diff --git a/src/components/settings/__tests__/account-section-timezone-seed.test.ts b/src/components/settings/__tests__/account-section-timezone-seed.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..731b5da40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/settings/__tests__/account-section-timezone-seed.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { resolveInitialTimezone } from "../account-section";
+
+/**
+ * v1.4.37 — silent browser-timezone auto-seed for the account
+ * profile picker.
+ *
+ * The retired "Browser-Zeitzone übernehmen" button used to ask the
+ * user to opt in; v1.4.37 seeds the form for them on first mount
+ * whenever the stored value is still the Europe/Berlin default and
+ * the browser reports a different IANA zone. The helper that drives
+ * that decision is pure so the contract can be pinned without
+ * mounting the full AccountSection component tree (which depends on
+ * react-query, useAuth, next/navigation, etc.).
+ */
+
+describe("resolveInitialTimezone — v1.4.37 silent auto-seed", () => {
+  it("pre-fills the browser zone when the stored value is the Berlin default and the browser is elsewhere", () => {
+    expect(resolveInitialTimezone("Europe/Berlin", "America/New_York")).toBe(
+      "America/New_York",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("pre-fills the browser zone when the stored value is null and the browser is elsewhere", () => {
+    expect(resolveInitialTimezone(null, "Asia/Tokyo")).toBe("Asia/Tokyo");
+  });
+
+  it("pre-fills the browser zone when the stored value is an empty string and the browser is elsewhere", () => {
+    expect(resolveInitialTimezone("", "Europe/London")).toBe("Europe/London");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps Berlin when the browser is also Berlin (no seed needed)", () => {
+    expect(resolveInitialTimezone("Europe/Berlin", "Europe/Berlin")).toBe(
+      "Europe/Berlin",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("keeps Berlin when the browser detection returned an empty string", () => {
+    // detectBrowserTimezone falls back to Europe/Berlin on engines
+    // without Intl.DateTimeFormat, but guard against future shapes
+    // that hand back an empty string.
+    expect(resolveInitialTimezone("Europe/Berlin", "")).toBe("Europe/Berlin");
+  });
+
+  it("respects any non-Berlin stored value — explicit user choice wins over browser detection", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveInitialTimezone("America/Los_Angeles", "Europe/Berlin"),
+    ).toBe("America/Los_Angeles");
+  });
+
+  it("respects a non-Berlin stored value even when the browser reports a different non-Berlin zone", () => {
+    // User stored Pacific, then opened the form from a hotel in
+    // Tokyo. The stored value still wins; the user can change it
+    // explicitly via the picker if they want.
+    expect(resolveInitialTimezone("America/Los_Angeles", "Asia/Tokyo")).toBe(
+      "America/Los_Angeles",
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/settings/__tests__/timezone-picker.test.tsx b/src/components/settings/__tests__/timezone-picker.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5a52ca40f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/settings/__tests__/timezone-picker.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+
+import { I18nProvider } from "@/lib/i18n/context";
+import { TimezonePicker } from "../timezone-picker";
+
+/**
+ * v1.4.37 — the "Browser-Zeitzone übernehmen" / "Use browser timezone"
+ * affordance retired. Auto-seeding now happens silently inside the
+ * account-section bootstrap (`detectBrowserTimezone()` on first mount
+ * when the stored value is still the Europe/Berlin default), so the
+ * picker chrome is just `<Label>` + `<NativeSelect>` + the hint line.
+ *
+ * These SSR smoke tests pin that contract end-to-end so a regression
+ * that re-adds either the button copy or the icon would fail the
+ * suite before reaching production.
+ */
+
+function render(node: React.ReactNode, locale: "en" | "de" = "en") {
+  return renderToStaticMarkup(
+    <I18nProvider initialLocale={locale}>{node}</I18nProvider>,
+  );
+}
+
+describe("<TimezonePicker> v1.4.37 affordance removal", () => {
+  it("renders the label, select, and hint without the legacy button (en)", () => {
+    const html = render(
+      <TimezonePicker value="Europe/Berlin" onChange={() => {}} />,
+    );
+    expect(html).toContain("Timezone");
+    expect(html).toContain("Used for chart axis labels");
+    expect(html).not.toContain("Use browser timezone");
+  });
+
+  it("renders the label, select, and hint without the legacy button (de)", () => {
+    const html = render(
+      <TimezonePicker value="Europe/Berlin" onChange={() => {}} />,
+      "de",
+    );
+    expect(html).toContain("Zeitzone");
+    expect(html).not.toContain("Browser-Zeitzone übernehmen");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the stored value selectable even when not in the IANA list", () => {
+    // A made-up zone simulates an engine where the runtime IANA list
+    // has rolled but the user's stored value is still valid. The
+    // picker keeps the value as an extra <option> so the form does
+    // not silently fall back to the first list entry.
+    const html = render(
+      <TimezonePicker value="Antarctica/Casey" onChange={() => {}} />,
+    );
+    expect(html).toContain("Antarctica/Casey");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/settings/account-section.tsx b/src/components/settings/account-section.tsx
index 08862f54a..d5fbb7590 100644
--- a/src/components/settings/account-section.tsx
+++ b/src/components/settings/account-section.tsx
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ import { locales, localeLabels, type Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
 import { useTranslations } from "@/lib/i18n/context";
 import { describePasskeyError } from "@/lib/passkey-errors";
 import { TimezonePicker } from "@/components/settings/timezone-picker";
+import { detectBrowserTimezone, DEFAULT_TIMEZONE } from "@/lib/tz/format";
 
 interface PasskeyInfo {
   id: string;
@@ -59,6 +60,46 @@ interface PasskeyInfo {
 // contract now. Existing `<select className={NATIVE_SELECT_CLASS}>`
 // call sites in this file swapped to `<NativeSelect>` below.
 
+/**
+ * v1.4.37 — silent browser-zone auto-seed for the timezone picker.
+ *
+ * Until v1.4.37 the picker carried a "Browser-Zeitzone übernehmen" /
+ * "Use browser timezone" button so the user could overwrite the
+ * Europe/Berlin seed with their detected zone on demand. The button
+ * was visually noisy next to the picker on mobile and almost every
+ * user wants the browser zone anyway, so the affordance retired and
+ * the bootstrap effect seeds the form for them.
+ *
+ * Rules:
+ *
+ *   - If the stored value is anything other than the Europe/Berlin
+ *     default, respect it. The user explicitly picked it.
+ *   - If the stored value is the Europe/Berlin default but the
+ *     browser actually IS in Berlin, leave it alone — the picker
+ *     stays on Berlin and the next save is a no-op.
+ *   - If the stored value is the default AND the browser reports a
+ *     non-Berlin zone, pre-fill the picker with the detected zone.
+ *     The form's existing submit handler persists the change on the
+ *     next save; no toast, no banner, no opt-in.
+ *
+ * The bootstrap deliberately runs inline during render (the strict
+ * `react-hooks/set-state-in-effect` rule outlaws setState in an
+ * effect for this hydration shape), so this helper has to stay
+ * pure — no DOM access, no `useState`. The detected browser zone is
+ * passed in by the caller via `detectBrowserTimezone()`.
+ */
+export function resolveInitialTimezone(
+  storedTimezone: string | null | undefined,
+  detectedBrowserTimezone: string,
+): string {
+  const stored = storedTimezone || DEFAULT_TIMEZONE;
+  const shouldAutoSeed =
+    stored === DEFAULT_TIMEZONE &&
+    detectedBrowserTimezone.length > 0 &&
+    detectedBrowserTimezone !== DEFAULT_TIMEZONE;
+  return shouldAutoSeed ? detectedBrowserTimezone : stored;
+}
+
 export function AccountSection() {
   const { t, locale, setLocale } = useTranslations();
   const { user, isLoading, isAuthenticated, refetch } = useAuth();
@@ -130,7 +171,7 @@ export function AccountSection() {
         : "",
     );
     setGender(user.gender ?? "");
-    setTimezone(user.timezone || "Europe/Berlin");
+    setTimezone(resolveInitialTimezone(user.timezone, detectBrowserTimezone()));
   }
 
   async function handleSaveProfile(e: React.FormEvent) {
diff --git a/src/components/settings/timezone-picker.tsx b/src/components/settings/timezone-picker.tsx
index f336a5f30..ede854237 100644
--- a/src/components/settings/timezone-picker.tsx
+++ b/src/components/settings/timezone-picker.tsx
@@ -3,29 +3,30 @@
 /**
  * Per-user timezone picker (v1.4.25 W7).
  *
- * Renders a native `<select>` over `Intl.supportedValuesOf('timeZone')`
- * plus a "use my browser zone" button. The control is uncontrolled
- * w.r.t. its parent — the parent passes in `value` + `onChange`, but
- * the parent owns the network round-trip so this component stays
- * synchronous + presentational. The save POSTs
+ * Renders a native `<select>` over `Intl.supportedValuesOf('timeZone')`.
+ * The control is uncontrolled w.r.t. its parent — the parent passes in
+ * `value` + `onChange`, but the parent owns the network round-trip so
+ * this component stays synchronous + presentational. The save POSTs
  * `PUT /api/auth/me/timezone` in the parent form's submit handler.
  *
+ * v1.4.37 — the "Browser-Zeitzone übernehmen" button retired. The
+ * account-section bootstrap effect now seeds the form silently with
+ * `detectBrowserTimezone()` on first mount when the stored value is
+ * still the Europe/Berlin default, so the affordance is no longer
+ * needed and the picker reads cleaner alongside the surrounding form
+ * rows.
+ *
  * Fallback: on older engines without `Intl.supportedValuesOf` we
  * render a free-text input. Every modern browser back to mid-2022
  * (Chrome 99 / Safari 15.4 / Firefox 99) ships the API; the fallback
  * is defensive only.
  */
-import { useMemo, useState } from "react";
-import { Compass } from "lucide-react";
+import { useMemo } from "react";
 
-import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
 import { Label } from "@/components/ui/label";
 import { NativeSelect } from "@/components/ui/native-select";
-import {
-  detectBrowserTimezone,
-  listSupportedTimezones,
-} from "@/lib/tz/format";
+import { listSupportedTimezones } from "@/lib/tz/format";
 import { useTranslations } from "@/lib/i18n/context";
 
 // v1.4.27 MB7 / CF-52 — the in-file `NATIVE_SELECT_CLASS` constant
@@ -54,11 +55,6 @@ export function TimezonePicker({
   // `listSupportedTimezones()` is engine-side; memoise so the list
   // isn't reconstructed on every render.
   const zones = useMemo(() => listSupportedTimezones(), []);
-  const [detected] = useState(() => detectBrowserTimezone());
-
-  const handleUseBrowserTz = () => {
-    if (detected) onChange(detected);
-  };
 
   const labelHint = hint ?? t("settings.timezoneHint");
 
@@ -75,20 +71,6 @@ export function TimezonePicker({
           autoComplete="off"
         />
         <p className="text-muted-foreground text-xs">{labelHint}</p>
-        <Button
-          type="button"
-          variant="outline"
-          size="sm"
-          onClick={handleUseBrowserTz}
-          aria-label={
-            detected
-              ? t("settings.timezoneDetectAria", { tz: detected })
-              : undefined
-          }
-        >
-          <Compass className="mr-2 h-4 w-4" />
-          {t("settings.timezoneDetect")}
-        </Button>
       </div>
     );
   }
@@ -96,46 +78,23 @@ export function TimezonePicker({
   return (
     <div className="space-y-2">
       <Label htmlFor={id}>{t("settings.timezone")}</Label>
-      <div className="flex flex-col gap-3 sm:flex-row sm:items-center">
-        <NativeSelect
-          id={id}
-          value={value}
-          onChange={(e) => onChange(e.target.value)}
-          className="sm:max-w-sm"
-        >
-          {/* Preserve the stored value even if the runtime's IANA
-              list changed across engines or tzdata rolls. */}
-          {!zones.includes(value) && value.length > 0 && (
-            <option value={value}>{value}</option>
-          )}
-          {zones.map((zone) => (
-            <option key={zone} value={zone}>
-              {zone}
-            </option>
-          ))}
-        </NativeSelect>
-        {/* v1.4.33 — visible label is "use browser zone"; the actual
-            IANA zone is read out via aria-label so screen-reader users
-            still hear which zone the click will apply. Previously the
-            label inlined `(Europe/Berlin)`, which on a 393 CSS px
-            viewport wrapped the button to two lines and broke height
-            parity with the adjacent select. */}
-        <Button
-          type="button"
-          variant="outline"
-          size="sm"
-          onClick={handleUseBrowserTz}
-          className="sm:w-auto"
-          aria-label={
-            detected
-              ? t("settings.timezoneDetectAria", { tz: detected })
-              : undefined
-          }
-        >
-          <Compass className="mr-2 h-4 w-4" />
-          {t("settings.timezoneDetect")}
-        </Button>
-      </div>
+      <NativeSelect
+        id={id}
+        value={value}
+        onChange={(e) => onChange(e.target.value)}
+        className="sm:max-w-sm"
+      >
+        {/* Preserve the stored value even if the runtime's IANA
+            list changed across engines or tzdata rolls. */}
+        {!zones.includes(value) && value.length > 0 && (
+          <option value={value}>{value}</option>
+        )}
+        {zones.map((zone) => (
+          <option key={zone} value={zone}>
+            {zone}
+          </option>
+        ))}
+      </NativeSelect>
       <p className="text-muted-foreground text-xs">{labelHint}</p>
     </div>
   );
diff --git a/src/lib/feature-flags/__tests__/coach-cascade.test.tsx b/src/lib/feature-flags/__tests__/coach-cascade.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8cca35cbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/feature-flags/__tests__/coach-cascade.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+import React from "react";
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+
+import { I18nProvider } from "@/lib/i18n/context";
+import { CoachLaunchProvider } from "@/lib/insights/coach-launch-context";
+import type { AssistantFlagSet } from "@/hooks/use-feature-flags";
+
+import { HeroStrip } from "@/components/insights/hero-strip";
+import { SuggestedPrompts } from "@/components/insights/suggested-prompts";
+import { CoachLaunchButton } from "@/components/insights/coach-launch-button";
+import { LayoutCoachFab } from "@/components/insights/layout-coach-fab";
+import { LayoutCoachMount } from "@/components/insights/layout-coach-mount";
+
+/**
+ * v1.4.37 W5 — Coach disable cascade invariant.
+ *
+ * Marc directive: when the operator turns the global Coach flag off,
+ * every Coach affordance on every surface must vanish — no
+ * grey-out, no error, no inert button, no DOM trace. The web app
+ * gates each surface via `useFeatureFlags()` and a `flags.coach`
+ * short-circuit; the invariant below pins the contract so a future
+ * surface addition can't silently leak the affordance.
+ *
+ * How to extend: when a new Coach-bearing surface lands (button,
+ * drawer, chip strip, FAB, inline pill), add an entry to the
+ * `COACH_SURFACES` fixture below and bump the `expect(... .length)`
+ * count in the trailing sync-check. The contract per surface is
+ * "renders nothing measurable in the SSR output when the Coach flag
+ * is off"; surfaces that need data-slot probes should expose a
+ * stable `data-slot="coach-*"` attribute the test can grep.
+ *
+ * The hook layer is covered by `src/hooks/__tests__/
+ * use-feature-flags.test.tsx`; this file is the integration-style
+ * contract that walks each surface and asserts the gate is present.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Build a QueryClient pre-seeded with the operator's flag matrix so
+ * every `useFeatureFlags()` consumer reads the supplied set
+ * synchronously during the SSR pass (no fetch round-trip required).
+ */
+function buildClient(flags: Partial<AssistantFlagSet>): QueryClient {
+  const client = new QueryClient({
+    defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: 0 } },
+  });
+  client.setQueryData(["feature-flags"], {
+    assistant: {
+      enabled: true,
+      coach: true,
+      briefing: true,
+      insightStatus: true,
+      correlations: true,
+      healthScoreExplainer: true,
+      ...flags,
+    },
+  });
+  return client;
+}
+
+function renderWithFlags(node: React.ReactNode, coach: boolean): string {
+  const client = buildClient({ coach });
+  return renderToStaticMarkup(
+    <QueryClientProvider client={client}>
+      <I18nProvider initialLocale="en">{node}</I18nProvider>
+    </QueryClientProvider>,
+  );
+}
+
+// ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Coach-bearing surface fixture.
+//
+// Each entry mounts the surface in isolation, supplies the minimum
+// non-Coach scaffolding the component needs (CoachLaunchProvider, …)
+// and exposes a stable substring that proves the surface painted. The
+// substring should be unique enough that a "did not render" check is
+// meaningful — typically the surface's `data-slot="coach-*"`
+// attribute or its localised label.
+//
+// IMPORTANT: when adding a new Coach surface to the codebase, add a
+// matching entry here. The test below walks every entry and asserts
+// the surface vanishes when the operator's global Coach flag is off.
+// ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+interface CoachSurface {
+  /** Human-readable description that surfaces in the test output. */
+  name: string;
+  /** Mounts the surface in isolation. Receives no props. */
+  mount: () => React.ReactNode;
+  /**
+   * Substring that proves the surface painted when the flag is ON.
+   * Empty string means "the surface's SSR shape is intentionally
+   * blank even with the flag on" (e.g. lazy-loaded subtrees); the
+   * positive-case test is skipped while the negative-case
+   * `coach-*` slot grep still pins the gate.
+   */
+  proofWhenOn: string;
+}
+
+const COACH_SURFACES: CoachSurface[] = [
+  {
+    name: "HeroStrip action-row 'Ask the coach' button",
+    mount: () => (
+      <HeroStrip
+        briefing={null}
+        now={new Date(2026, 4, 10, 9, 0, 0)}
+        onAskCoach={() => undefined}
+      />
+    ),
+    proofWhenOn: 'data-slot="insights-hero-strip-action-coach"',
+  },
+  {
+    name: "HeroStrip SuggestedPrompts chip strip",
+    mount: () => (
+      <HeroStrip
+        briefing={null}
+        now={new Date(2026, 4, 10, 9, 0, 0)}
+        onPickPrompt={() => undefined}
+      />
+    ),
+    proofWhenOn: 'data-slot="insights-hero-strip-prompts"',
+  },
+  {
+    name: "SuggestedPrompts standalone",
+    mount: () => <SuggestedPrompts onPick={() => undefined} />,
+    proofWhenOn: 'data-slot="insights-suggested-prompts"',
+  },
+  {
+    name: "CoachLaunchButton inline pill",
+    mount: () => (
+      // The button only renders inside <CoachLaunchProvider>; wrap so
+      // the Coach-flag-off branch is the dispositive guard.
+      <CoachLaunchProvider>
+        <CoachLaunchButton />
+      </CoachLaunchProvider>
+    ),
+    proofWhenOn: 'data-slot="coach-launch-inline"',
+  },
+  {
+    name: "LayoutCoachFab sticky mobile button",
+    mount: () => (
+      <CoachLaunchProvider>
+        <LayoutCoachFab />
+      </CoachLaunchProvider>
+    ),
+    proofWhenOn: 'data-slot="coach-launch-fab"',
+  },
+  {
+    name: "LayoutCoachMount drawer subtree",
+    mount: () => (
+      <CoachLaunchProvider>
+        <LayoutCoachMount />
+      </CoachLaunchProvider>
+    ),
+    // The drawer is lazy-loaded via next/dynamic and SSRs to nothing
+    // even when the flag is on; the contract here is "no Coach-marked
+    // mount point ever paints when the flag is off". Skip the proof
+    // check; the negative `coach-*` slot grep still pins the gate.
+    proofWhenOn: "",
+  },
+];
+
+describe("Coach disable cascade invariant", () => {
+  // Silence the dev-only "should not be used during SSR" warning some
+  // components emit when their effects would normally mount.
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+    vi.spyOn(console, "warn").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  });
+
+  for (const surface of COACH_SURFACES) {
+    it(`${surface.name} — paints when the Coach flag is on`, () => {
+      // Skip the positive proof for surfaces whose SSR shape is
+      // intentionally empty (lazy-loaded drawer subtrees). The
+      // negative assertion below still pins the gate.
+      if (!surface.proofWhenOn) return;
+      const html = renderWithFlags(surface.mount(), true);
+      expect(html).toContain(surface.proofWhenOn);
+    });
+
+    it(`${surface.name} — vanishes when the Coach flag is off`, () => {
+      const html = renderWithFlags(surface.mount(), false);
+      if (surface.proofWhenOn) {
+        expect(html).not.toContain(surface.proofWhenOn);
+      }
+      // Every Coach-bearing surface in the app marks its mount point
+      // with a `coach-` slot. Pin the negative shape against the
+      // shared prefix so a surface that grows a new `coach-*` slot
+      // without a gate fails this test by default.
+      expect(html).not.toMatch(/data-slot="coach-[a-z]/);
+      // The suggested-prompts strip uses an `insights-suggested-prompts`
+      // slot (legacy naming pre-dates the `coach-` convention); pin
+      // it explicitly so the gate can't regress.
+      expect(html).not.toContain('data-slot="insights-suggested-prompts"');
+      // Same story for the hero strip's coach action button + prompts
+      // wrapper.
+      expect(html).not.toContain(
+        'data-slot="insights-hero-strip-action-coach"',
+      );
+      expect(html).not.toContain('data-slot="insights-hero-strip-prompts"');
+    });
+  }
+
+  it("fixture stays in sync with the Coach gate call sites", () => {
+    // Counts the Coach-bearing surfaces the fixture knows about. If a
+    // contributor adds a new `useFeatureFlags()` + `flags.coach` gate
+    // to a render path, the count below must move and this assertion
+    // forces them to revisit the fixture. The number tracks the
+    // surfaces the fixture mounts directly; cross-cut gates on
+    // sub-pages (target-card, /targets page) are owned by other
+    // invariants (`targets-coach-mount.test.tsx`,
+    // `target-card.test.tsx`).
+    expect(COACH_SURFACES.length).toBe(6);
+  });
+});