diff --git a/apps/expo/app/_layout.tsx b/apps/expo/app/_layout.tsx
index 81dd6426d5..1557c83ae4 100644
--- a/apps/expo/app/_layout.tsx
+++ b/apps/expo/app/_layout.tsx
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ Sentry.init({
   // Adds more context data to events (IP address, cookies, user, etc.)
   // For more information, visit: https://docs.sentry.io/platforms/react-native/data-management/data-collected/
   sendDefaultPii: true,
+  // Disable Sentry in local development or when no DSN is configured.
+  enabled: clientEnvs.NODE_ENV !== 'development' && !!clientEnvs.EXPO_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN,
 });
 
 const user = userStore.peek();
diff --git a/packages/api/src/utils/__tests__/env-validation.test.ts b/packages/api/src/utils/__tests__/env-validation.test.ts
index 49a75039ad..798a03faf7 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/utils/__tests__/env-validation.test.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/utils/__tests__/env-validation.test.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ describe('env-validation', () => {
       expect(apiEnvSchema.shape.SENTRY_DSN.safeParse('not-a-url').success).toBe(false);
     });
 
+    it('accepts missing SENTRY_DSN for local development', () => {
+      expect(apiEnvSchema.shape.SENTRY_DSN.safeParse(undefined).success).toBe(true);
+    });
+
     it('validates OPENAI_API_KEY starts with sk-', () => {
       expect(apiEnvSchema.shape.OPENAI_API_KEY.safeParse('sk-test123').success).toBe(true);
     });
diff --git a/packages/api/src/utils/env-validation.ts b/packages/api/src/utils/env-validation.ts
index 93b8cba0d0..7c9bda7268 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/utils/env-validation.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/utils/env-validation.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { z } from 'zod';
 export const apiEnvSchema = z.object({
   // Environment & Deployment
   ENVIRONMENT: z.enum(['development', 'production']).default('production'),
-  SENTRY_DSN: z.string().url(),
+  SENTRY_DSN: z.string().url().optional(),
 
   // Database
   NEON_DATABASE_URL: z.string().url(),