diff --git a/cross_repo_test.go b/cross_repo_test.go
index 6f8b3fd..473ccd5 100644
--- a/cross_repo_test.go
+++ b/cross_repo_test.go
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ func TestExtractRepoFromDir(t *testing.T) {
 		dir  string
 		want string
 	}{
-		{"/Users/andreas/dev/brick-now/openspec", "brick-now"},
-		{"/Users/andreas/dev/tengil/openspec/changes/foo", "tengil"},
+		{"/home/user/dev/brick-now/openspec", "brick-now"},
+		{"/home/user/dev/tengil/openspec/changes/foo", "tengil"},
 		{"/home/user/project/openspec", "project"},
 		{"/openspec", ""},          // edge case: no parent
 		{"openspec", "openspec"},   // bare openspec — no parent, returns full dir
diff --git a/openspec/changes/archive/2026-07-25-launch-readiness/proposal.md b/openspec/changes/archive/2026-07-25-launch-readiness/proposal.md
index 0c183a7..b132931 100644
--- a/openspec/changes/archive/2026-07-25-launch-readiness/proposal.md
+++ b/openspec/changes/archive/2026-07-25-launch-readiness/proposal.md
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ owner-only decisions.
 - Grep for `/Users/`, `/home/`, `192.168.`, `10.0.`, personal emails — no
   matches in tracked files.
 - History spot checks (`git log --all -S`) for `ghp_`, `github_pat_`,
-  `sk-ant`, `/Users/andreas`, `192.168.` — no matches.
+  `sk-ant`, `/Users/<name>`, `192.168.` — no matches.
 - Commit author metadata contains the owner's work and personal email
   addresses. This is ordinary git metadata, visible on any public repo, and
   not a secret; noted only so the owner can consciously accept it.
diff --git a/openspec/changes/archive/2026-09-17-agent-topology-command/proposal.md b/openspec/changes/archive/2026-09-17-agent-topology-command/proposal.md
index e11fca2..eb0c07e 100644
--- a/openspec/changes/archive/2026-09-17-agent-topology-command/proposal.md
+++ b/openspec/changes/archive/2026-09-17-agent-topology-command/proposal.md
@@ -44,13 +44,13 @@ JSON shape, one entry per change:
       "slug": "add-field-forms",
       "title": "Auto-render field forms",
       "stage": "active",
-      "store": "/Users/andreas/exopen/portal",
+      "store": "/home/user/projects/portal",
       "repo": "ExopenGitHub/portal",
       "issue": {"provider": "github:ExopenGitHub/portal", "id": "4231",
                 "url": "https://github.com/ExopenGitHub/portal/issues/4231",
                 "state": "open"},
       "branch": "feat/4231-add-field-forms",
-      "worktree": "/Users/andreas/exopen/portal-worktrees/add-field-forms",
+      "worktree": "/home/user/projects/portal-worktrees/add-field-forms",
       "epic": "https://github.com/ExopenGitHub/planning/issues/88",
       "linked": ["add-field-forms-api"]
     }
diff --git a/private_data_test.go b/private_data_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe86044
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private_data_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+package specsync
+
+// This repository is PUBLIC. A check that only runs when someone remembers to
+// run it will drift — and did. A scan on 2026-07-25 found no home paths and was
+// recorded as done; six days later cross_repo_test.go added real absolute paths
+// as test fixtures, and nothing re-checked for two months.
+//
+// So the check runs in `go test ./...`, which ci.yml already invokes. It
+// cannot be skipped by forgetting a CI step, and it fails locally too.
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+var (
+	// /Users/<lowercase-name> — a real macOS home directory. Placeholders
+	// like /Users/<name> are deliberately excluded by requiring lowercase
+	// letters, so documentation can still describe the shape of a path.
+	homePath = regexp.MustCompile(`/Users/[a-z][a-z0-9._-]*`)
+
+	// RFC1918 address literals. A dotted quad only; prose mentioning
+	// "192.168." as a thing to scan for is not a match.
+	privateIP = regexp.MustCompile(
+		`\b(?:10\.[0-9]{1,3}|192\.168|172\.(?:1[6-9]|2[0-9]|3[01]))\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\b`)
+
+	// Credential prefixes. Belt and braces: the check that matters most is
+	// the one nobody should ever need.
+	credential = regexp.MustCompile(
+		`\b(?:ghp_[A-Za-z0-9]{20,}|gho_[A-Za-z0-9]{20,}|github_pat_[A-Za-z0-9_]{20,}|` +
+			`ABSK[A-Z0-9]{10,}|AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}|sk-ant-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,})\b`)
+)
+
+// skippedNever: this test is meaningless if the repository stops being public,
+// but it is also not harmful then, so it runs unconditionally and says so.
+func TestNoPrivateDataInPublicRepo(t *testing.T) {
+	root := "."
+	if _, err := os.Stat("go.mod"); err != nil {
+		root = "." // running from a subpackage; paths still resolve upward
+	}
+
+	var offenders []string
+	err := filepath.WalkDir(root, func(path string, d os.DirEntry, err error) error {
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil // unreadable path: not a privacy failure
+		}
+		name := d.Name()
+		if d.IsDir() {
+			// Skip VCS, build and dependency trees. They are not published
+			// as repository content and would drown the signal.
+			switch name {
+			case ".git", "node_modules", "site", "dist", "vendor":
+				return filepath.SkipDir
+			}
+			return nil
+		}
+		switch filepath.Ext(name) {
+		case ".go", ".md", ".yml", ".yaml", ".json", ".sh", ".txt", ".toml":
+		default:
+			return nil
+		}
+		data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		for i, line := range strings.Split(string(data), "\n") {
+			for _, re := range []struct {
+				what string
+				re   *regexp.Regexp
+			}{
+				{"home path", homePath},
+				{"private IP", privateIP},
+				{"credential", credential},
+			} {
+				if re.re.FindString(line) != "" {
+					offenders = append(offenders, fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d: %s: %s",
+						path, i+1, re.what, strings.TrimSpace(line)))
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("walk: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if len(offenders) > 0 {
+		t.Errorf("this repository is PUBLIC but contains private data "+
+			"(%d occurrence(s)). Redact before pushing:\n  %s",
+			len(offenders), strings.Join(offenders, "\n  "))
+	}
+}