_id_hex, "Audit channel closed — entry lost: {e}");
         metrics::counter!("buzz_audit_send_errors_total").increment(1);
     }
 
@@ -128,12 +128,14 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         health_port = config.health_port,
         metrics_port = config.metrics_port,
         max_frame_bytes = config.max_frame_bytes,
+        audit_enabled = config.audit_enabled,
         "Config loaded"
     );
 
     let usage_interval_secs = usage_metrics_interval_secs();
     let usage_idle_timeout_secs = usage_metrics_idle_timeout_secs(usage_interval_secs);
     relay_metrics::install(config.metrics_port, usage_idle_timeout_secs);
+    metrics::gauge!("buzz_audit_enabled").set(if config.audit_enabled { 1.0 } else { 0.0 });
     info!(
         port = config.metrics_port,
         idle_timeout_secs = usage_idle_timeout_secs,
@@ -316,17 +318,19 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         Err(e) => error!("Failed to backfill d_tags: {e}"),
     }
 
-    let audit_pool = sqlx::postgres::PgPoolOptions::new()
-        .max_connections(5)
-        .min_connections(1)
-        .connect(&config.database_url)
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Audit DB connection failed: {e}"))?;
-    let audit = AuditService::new(audit_pool);
-    // Audit schema is provisioned by the sqlx migrations at startup (the
-    // `audit_log` DDL is part of the migrated schema), so there is no runtime
-    // schema-ensure step.
-    info!("Audit service ready");
+    let audit = if config.audit_enabled {
+        let audit_pool = sqlx::postgres::PgPoolOptions::new()
+            .max_connections(5)
+            .min_connections(1)
+            .connect(&config.database_url)
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Audit DB connection failed: {e}"))?;
+        info!("Audit service ready");
+        Some(AuditService::new(audit_pool))
+    } else {
+        info!("Audit logging disabled by BUZZ_AUDIT_ENABLED");
+        None
+    };
 
     let redis_pool = {
         let cfg = deadpool_redis::Config::from_url(&config.redis_url);
 
@@ -438,8 +438,8 @@ pub struct AppState {
     pub db: Db,
     /// Redis pool for readiness health checks.
     pub redis_pool: deadpool_redis::Pool,
-    /// Audit event service.
-    pub audit: Arc<AuditService>,
+    /// Audit event service, absent when audit logging is disabled.
+    pub audit: Option<Arc<AuditService>>,
     /// Pub/sub manager for broadcasting events to subscribers.
     pub pubsub: Arc<PubSubManager>,
     /// Authentication service.
@@ -497,9 +497,8 @@ pub struct AppState {
     /// access check so open channels stay zero-cost. Invalidated on a flip.
     pub channel_visibility_cache: Arc<moka::sync::Cache<(CommunityId, Uuid), String>>,
 
-    /// Bounded channel for audit logging — backpressure instead of unbounded spawns.
-    /// Uses .send().await (blocks caller if full) because audit entries must not be lost.
-    pub audit_tx: mpsc::Sender<buzz_audit::NewAuditEntry>,
+    /// Bounded channel for audit logging, absent when audit logging is disabled.
+    pub audit_tx: Option<mpsc::Sender<buzz_audit::NewAuditEntry>>,
     /// Media storage client (S3/MinIO).
     pub media_storage: Arc<MediaStorage>,
     /// Git object-store backend (content-addressed packs/manifests plus
@@ -571,7 +570,7 @@ impl AppState {
         config: Config,
         db: Db,
         redis_pool: deadpool_redis::Pool,
-        audit: AuditService,
+        audit: impl Into<Option<AuditService>>,
         pubsub: Arc<PubSubManager>,
         auth: AuthService,
         search: SearchService,
@@ -583,12 +582,16 @@ impl AppState {
         let max_concurrent_handlers = config.max_concurrent_handlers;
         let search_arc = Arc::new(search);
 
-        let audit_arc = Arc::new(audit);
+        let audit_arc = audit.into().map(Arc::new);
         let (audit_tx, mut audit_rx) = mpsc::channel::<buzz_audit::NewAuditEntry>(1000);
-        let audit_for_worker = Arc::clone(&audit_arc);
+        let audit_for_worker = audit_arc.clone();
         let audit_cancel = CancellationToken::new();
         let audit_cancel_worker = audit_cancel.clone();
         let audit_worker_handle = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let Some(audit_for_worker) = audit_for_worker else {
+                audit_cancel_worker.cancelled().await;
+                return;
+            };
             // Normal operation: process entries as they arrive.
             loop {
                 tokio::select! {
@@ -631,6 +634,7 @@ impl AppState {
         let nip98_replay: Arc<dyn Nip98ReplayGuard> =
             Arc::new(RedisNip98ReplayGuard::new(redis_pool.clone()));
         let admission_rate_limiter = Arc::new(RedisRateLimiter::new(redis_pool.clone()));
+        let audit_enabled = audit_arc.is_some();
         let state = Self {
             config: Arc::new(config),
             db,
@@ -678,7 +682,7 @@ impl AppState {
                     .support_invalidation_closures()
                     .build(),
             ),
-            audit_tx,
+            audit_tx: audit_enabled.then_some(audit_tx),
             media_storage: Arc::new(media_storage),
             git_store,
             audio_rooms: Arc::new(AudioRoomManager::new()),