diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Application/Abstractions/IServices.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Application/Abstractions/IServices.cs
index 60b4170..3a84c90 100644
--- a/src/InboxIntel.Application/Abstractions/IServices.cs
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Application/Abstractions/IServices.cs
@@ -120,3 +120,15 @@ public interface IDigestService
 {
     Task SendDigestAsync(Guid userId, CancellationToken ct = default);
 }
+
+/// <summary>System feature flags (fail-closed: unknown key = disabled).</summary>
+public interface IFeatureFlags
+{
+    Task<bool> IsEnabledAsync(string key, CancellationToken ct = default);
+}
+
+/// <summary>Policy gate for AI features: system flag AND the user's opt-in.</summary>
+public interface IAiGate
+{
+    Task<bool> IsAiEnabledForUserAsync(Guid userId, CancellationToken ct = default);
+}
diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Domain/Entities/FeatureFlag.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Domain/Entities/FeatureFlag.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e7ea8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Domain/Entities/FeatureFlag.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+using InboxIntel.Domain.Common;
+
+namespace InboxIntel.Domain.Entities;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// System-wide feature flag (docs/discovery/multi-provider/04). The admin master switches:
+/// a disabled flag turns its feature off for EVERYONE regardless of user preferences.
+/// Reads are fail-closed — an unknown key counts as disabled.
+/// </summary>
+public class FeatureFlag : AuditableEntity
+{
+    /// <summary>Stable key, e.g. "ai.enabled", "provider.google".</summary>
+    public string Key { get; set; } = string.Empty;
+
+    public bool Enabled { get; set; }
+
+    /// <summary>True = a user preference may turn the feature OFF for themselves
+    /// (never on beyond the flag); false = system-only switch.</summary>
+    public bool UserOverridable { get; set; }
+
+    public string? Description { get; set; }
+}
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Per-user preferences (docs/discovery/multi-provider/04). One row per user, created
+/// lazily; absent row = defaults. AiOptIn defaults true so enabling the ai.enabled flag
+/// behaves exactly like today until a user opts out.
+/// </summary>
+public class UserSetting : AuditableEntity
+{
+    public Guid UserId { get; set; }
+    public User? User { get; set; }
+
+    /// <summary>"system" | "light" | "dark".</summary>
+    public string Theme { get; set; } = "dark";
+
+    /// <summary>Master per-user AI opt-in (effective only while ai.enabled is on).</summary>
+    public bool AiOptIn { get; set; } = true;
+
+    /// <summary>Free-form UI preferences (layout, density, notifications) as JSON.</summary>
+    public string? PreferencesJson { get; set; }
+}
diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/DependencyInjection.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/DependencyInjection.cs
index 9bd0be3..2724714 100644
--- a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/DependencyInjection.cs
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/DependencyInjection.cs
@@ -92,6 +92,11 @@ public static class DependencyInjection
                 break;
         }
         services.AddScoped<IAiService, AiService>();
+        // Feature flags + AI policy gate (docs/discovery/multi-provider/04). Cached 15s,
+        // fail-closed. Admin toggle surface arrives with the multi-provider admin phase.
+        services.AddMemoryCache();
+        services.AddScoped<IFeatureFlags, Features.FeatureFlagService>();
+        services.AddScoped<IAiGate, Features.AiGate>();
         // Semantic search: fills Email.Embedding in the background; no-ops when the
         // embedding provider is unavailable (AI disabled), so lexical search is unaffected.
         services.AddHostedService<EmbeddingBackfillWorker>();
diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Features/FeatureFlagService.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Features/FeatureFlagService.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a91382
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Features/FeatureFlagService.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+using InboxIntel.Application.Abstractions;
+using InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Persistence;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory;
+
+namespace InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Features;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Flag evaluation (docs/discovery/multi-provider/04). DB-backed with a short cache so an
+/// admin toggle takes effect within seconds and per-request reads stay free.
+/// FAIL-CLOSED: unknown keys and read errors evaluate to disabled.
+/// </summary>
+public class FeatureFlagService : IFeatureFlags
+{
+    private static readonly TimeSpan CacheTtl = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(15);
+    private readonly AppDbContext _db;
+    private readonly IMemoryCache _cache;
+
+    public FeatureFlagService(AppDbContext db, IMemoryCache cache)
+    {
+        _db = db;
+        _cache = cache;
+    }
+
+    public async Task<bool> IsEnabledAsync(string key, CancellationToken ct = default)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            var flags = await _cache.GetOrCreateAsync("feature-flags", async e =>
+            {
+                e.AbsoluteExpirationRelativeToNow = CacheTtl;
+                return await _db.FeatureFlags.AsNoTracking()
+                    .ToDictionaryAsync(f => f.Key, f => f.Enabled, ct);
+            });
+            return flags is not null && flags.TryGetValue(key, out var enabled) && enabled;
+        }
+        catch
+        {
+            return false; // fail closed
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// <summary>
+/// The AI gate (the audit/design requirement that AI is governed by a FLAG, not only user
+/// settings): effective AI = ai.enabled (admin, global) AND the user's opt-in (default true,
+/// only consulted while the flag is on). Callers still check provider availability
+/// (IAiService.IsEnabled / IEmbeddingProvider.IsAvailable) — this gate is policy, not plumbing.
+/// </summary>
+public class AiGate : IAiGate
+{
+    public const string MasterFlag = "ai.enabled";
+    private readonly IFeatureFlags _flags;
+    private readonly AppDbContext _db;
+
+    public AiGate(IFeatureFlags flags, AppDbContext db)
+    {
+        _flags = flags;
+        _db = db;
+    }
+
+    public async Task<bool> IsAiEnabledForUserAsync(Guid userId, CancellationToken ct = default)
+    {
+        if (!await _flags.IsEnabledAsync(MasterFlag, ct)) return false;
+        // Absent settings row = default opt-in true.
+        var optIn = await _db.UserSettings.AsNoTracking()
+            .Where(s => s.UserId == userId)
+            .Select(s => (bool?)s.AiOptIn)
+            .FirstOrDefaultAsync(ct);
+        return optIn ?? true;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/20260702152850_FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings.Designer.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/20260702152850_FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings.Designer.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2d7e12
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/20260702152850_FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings.Designer.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,831 @@
+// <auto-generated />
+using System;
+using InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Persistence;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Infrastructure;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Migrations;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Storage.ValueConversion;
+using Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL.Metadata;
+using NpgsqlTypes;
+using Pgvector;
+
+#nullable disable
+
+namespace InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Migrations
+{
+    [DbContext(typeof(AppDbContext))]
+    [Migration("20260702152850_FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings")]
+    partial class FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings
+    {
+        /// <inheritdoc />
+        protected override void BuildTargetModel(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+        {
+#pragma warning disable 612, 618
+            modelBuilder
+                .HasAnnotation("ProductVersion", "10.0.9")
+                .HasAnnotation("Relational:MaxIdentifierLength", 63);
+
+            NpgsqlModelBuilderExtensions.HasPostgresExtension(modelBuilder, "pg_trgm");
+            NpgsqlModelBuilderExtensions.HasPostgresExtension(modelBuilder, "vector");
+            NpgsqlModelBuilderExtensions.UseIdentityByDefaultColumns(modelBuilder);
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.AnalyticsAggregate", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<DateOnly>("Day")
+                        .HasColumnType("date");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("HourHistogramJson")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("NewsletterCount")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("TotalReceived")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<long>("TotalSizeBytes")
+                        .HasColumnType("bigint");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("TotalUnread")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("WithAttachments")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "Day")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("analytics_aggregates", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Attachment", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("EmailId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("FileName")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(512)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(512)");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("GmailAttachmentId")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("MimeType")
+                        .HasMaxLength(255)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(255)");
+
+                    b.Property<long>("SizeBytes")
+                        .HasColumnType("bigint");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("EmailId");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "MimeType");
+
+                    b.ToTable("attachments", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Email", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("BodyText")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("Category")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Vector>("Embedding")
+                        .HasColumnType("vector(768)");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("GmailMessageId")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(64)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(64)");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("HasAttachments")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("HasListUnsubscribe")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("IsImportant")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("IsInInbox")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("IsStarred")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("IsTrashed")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("IsUnread")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("ListUnsubscribeRaw")
+                        .HasMaxLength(2048)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(2048)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("ReceivedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<NpgsqlTsVector>("SearchVector")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAddOrUpdate()
+                        .HasColumnType("tsvector")
+                        .HasComputedColumnSql("setweight(to_tsvector('english', coalesce(\"Subject\",'')), 'A') || setweight(to_tsvector('english', coalesce(\"BodyText\",'')), 'B')", true);
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("SenderId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("SentAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<long>("SizeEstimateBytes")
+                        .HasColumnType("bigint");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Snippet")
+                        .HasMaxLength(2048)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(2048)");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Subject")
+                        .HasMaxLength(1024)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(1024)");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("SupportsOneClickUnsubscribe")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("ThreadId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("Embedding");
+
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasMethod(b.HasIndex("Embedding"), "hnsw");
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasOperators(b.HasIndex("Embedding"), new[] { "vector_cosine_ops" });
+
+                    b.HasIndex("SearchVector");
+
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasMethod(b.HasIndex("SearchVector"), "GIN");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("SenderId");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("ThreadId");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "Category");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "GmailMessageId")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "IsInInbox");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "IsUnread");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "SenderId");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "SentAtUtc");
+
+                    b.ToTable("emails", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.EmailLabel", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("EmailId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("LabelId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("EmailId", "LabelId");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("LabelId");
+
+                    b.ToTable("email_labels", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.FeatureFlag", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<string>("Key")
+                        .HasMaxLength(128)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(128)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Description")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("Enabled")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("UserOverridable")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Key");
+
+                    b.ToTable("feature_flags", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Label", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("ColorHex")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("GmailLabelId")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(64)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(64)");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Name")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(255)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(255)");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Type")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "GmailLabelId")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("labels", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.MailDomain", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("EmailCount")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("IsBulkSender")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Name")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(255)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(255)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("Name");
+
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasMethod(b.HasIndex("Name"), "gin");
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasOperators(b.HasIndex("Name"), new[] { "gin_trgm_ops" });
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "Name")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("domains", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.MailThread", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("FirstMessageUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("GmailThreadId")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(64)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(64)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("LastMessageUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("MessageCount")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Snippet")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Subject")
+                        .HasMaxLength(1024)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(1024)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "GmailThreadId")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("threads", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Sender", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Address")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(320)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(320)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("DisplayName")
+                        .HasMaxLength(255)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(255)");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("DomainId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("EmailCount")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("HasUnsubscribe")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("LastReceivedUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<long>("TotalSizeBytes")
+                        .HasColumnType("bigint");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("UnreadCount")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("Address");
+
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasMethod(b.HasIndex("Address"), "gin");
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasOperators(b.HasIndex("Address"), new[] { "gin_trgm_ops" });
+
+                    b.HasIndex("DisplayName");
+
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasMethod(b.HasIndex("DisplayName"), "gin");
+                    NpgsqlIndexBuilderExtensions.HasOperators(b.HasIndex("DisplayName"), new[] { "gin_trgm_ops" });
+
+                    b.HasIndex("DomainId");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "Address")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "EmailCount");
+
+                    b.ToTable("senders", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.SyncState", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("CompletedUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("ConsecutiveFailures")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("LastError")
+                        .HasMaxLength(4000)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(4000)");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("LastHistoryId")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("LastSuccessfulSyncUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("LastSyncType")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("MessagesProcessed")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("ResumePageToken")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("StartedUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("Status")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("TotalMessagesEstimate")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("sync_states", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UnsubscribeItem", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<double>("Confidence")
+                        .HasColumnType("double precision");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("EmailCount")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("LastAttemptUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("Method")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("ResultMessage")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("SenderId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("Status")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("UnsubscribeTarget")
+                        .HasMaxLength(2048)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(2048)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("SenderId");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "SenderId")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("unsubscribe_items", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.User", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("AccessTokenExpiresAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("DigestEnabled")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("DisplayName")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Email")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(320)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(320)");
+
+                    b.Property<byte[]>("EncryptedRefreshToken")
+                        .HasColumnType("bytea");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("GoogleSubjectId")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(64)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(64)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("LastDigestSentUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("LastLoginUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("PictureUrl")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("Email")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.HasIndex("GoogleSubjectId")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("users", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UserSetting", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("AiOptIn")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("PreferencesJson")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Theme")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.HasKey("UserId");
+
+                    b.ToTable("user_settings", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.WidgetLayout", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("Id")
+                        .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("H")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("SettingsJson")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("SortOrder")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("Visible")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("W")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("WidgetKey")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasMaxLength(64)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(64)");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("X")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.Property<int>("Y")
+                        .HasColumnType("integer");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Id");
+
+                    b.HasIndex("UserId", "WidgetKey")
+                        .IsUnique();
+
+                    b.ToTable("widget_layouts", (string)null);
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Attachment", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Email", "Email")
+                        .WithMany("Attachments")
+                        .HasForeignKey("EmailId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.Navigation("Email");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Email", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Sender", "Sender")
+                        .WithMany("Emails")
+                        .HasForeignKey("SenderId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Restrict)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.MailThread", "Thread")
+                        .WithMany("Emails")
+                        .HasForeignKey("ThreadId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.User", null)
+                        .WithMany("Emails")
+                        .HasForeignKey("UserId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.Navigation("Sender");
+
+                    b.Navigation("Thread");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.EmailLabel", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Email", "Email")
+                        .WithMany("EmailLabels")
+                        .HasForeignKey("EmailId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Label", "Label")
+                        .WithMany("EmailLabels")
+                        .HasForeignKey("LabelId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.Navigation("Email");
+
+                    b.Navigation("Label");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Sender", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.MailDomain", "Domain")
+                        .WithMany("Senders")
+                        .HasForeignKey("DomainId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Restrict)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.Navigation("Domain");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UnsubscribeItem", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Sender", "Sender")
+                        .WithMany()
+                        .HasForeignKey("SenderId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.Navigation("Sender");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UserSetting", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.User", "User")
+                        .WithOne()
+                        .HasForeignKey("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UserSetting", "UserId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.Navigation("User");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.WidgetLayout", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.User", null)
+                        .WithMany("WidgetLayouts")
+                        .HasForeignKey("UserId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Email", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Navigation("Attachments");
+
+                    b.Navigation("EmailLabels");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Label", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Navigation("EmailLabels");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.MailDomain", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Navigation("Senders");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.MailThread", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Navigation("Emails");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Sender", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Navigation("Emails");
+                });
+
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.User", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Navigation("Emails");
+
+                    b.Navigation("WidgetLayouts");
+                });
+#pragma warning restore 612, 618
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/20260702152850_FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/20260702152850_FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..013fee7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/20260702152850_FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+using System;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Migrations;
+
+#nullable disable
+
+namespace InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Migrations
+{
+    /// <inheritdoc />
+    public partial class FeatureFlagsAndUserSettings : Migration
+    {
+        /// <inheritdoc />
+        protected override void Up(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
+        {
+            migrationBuilder.CreateTable(
+                name: "feature_flags",
+                columns: table => new
+                {
+                    Key = table.Column<string>(type: "character varying(128)", maxLength: 128, nullable: false),
+                    Enabled = table.Column<bool>(type: "boolean", nullable: false),
+                    UserOverridable = table.Column<bool>(type: "boolean", nullable: false),
+                    Description = table.Column<string>(type: "text", nullable: true),
+                    CreatedAtUtc = table.Column<DateTimeOffset>(type: "timestamp with time zone", nullable: false),
+                    UpdatedAtUtc = table.Column<DateTimeOffset>(type: "timestamp with time zone", nullable: true)
+                },
+                constraints: table =>
+                {
+                    table.PrimaryKey("PK_feature_flags", x => x.Key);
+                });
+
+            migrationBuilder.CreateTable(
+                name: "user_settings",
+                columns: table => new
+                {
+                    UserId = table.Column<Guid>(type: "uuid", nullable: false),
+                    Theme = table.Column<string>(type: "text", nullable: false),
+                    AiOptIn = table.Column<bool>(type: "boolean", nullable: false),
+                    PreferencesJson = table.Column<string>(type: "text", nullable: true),
+                    CreatedAtUtc = table.Column<DateTimeOffset>(type: "timestamp with time zone", nullable: false),
+                    UpdatedAtUtc = table.Column<DateTimeOffset>(type: "timestamp with time zone", nullable: true)
+                },
+                constraints: table =>
+                {
+                    table.PrimaryKey("PK_user_settings", x => x.UserId);
+                    table.ForeignKey(
+                        name: "FK_user_settings_users_UserId",
+                        column: x => x.UserId,
+                        principalTable: "users",
+                        principalColumn: "Id",
+                        onDelete: ReferentialAction.Cascade);
+                });
+
+            // Behaviour-preserving defaults (docs/discovery/multi-provider/04): ai.enabled on
+            // (AI availability still requires Ai:Mode + provider), Google on, others off.
+            migrationBuilder.Sql("""
+                INSERT INTO feature_flags ("Key", "Enabled", "UserOverridable", "Description", "CreatedAtUtc", "UpdatedAtUtc")
+                VALUES
+                  ('ai.enabled', TRUE, TRUE,  'Master AI switch: off hides AI for everyone', NOW(), NOW()),
+                  ('provider.google', TRUE, FALSE, 'Google/Gmail provider', NOW(), NOW()),
+                  ('provider.microsoft', FALSE, FALSE, 'Microsoft/Outlook provider (future)', NOW(), NOW()),
+                  ('provider.imap', FALSE, FALSE, 'IMAP provider (future)', NOW(), NOW())
+                ON CONFLICT ("Key") DO NOTHING;
+                """);
+        }
+
+        /// <inheritdoc />
+        protected override void Down(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
+        {
+            migrationBuilder.DropTable(
+                name: "feature_flags");
+
+            migrationBuilder.DropTable(
+                name: "user_settings");
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/AppDbContextModelSnapshot.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/AppDbContextModelSnapshot.cs
index 41db34c..c0bb4e9 100644
--- a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/AppDbContextModelSnapshot.cs
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Migrations/AppDbContextModelSnapshot.cs
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ namespace InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Migrations
         {
 #pragma warning disable 612, 618
             modelBuilder
-                .HasAnnotation("ProductVersion", "8.0.4")
+                .HasAnnotation("ProductVersion", "10.0.9")
                 .HasAnnotation("Relational:MaxIdentifierLength", 63);
 
             NpgsqlModelBuilderExtensions.HasPostgresExtension(modelBuilder, "pg_trgm");
@@ -243,6 +243,32 @@ namespace InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Migrations
                     b.ToTable("email_labels", (string)null);
                 });
 
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.FeatureFlag", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<string>("Key")
+                        .HasMaxLength(128)
+                        .HasColumnType("character varying(128)");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Description")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("Enabled")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("UserOverridable")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.HasKey("Key");
+
+                    b.ToTable("feature_flags", (string)null);
+                });
+
             modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.Label", b =>
                 {
                     b.Property<Guid>("Id")
@@ -591,6 +617,32 @@ namespace InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Migrations
                     b.ToTable("users", (string)null);
                 });
 
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UserSetting", b =>
+                {
+                    b.Property<Guid>("UserId")
+                        .HasColumnType("uuid");
+
+                    b.Property<bool>("AiOptIn")
+                        .HasColumnType("boolean");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset>("CreatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("PreferencesJson")
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<string>("Theme")
+                        .IsRequired()
+                        .HasColumnType("text");
+
+                    b.Property<DateTimeOffset?>("UpdatedAtUtc")
+                        .HasColumnType("timestamp with time zone");
+
+                    b.HasKey("UserId");
+
+                    b.ToTable("user_settings", (string)null);
+                });
+
             modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.WidgetLayout", b =>
                 {
                     b.Property<Guid>("Id")
@@ -717,6 +769,17 @@ namespace InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Migrations
                     b.Navigation("Sender");
                 });
 
+            modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UserSetting", b =>
+                {
+                    b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.User", "User")
+                        .WithOne()
+                        .HasForeignKey("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.UserSetting", "UserId")
+                        .OnDelete(DeleteBehavior.Cascade)
+                        .IsRequired();
+
+                    b.Navigation("User");
+                });
+
             modelBuilder.Entity("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.WidgetLayout", b =>
                 {
                     b.HasOne("InboxIntel.Domain.Entities.User", null)
diff --git a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Persistence/AppDbContext.cs b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Persistence/AppDbContext.cs
index d09a08b..7a33a96 100644
--- a/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Persistence/AppDbContext.cs
+++ b/src/InboxIntel.Infrastructure/Persistence/AppDbContext.cs
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ public class AppDbContext : DbContext, IAppDbContext
     public DbSet<Email> Emails => Set<Email>();
     public DbSet<MailThread> Threads => Set<MailThread>();
     public DbSet<Sender> Senders => Set<Sender>();
+    public DbSet<FeatureFlag> FeatureFlags => Set<FeatureFlag>();
+    public DbSet<UserSetting> UserSettings => Set<UserSetting>();
     public DbSet<MailDomain> Domains => Set<MailDomain>();
     public DbSet<Attachment> Attachments => Set<Attachment>();
     public DbSet<Label> Labels => Set<Label>();
@@ -61,6 +63,22 @@ public class AppDbContext : DbContext, IAppDbContext
         modelBuilder.Entity<AnalyticsAggregate>().HasQueryFilter("Tenant", e => CurrentUserId == Guid.Empty || e.UserId == CurrentUserId);
         modelBuilder.Entity<WidgetLayout>().HasQueryFilter("Tenant", e => CurrentUserId == Guid.Empty || e.UserId == CurrentUserId);
         modelBuilder.Entity<UnsubscribeItem>().HasQueryFilter("Tenant", e => CurrentUserId == Guid.Empty || e.UserId == CurrentUserId);
+        modelBuilder.Entity<UserSetting>().HasQueryFilter("Tenant", e => CurrentUserId == Guid.Empty || e.UserId == CurrentUserId);
+
+        // Feature flags are system-wide (no tenant filter). Key is the natural PK.
+        modelBuilder.Entity<FeatureFlag>(b =>
+        {
+            b.ToTable("feature_flags");
+            b.HasKey(f => f.Key);
+            b.Property(f => f.Key).HasMaxLength(128);
+        });
+        modelBuilder.Entity<UserSetting>(b =>
+        {
+            b.ToTable("user_settings");
+            b.HasKey(x => x.UserId);
+            // 1:1 with User sharing the PK — prevents a shadow UserId1 FK column.
+            b.HasOne(x => x.User).WithOne().HasForeignKey<UserSetting>(x => x.UserId);
+        });
 
         // PostgreSQL full-text search: generated tsvector over subject + body with a
         // GIN index, maintained by the DB and read-only in code. Subject is weighted 'A'
diff --git a/tests/InboxIntel.IntegrationTests/FeatureFlagTests.cs b/tests/InboxIntel.IntegrationTests/FeatureFlagTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..baad084
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/InboxIntel.IntegrationTests/FeatureFlagTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+using FluentAssertions;
+using InboxIntel.Application.Abstractions;
+using InboxIntel.Domain.Entities;
+using InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Features;
+using InboxIntel.Infrastructure.Persistence;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace InboxIntel.IntegrationTests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Feature-flag + AI-gate contracts (docs/discovery/multi-provider/04):
+/// flags are FAIL-CLOSED, and the admin master switch (ai.enabled) beats any user opt-in.
+/// </summary>
+public class FeatureFlagTests
+{
+    private sealed class FakeCurrentUser : ICurrentUser
+    {
+        public Guid UserId { get; set; }
+        public bool IsAuthenticated => UserId != Guid.Empty;
+    }
+
+    private static AppDbContext NewDb(string name) =>
+        new(new DbContextOptionsBuilder<AppDbContext>().UseInMemoryDatabase(name).Options, new FakeCurrentUser());
+
+    private static FeatureFlagService Flags(AppDbContext db) =>
+        new(db, new MemoryCache(new MemoryCacheOptions()));
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Unknown_flag_is_disabled_fail_closed()
+    {
+        using var db = NewDb(nameof(Unknown_flag_is_disabled_fail_closed));
+        (await Flags(db).IsEnabledAsync("does.not.exist")).Should().BeFalse();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Enabled_flag_reads_true_disabled_reads_false()
+    {
+        using var db = NewDb(nameof(Enabled_flag_reads_true_disabled_reads_false));
+        db.FeatureFlags.AddRange(
+            new FeatureFlag { Key = "on.flag", Enabled = true },
+            new FeatureFlag { Key = "off.flag", Enabled = false });
+        await db.SaveChangesAsync();
+        var flags = Flags(db);
+        (await flags.IsEnabledAsync("on.flag")).Should().BeTrue();
+        (await flags.IsEnabledAsync("off.flag")).Should().BeFalse();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Ai_gate_master_flag_off_beats_user_opt_in()
+    {
+        using var db = NewDb(nameof(Ai_gate_master_flag_off_beats_user_opt_in));
+        var user = Guid.NewGuid();
+        db.FeatureFlags.Add(new FeatureFlag { Key = AiGate.MasterFlag, Enabled = false });
+        db.UserSettings.Add(new UserSetting { UserId = user, AiOptIn = true });
+        await db.SaveChangesAsync();
+
+        (await new AiGate(Flags(db), db).IsAiEnabledForUserAsync(user)).Should().BeFalse();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Ai_gate_flag_on_defaults_to_opted_in_but_respects_opt_out()
+    {
+        using var db = NewDb(nameof(Ai_gate_flag_on_defaults_to_opted_in_but_respects_opt_out));
+        var optedOut = Guid.NewGuid();
+        var noRow = Guid.NewGuid();
+        db.FeatureFlags.Add(new FeatureFlag { Key = AiGate.MasterFlag, Enabled = true });
+        db.UserSettings.Add(new UserSetting { UserId = optedOut, AiOptIn = false });
+        await db.SaveChangesAsync();
+        var gate = new AiGate(Flags(db), db);
+
+        (await gate.IsAiEnabledForUserAsync(noRow)).Should().BeTrue("no settings row = default opt-in");
+        (await gate.IsAiEnabledForUserAsync(optedOut)).Should().BeFalse("explicit opt-out wins while the flag is on");
+    }
+}