diff --git a/app/dashboard/app/providers/posthog-provider.tsx b/app/dashboard/app/providers/posthog-provider.tsx
index cff2eec39..ca9a1c100 100644
--- a/app/dashboard/app/providers/posthog-provider.tsx
+++ b/app/dashboard/app/providers/posthog-provider.tsx
@@ -11,13 +11,16 @@ import { PostHogProvider as PHProvider } from 'posthog-js/react';
 export function PostHogProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
   useEffect(() => {
     const posthogKey = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY;
+    const isProd = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production';
+    const enableInDev = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_POSTHOG_IN_DEV === 'true';
 
-    // Only initialize PostHog if we have a valid key
-    if (posthogKey) {
+    // Only initialize PostHog if we have a valid key and it's production
+    // or explicitly enabled for development.
+    if (posthogKey && (isProd || enableInDev)) {
       posthog.init(posthogKey, {
         api_host: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST || 'https://us.i.posthog.com',
-        person_profiles: 'identified_only', // or 'always' to create profiles for anonymous users as well
-        capture_pageview: false, // Disable automatic pageview capture, as we capture manually
+        person_profiles: 'identified_only',
+        capture_pageview: false,
       });
     }
   }, []);
diff --git a/app/dashboard/app/signin/auth-form.tsx b/app/dashboard/app/signin/auth-form.tsx
index e28df6793..5da3d2aae 100644
--- a/app/dashboard/app/signin/auth-form.tsx
+++ b/app/dashboard/app/signin/auth-form.tsx
@@ -40,6 +40,11 @@ export function AuthForm() {
     }
 
     const checkAuth = async () => {
+      // If there is no session cookie, skip calling the API to avoid 401 spam in dev
+      if (typeof document !== 'undefined' && !document.cookie.includes('session_id=')) {
+        setIsCheckingAuth(false);
+        return;
+      }
       try {
         const response = await fetch(`${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL}/opsboard/users/me`, {
           method: 'GET',
diff --git a/app/dashboard/app/signin/components.tsx b/app/dashboard/app/signin/components.tsx
index 892e277b0..480a2a2bc 100644
--- a/app/dashboard/app/signin/components.tsx
+++ b/app/dashboard/app/signin/components.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import { GithubIcon as Github, Loading03Icon as Loader } from 'hugeicons-react';
 import { MagicWand01Icon as WandSparkles } from 'hugeicons-react';
 import Link from 'next/link';
 import { useRouter } from 'next/navigation';
-import posthog from 'posthog-js';
+// posthog is not required directly in this file; remove unused import to prevent bundling warnings
 import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
 import { toast } from '@/components/ui/use-toast';
 
diff --git a/app/dashboard/app/simple-login/page.tsx b/app/dashboard/app/simple-login/page.tsx
index 60bc3e566..dd2e454d6 100644
--- a/app/dashboard/app/simple-login/page.tsx
+++ b/app/dashboard/app/simple-login/page.tsx
@@ -52,6 +52,10 @@ const SimpleLoginPageDev = () => {
   const authBaseUrl = `${apiUrl}/auth`;
 
   const checkAuthAndFetchDetails = async () => {
+    // Avoid unnecessary 401s in local mode: if there is no session cookie, skip the check
+    if (typeof document !== 'undefined' && !document.cookie.includes('session_id=')) {
+      return false;
+    }
     const lastLoginMethod = localStorage.getItem('loginMethodUsed') as LoginType | null;
     if (loginMethodUsed !== lastLoginMethod) {
       setLoginMethodUsed(lastLoginMethod);