diff --git a/src/signer/nip46_client.rs b/src/signer/nip46_client.rs
index 9313caf..c413aa0 100644
--- a/src/signer/nip46_client.rs
+++ b/src/signer/nip46_client.rs
@@ -64,6 +64,18 @@ fn pairing_trace(msg: &str) {
     }
 }
 
+/// Whether a relay set touches the public network. Loopback-only sets
+/// belong to the e2e harness, and their traffic must never land in the
+/// live pairing forensics files: a test-run "identity adopted — CONNECTED"
+/// line sitting among real ones was twice mistaken for a live Amber
+/// pairing during debugging.
+fn live_relays(relays: &[String]) -> bool {
+    relays.iter().any(|u| {
+        let u = u.to_lowercase();
+        !(u.contains("127.0.0.1") || u.contains("localhost") || u.contains("[::1]"))
+    })
+}
+
 /// Internal state for a pending approval.
 struct PendingApprovalInner {
     method: String,
@@ -803,6 +815,9 @@ impl Nip46ClientSigner {
         // status) and move the session state where send_rpc expects it. The
         // phase stays `Connecting` — identity is still unverified — and the
         // demux loop (which answers the handshake's RPCs) takes over.
+        if live_capture {
+            pairing_trace("paired: connection stored; handing over to identity handshake");
+        }
         let demux_uri = ConnectUri {
             peer,
             relays,
@@ -1713,11 +1728,17 @@ impl Nip46ClientSigner {
             conn.profile_npub = Some(identity_npub.clone());
         }
         inner.phase = Nip46Phase::Connected;
-        pairing_trace(&format!(
-            "identity adopted: npub={} peer={} — CONNECTED",
-            identity_npub,
-            peer.to_hex()
-        ));
+        // Only trace LIVE pairings: adopt_identity runs in the e2e harness
+        // too, and an un-gated line here put test-run "CONNECTED" entries
+        // into the forensics log where they were mistaken for a live Amber
+        // scan during debugging.
+        if live_relays(&connection.relays) {
+            pairing_trace(&format!(
+                "identity adopted: npub={} peer={} — CONNECTED",
+                identity_npub,
+                peer.to_hex()
+            ));
+        }
         drop(inner);
 
         // Background enrichment (post-Connected by design): look up the