diff --git a/src/db/migrations/011-pending-sender-approvals.ts b/src/db/migrations/011-pending-sender-approvals.ts
index cb47039..2331a6e 100644
--- a/src/db/migrations/011-pending-sender-approvals.ts
+++ b/src/db/migrations/011-pending-sender-approvals.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,15 @@
  * in-flight entry in this table dedups concurrent attempts from the same
  * sender; the row is cleared on approve / deny.
  *
- * Also flips the `messaging_groups.unknown_sender_policy` default from 'strict'
- * to 'request_approval' so fresh wirings don't silently swallow messages from
- * users the admin hasn't added yet. Existing rows are left as-is (silent
- * upgrade would change established behavior without the admin asking for it).
+ * Previously this migration also rebuilt `messaging_groups` to flip the
+ * column DEFAULT from `'strict'` to `'request_approval'`. Removed: the
+ * rebuild failed SQLite's foreign-key integrity check at DROP time on live
+ * DBs with existing FK references (sessions, user_dms, etc.), and `PRAGMA
+ * foreign_keys` / `defer_foreign_keys` can't be toggled inside the
+ * implicit migration transaction. The default-flip was cosmetic anyway —
+ * every `createMessagingGroup` callsite passes `unknown_sender_policy`
+ * explicitly, and the router's auto-create path was updated to hardcode
+ * `'request_approval'` directly (see src/router.ts:123).
  */
 import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
 import type { Migration } from './index.js';
@@ -31,27 +36,5 @@ export const migration011: Migration = {
       CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_pending_sender_approvals_mg
         ON pending_sender_approvals(messaging_group_id);
     `);
-
-    // Default-flip: fresh messaging_groups default to request_approval instead
-    // of silently dropping. SQLite doesn't support modifying column DEFAULTs
-    // in place, so we rebuild the table via the classic rename-copy-drop
-    // pattern. Existing rows keep their current unknown_sender_policy value.
-    db.exec(`
-      CREATE TABLE messaging_groups_new (
-        id                    TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
-        channel_type          TEXT NOT NULL,
-        platform_id           TEXT NOT NULL,
-        name                  TEXT,
-        is_group              INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
-        unknown_sender_policy TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'request_approval',
-        created_at            TEXT NOT NULL,
-        UNIQUE(channel_type, platform_id)
-      );
-      INSERT INTO messaging_groups_new
-        SELECT id, channel_type, platform_id, name, is_group, unknown_sender_policy, created_at
-          FROM messaging_groups;
-      DROP TABLE messaging_groups;
-      ALTER TABLE messaging_groups_new RENAME TO messaging_groups;
-    `);
   },
 };
diff --git a/src/db/schema.ts b/src/db/schema.ts
index aa33fae..8433035 100644
--- a/src/db/schema.ts
+++ b/src/db/schema.ts
@@ -19,17 +19,18 @@ CREATE TABLE agent_groups (
 
 -- Platform groups/channels. unknown_sender_policy governs what happens
 -- when a sender we've never seen before posts in this chat.
+-- The column DEFAULT is "strict" (inherited from migration 001), but it
+-- only matters if something inserts without specifying the field, which no
+-- current callsite does. Router auto-create hardcodes "request_approval"
+-- (see src/router.ts:151); setup scripts pick per context.
 CREATE TABLE messaging_groups (
   id                    TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
   channel_type          TEXT NOT NULL,
   platform_id           TEXT NOT NULL,
   name                  TEXT,
   is_group              INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
-  unknown_sender_policy TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'request_approval',
+  unknown_sender_policy TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'strict',
                         -- 'strict' | 'request_approval' | 'public'
-                        -- Default is request_approval so silent drops don't
-                        -- mystery-break users who wired their DM during
-                        -- setup and haven't explicitly marked it public.
   created_at            TEXT NOT NULL,
   UNIQUE(channel_type, platform_id)
 );