diff --git a/backend/apps/service/version.py b/backend/apps/service/version.py
index b0deca57..8579a248 100644
--- a/backend/apps/service/version.py
+++ b/backend/apps/service/version.py
@@ -10,18 +10,22 @@ import os
 
 def read_app_version() -> str:
     # Preferred: Electron's main process injects this when spawning the backend (see electron/main.js; OPENSWARM_APP_VERSION). Always reliable in packaged builds because it comes from app.getVersion() rather than path-based file resolution.
-    env_v = os.environ.get("OPENSWARM_APP_VERSION", "").strip()
-    if env_v:
-        return env_v
-    # Fallback: read electron/package.json via relative path. Works in `bash run.sh` dev mode where the repo layout is intact, but FAILS in packaged dmg/exe builds because electron/package.json isn't shipped into Resources/; which made every shipped install report app_version="unknown" pre-fix. Kept for backward compatibility with dev runs and as a safety net if the env var is ever unset.
-    try:
-        p_here = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
-        p_repo = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(p_here)))
-        p_pkg = os.path.join(p_repo, "electron", "package.json")
-        with open(p_pkg, encoding="utf-8") as p_f:
-            return json.load(p_f).get("version", "unknown")
-    except (OSError, ValueError, KeyError):
-        return "unknown"
+    base = os.environ.get("OPENSWARM_APP_VERSION", "").strip()
+    if not base:
+        # Fallback: read electron/package.json via relative path. Works in `bash run.sh` dev mode where the repo layout is intact, but FAILS in packaged dmg/exe builds because electron/package.json isn't shipped into Resources/; which made every shipped install report app_version="unknown" pre-fix. Kept for backward compatibility with dev runs and as a safety net if the env var is ever unset.
+        try:
+            p_here = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+            p_repo = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(p_here)))
+            p_pkg = os.path.join(p_repo, "electron", "package.json")
+            with open(p_pkg, encoding="utf-8") as p_f:
+                base = json.load(p_f).get("version", "unknown")
+        except (OSError, ValueError, KeyError):
+            base = "unknown"
+    # A dev/hackathon cohort (OPENSWARM_APP_CHANNEL=dev) reports e.g. "1.5.8-dev" so its events stay filterable from real installs; prod or unset keeps the bare version.
+    channel = os.environ.get("OPENSWARM_APP_CHANNEL", "").strip().lower()
+    if channel and channel != "prod":
+        return f"{base}-{channel}"
+    return base
 
 
 APP_VERSION = read_app_version()
diff --git a/run.ps1 b/run.ps1
index b578ed5e..5ea0fb36 100644
--- a/run.ps1
+++ b/run.ps1
@@ -99,6 +99,12 @@ function Cleanup-All {
     Write-Host "All services stopped." -ForegroundColor Green
 }
 
+# Opt-in dev telemetry: OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS=1 reports to the prod edge tagged with a -dev channel so it stays filterable from real installs; off by default so a stray run never phones home.
+if ($env:OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS -eq '1') {
+    if (-not $env:OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS_URL) { $env:OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS_URL = 'https://analytics.openswarm.com' }
+    if (-not $env:OPENSWARM_APP_CHANNEL)   { $env:OPENSWARM_APP_CHANNEL = 'dev' }
+}
+
 try {
     # --- Start backend (NoNewWindow so logs interleave into this terminal) ---
     # No --reload on Windows: uvicorn's reload mode forces use_subprocess=True
diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index 1059bc8e..1f2c3533 100755
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -103,6 +103,13 @@ fi
 # directly), so the env stays unset in production and uvicorn boots in
 # its leaner non-reload mode.
 export OPENSWARM_DEV=1
+
+# Opt-in dev telemetry. Dev normally never reports (the analytics client falls back to a dead local ingest); set OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS=1 (e.g. a hackathon cohort) to report to the prod edge, tagged with a -dev channel so those events stay filterable from real installs. Off by default so a stray `bash run.sh` never phones home.
+if [ "${OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS:-0}" = "1" ]; then
+    export OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS_URL="${OPENSWARM_ANALYTICS_URL:-https://analytics.openswarm.com}"
+    export OPENSWARM_APP_CHANNEL="${OPENSWARM_APP_CHANNEL:-dev}"
+fi
+
 echo -e "${BLUE}${BOLD}[backend]${RESET}  Starting backend server..."
 bash "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend/run.sh" > >(
     while IFS= read -r line; do