diff --git a/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard.go b/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard.go
index 2dc11f0..08074de 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // DefaultInterval is used when Watch is given a non-positive interval.
-const DefaultInterval = 5 * time.Minute
+const DefaultInterval = 30 * time.Second
 
 // Notifier is the out-of-band alert sink (audit.Notifier satisfies it).
 type Notifier interface {
@@ -41,13 +41,7 @@ func (r Result) Clean() bool { return len(r.Symlinks) == 0 && len(r.Unreadable)
 // String describes the findings for a log line or alert. Paths are quoted, so
 // a name containing a newline cannot blur two findings together.
 func (r Result) String() string {
-	q := func(xs []string) string {
-		out := make([]string, len(xs))
-		for i, x := range xs {
-			out[i] = strconv.Quote(x)
-		}
-		return strings.Join(out, ", ")
-	}
+	q := r.quoted
 	var parts []string
 	if len(r.Symlinks) > 0 {
 		parts = append(parts, fmt.Sprintf("%d symlink(s): %s", len(r.Symlinks), q(r.Symlinks)))
@@ -58,6 +52,15 @@ func (r Result) String() string {
 	return strings.Join(parts, "; ")
 }
 
+// quoted joins paths with each one strconv-quoted.
+func (Result) quoted(xs []string) string {
+	out := make([]string, len(xs))
+	for i, x := range xs {
+		out[i] = strconv.Quote(x)
+	}
+	return strings.Join(out, ", ")
+}
+
 // Scan walks the brain dir and reports every symlink in it and every
 // directory it could not read, continuing past both. Only the ROOT .git is
 // skipped (it is brain-sync's, and no reader walks it); a nested .git is
@@ -106,15 +109,19 @@ func Scan(brainDir string) (Result, error) {
 }
 
 // Watch rescans every interval (DefaultInterval if non-positive) until ctx
-// ends, and notifies once per distinct non-clean result. A result counts as
-// reported only after Notify succeeds, so an alert lost to a notifier outage
-// is retried on the next tick.
+// ends. Every symlink found is removed (the link, never its target:
+// hyperguild#157 decision), so one is readable for at most one interval.
+// Each removal is an alert; a persistent finding (a link it could not remove,
+// an unreadable dir, a scan error) alerts once per distinct state. Alerts
+// queue until Notify succeeds, so an outage delays them but loses none, even
+// though the next scan of a cleaned brain is clean.
 func Watch(ctx context.Context, brainDir string, interval time.Duration, n Notifier) {
 	if interval <= 0 {
 		interval = DefaultInterval
 	}
 	t := time.NewTicker(interval)
 	defer t.Stop()
+	var pending []string
 	reported := ""
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -123,31 +130,68 @@ func Watch(ctx context.Context, brainDir string, interval time.Duration, n Notif
 		case <-t.C:
 		}
 		r, err := Scan(brainDir)
-		var key, msg string
-		switch {
-		case err != nil:
-			key = "error: " + err.Error()
-			msg = "brain symlink tripwire (hyperguild#157): cannot scan the brain dir: " + err.Error()
-		case r.Clean():
-			reported = ""
-			continue
-		default:
-			key = r.String()
-			msg = "brain symlink tripwire (hyperguild#157): " + key +
-				". Readers may follow symlinks out of the brain; remove them."
+		key := ""
+		if err != nil {
+			key = "cannot scan the brain dir: " + err.Error()
+		} else {
+			removed, failed := removeSymlinks(brainDir, r.Symlinks)
+			if len(removed) > 0 {
+				msg := fmt.Sprintf("brain symlink tripwire (hyperguild#157): removed %d symlink(s) from the brain dir: %s",
+					len(removed), Result{Symlinks: removed}.quoted(removed))
+				slog.Error("brain symlink tripwire removed symlinks", "paths", removed)
+				pending = append(pending, msg)
+			}
+			key = Result{Symlinks: failed, Unreadable: r.Unreadable}.String()
 		}
-		if key == reported {
-			continue
-		}
-		slog.Error("brain symlink tripwire", "finding", key)
-		if n == nil {
+		if key != reported {
 			reported = key
+			if key != "" {
+				slog.Error("brain symlink tripwire", "finding", key)
+				pending = append(pending, "brain symlink tripwire (hyperguild#157): "+key+
+					". Readers may follow symlinks out of the brain; fix them.")
+			}
+		}
+		if n == nil {
+			pending = nil
 			continue
 		}
-		if err := n.Notify(ctx, msg); err != nil {
-			slog.Warn("symlink tripwire notify failed; will retry", "err", err)
-			continue
+		for len(pending) > 0 {
+			if err := n.Notify(ctx, pending[0]); err != nil {
+				slog.Warn("symlink tripwire notify failed; will retry", "err", err)
+				break
+			}
+			pending = pending[1:]
 		}
-		reported = key
 	}
 }
+
+// removeSymlinks unlinks each brain-relative symlink through an os.Root on
+// the brain dir, after re-checking it is still a symlink. Removing a symlink
+// never touches its target. It returns what was removed and what was not.
+func removeSymlinks(brainDir string, rels []string) (removed, failed []string) {
+	if len(rels) == 0 {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	resolved, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(brainDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, rels
+	}
+	root, err := os.OpenRoot(resolved)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, rels
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = root.Close() }()
+	for _, rel := range rels {
+		fi, err := root.Lstat(rel)
+		if err != nil || fi.Mode()&os.ModeSymlink == 0 {
+			failed = append(failed, rel)
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := root.Remove(rel); err != nil {
+			failed = append(failed, rel)
+			continue
+		}
+		removed = append(removed, rel)
+	}
+	return removed, failed
+}
diff --git a/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard_test.go b/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard_test.go
index 6b46112..c3ef264 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard_test.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/symlinkguard/symlinkguard_test.go
@@ -182,8 +182,47 @@ func TestWatchReportsASetAgainAfterItWasCleared(t *testing.T) {
 	go Watch(ctx, brain, 10*time.Millisecond, n)
 	require.NoError(t, os.Symlink(t.TempDir(), link))
 	require.Eventually(t, func() bool { return n.count() == 1 }, 2*time.Second, 10*time.Millisecond)
-	require.NoError(t, os.Remove(link))
-	time.Sleep(60 * time.Millisecond)
+	// The tripwire removed it; planting it again is a new event.
+	require.Eventually(t, func() bool { _, err := os.Lstat(link); return os.IsNotExist(err) }, 2*time.Second, 10*time.Millisecond)
 	require.NoError(t, os.Symlink(t.TempDir(), link))
 	require.Eventually(t, func() bool { return n.count() == 2 }, 2*time.Second, 10*time.Millisecond)
 }
+
+// hyperguild#157 decision: the runtime tripwire removes a symlink it finds
+// (the link, never its target), so it is readable for at most one interval
+// instead of until a human acts, and the alert says what was removed.
+func TestWatchRemovesSymlinksButNeverTheirTargetsOrRegularFiles(t *testing.T) {
+	brain := t.TempDir()
+	outside := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "target.md")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(outside, []byte("keep me"), 0o644))
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(brain, "wiki"), 0o755))
+	link := filepath.Join(brain, "wiki", "leak.md")
+	require.NoError(t, os.Symlink(outside, link))
+	regular := filepath.Join(brain, "wiki", "note.md")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(regular, []byte("note"), 0o644))
+
+	n := &recNotifier{}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+	go Watch(ctx, brain, 10*time.Millisecond, n)
+
+	require.Eventually(t, func() bool {
+		_, err := os.Lstat(link)
+		return os.IsNotExist(err)
+	}, 2*time.Second, 10*time.Millisecond, "the symlink is removed")
+	require.Eventually(t, func() bool { return n.count() >= 1 }, 2*time.Second, 10*time.Millisecond)
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(outside)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "keep me", string(b), "the target is untouched")
+	b, err = os.ReadFile(regular)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "note", string(b), "regular files are untouched")
+	n.mu.Lock()
+	defer n.mu.Unlock()
+	assert.Contains(t, n.msgs[0], "removed")
+	assert.Contains(t, n.msgs[0], "wiki/leak.md")
+}
+
+func TestDefaultIntervalIsThirtySeconds(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, 30*time.Second, DefaultInterval)
+}