diff --git a/ui/src/components/logs/logs-filters.tsx b/ui/src/components/logs/logs-filters.tsx
index 4d00d830..7080a1a9 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/logs/logs-filters.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/logs/logs-filters.tsx
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ export interface LogsFiltersProps {
   onRequestIdChange?: (v: string) => void;
   timeWindow?: LogsTimeWindow;
   onTimeWindowChange?: (v: LogsTimeWindow) => void;
-  /** When true, hides entries from `web-server:*` sources. Default ON. */
+  /** When true, hides entries from `web-server:*` sources. Default OFF. */
   hideDashboardInternals?: boolean;
   onHideDashboardInternalsChange?: (next: boolean) => void;
   onClearAll?: () => void;
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ export function LogsFilters({
   onRequestIdChange,
   timeWindow = 'all',
   onTimeWindowChange,
-  hideDashboardInternals = true,
+  hideDashboardInternals = false,
   onHideDashboardInternalsChange,
   onClearAll,
 }: LogsFiltersProps) {
@@ -324,11 +324,10 @@ export function LogsFilters({
                   htmlFor="logs-hide-internals"
                   className="block text-[12px] font-medium text-foreground"
                 >
-                  Hide dashboard internals
+                  Hide dashboard web-server logs
                 </Label>
                 <p className="text-[11px] text-muted-foreground">
-                  Suppress <code className="rounded bg-background px-1">web-server:*</code>{' '}
-                  self-polling.
+                  Optional noise reduction. Audit entries are visible by default.
                 </p>
               </div>
               <input
@@ -338,7 +337,7 @@ export function LogsFilters({
                 checked={hideDashboardInternals}
                 onChange={(e) => onHideDashboardInternalsChange(e.target.checked)}
                 className={cn('mt-0.5 h-4 w-4 cursor-pointer accent-foreground', FOCUS_RING)}
-                aria-label="Hide dashboard internals"
+                aria-label="Hide dashboard web-server logs"
               />
             </div>
           ) : null}
diff --git a/ui/src/hooks/use-logs.ts b/ui/src/hooks/use-logs.ts
index 702db1f6..b27dc0ae 100644
--- a/ui/src/hooks/use-logs.ts
+++ b/ui/src/hooks/use-logs.ts
@@ -116,10 +116,10 @@ export function useLogsWorkspace() {
   const [limit, setLimit] = useState(DEFAULT_LIMIT);
   const [selectedEntryId, setSelectedEntryId] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [isPaused, setIsPaused] = useState(false);
-  // Default ON: dashboard self-polling generates 100s of identical entries
-  // per refresh which drown out real provider activity. Users can opt in to
-  // see internals via the advanced filter toggle.
-  const [hideDashboardInternals, setHideDashboardInternals] = useState(true);
+  // Default OFF: web-server:* entries include dashboard access and WebSocket
+  // audit evidence, so keep them visible unless the operator opts into noise
+  // reduction from the advanced filter toggle.
+  const [hideDashboardInternals, setHideDashboardInternals] = useState(false);
   const frozenIdsRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set());
 
   const deferredSearch = useDeferredValue(search.trim());
@@ -196,8 +196,9 @@ export function useLogsWorkspace() {
           const ts = Date.parse(entry.timestamp);
           if (Number.isFinite(ts) && now - ts > cutoffMs) return false;
         }
-        // Hide dashboard self-polling unless user opted in. Preserves the
-        // signal-to-noise ratio for fresh-load investigations.
+        // Optional noise reduction only: web-server:* entries can contain
+        // security-relevant dashboard access and WebSocket audit evidence, so
+        // they remain visible by default.
         if (hideDashboardInternals && /^web-server:/i.test(entry.source)) return false;
         return true;
       });
@@ -273,7 +274,7 @@ export function useLogsWorkspace() {
     setStageFilter('');
     setRequestIdFilter('');
     setTimeWindow('all');
-    setHideDashboardInternals(true);
+    setHideDashboardInternals(false);
   }, []);
 
   return {
diff --git a/ui/tests/unit/hooks/use-logs.test.tsx b/ui/tests/unit/hooks/use-logs.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f34c6b7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/tests/unit/hooks/use-logs.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+import { act, renderHook, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import type { ReactNode } from 'react';
+import { AllProviders } from '../../setup/test-utils';
+import { useLogsWorkspace } from '@/hooks/use-logs';
+import type { LogsEntry } from '@/lib/api-client';
+
+function createJsonResponse(body: Record<string, unknown>, status = 200): Response {
+  return new Response(JSON.stringify(body), {
+    status,
+    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+  });
+}
+
+const entries: LogsEntry[] = [
+  {
+    id: 'http-audit-1',
+    timestamp: '2026-05-29T00:00:00.000Z',
+    level: 'error',
+    source: 'web-server:http',
+    event: 'request.completed',
+    message: 'Dashboard request completed',
+    processId: 1,
+    runId: null,
+    requestId: 'dashboard-audit',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'ws-audit-1',
+    timestamp: '2026-05-29T00:00:01.000Z',
+    level: 'warn',
+    source: 'web-server:websocket',
+    event: 'message.invalid',
+    message: 'WebSocket client sent invalid JSON',
+    processId: 1,
+    runId: null,
+    requestId: 'dashboard-audit',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'provider-1',
+    timestamp: '2026-05-29T00:00:02.000Z',
+    level: 'info',
+    source: 'provider:codex',
+    event: 'request.completed',
+    message: 'Provider request completed',
+    processId: 2,
+    runId: null,
+    requestId: 'provider-trace',
+  },
+];
+
+function mockLogsApi(): void {
+  vi.stubGlobal(
+    'fetch',
+    vi.fn(async (input: RequestInfo | URL) => {
+      const url = String(input);
+      if (url.startsWith('/api/logs/config')) {
+        return createJsonResponse({
+          logging: {
+            enabled: true,
+            level: 'info',
+            rotate_mb: 10,
+            retain_days: 7,
+            redact: true,
+            live_buffer_size: 150,
+          },
+        });
+      }
+      if (url.startsWith('/api/logs/sources')) {
+        return createJsonResponse({
+          sources: entries.map((entry) => ({
+            source: entry.source,
+            label: entry.source,
+            kind: 'native',
+            count: 1,
+            lastTimestamp: entry.timestamp,
+          })),
+        });
+      }
+      if (url.startsWith('/api/logs/entries')) {
+        return createJsonResponse({ entries });
+      }
+      return createJsonResponse({ error: `Unexpected URL: ${url}` }, 404);
+    })
+  );
+}
+
+describe('useLogsWorkspace', () => {
+  it('keeps dashboard audit events visible by default and only hides them on opt-in', async () => {
+    mockLogsApi();
+
+    const wrapper = ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => (
+      <AllProviders>{children}</AllProviders>
+    );
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useLogsWorkspace(), { wrapper });
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(result.current.entriesQuery.data?.map((entry) => entry.id)).toEqual([
+        'http-audit-1',
+        'ws-audit-1',
+        'provider-1',
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    act(() => result.current.setHideDashboardInternals(true));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(result.current.entriesQuery.data?.map((entry) => entry.id)).toEqual(['provider-1']);
+    });
+
+    act(() => result.current.clearAdvancedFilters());
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(result.current.entriesQuery.data?.map((entry) => entry.id)).toEqual([
+        'http-audit-1',
+        'ws-audit-1',
+        'provider-1',
+      ]);
+    });
+  });
+});