diff --git a/apps/accounts/src/accounts.app.ts b/apps/accounts/src/accounts.app.ts
index 8100f2c..d010dec 100644
--- a/apps/accounts/src/accounts.app.ts
+++ b/apps/accounts/src/accounts.app.ts
@@ -119,13 +119,17 @@ function toAccountDto(account: Account) {
 /**
  * Project a stored account into the private self DTO (the /account/me shape) —
  * the public DTO plus owner-only fields. `juniorState`/`parentAccountId` are
- * OMITTED when null (emitting `null` makes the client's enum parser throw);
- * `email`/`birthday` are kept as null (not enums, so null is fine).
+ * OMITTED when null (emitting `null` makes the client's enum parser throw).
+ *
+ * An unset `email` is `""`, never null — same as `bio`. Two reasons: the client reads
+ * it as a string, and this DTO also rides the `SelfAccountUpdate` hub frame, where the
+ * hub DROPS null values from `Msg` — so a null email doesn't arrive as null, it
+ * vanishes from the frame entirely.
  */
 function toSelfAccountDto(account: Account) {
 	return {
 		...toAccountDto(account),
-		email: account.email ?? null,
+		email: account.email ?? '',
 		// @todo he game client needs this to be set. I forget how birthdays were set, so for now
 		// everyone can be old.
 		birthday: '1904-01-01T00:00:00.000Z',
diff --git a/apps/accounts/src/openapi.ts b/apps/accounts/src/openapi.ts
index a5f501f..d4a2ac0 100644
--- a/apps/accounts/src/openapi.ts
+++ b/apps/accounts/src/openapi.ts
@@ -77,12 +77,16 @@ export const AccountDto = z.object({
 /**
  * The private self DTO (`toSelfAccountDto`, the `/account/me` shape) — the public DTO
  * plus owner-only fields. `juniorState`/`parentAccountId` are omitted entirely when
- * unset (emitting `null` makes the client's enum parser throw); `email`/`birthday` are
- * kept as nullable since they aren't enums.
+ * unset (emitting `null` makes the client's enum parser throw).
  */
 export const SelfAccountDto = AccountDto.extend({
-	email: z.string().nullable(),
-	birthday: z.null().describe('Always null — birthday is not stored'),
+	email: z
+		.string()
+		.describe(
+			'"" when unset — never null: the client reads it as a string, and the hub frame this ' +
+				'DTO also rides drops null values outright'
+		),
+	birthday: z.iso.datetime().describe('A fixed placeholder — birthdays are not stored'),
 	availableUsernameChanges: z.int().describe('Remaining username changes'),
 })
 
diff --git a/apps/accounts/src/test/integration/api.test.ts b/apps/accounts/src/test/integration/api.test.ts
index 143df0b..686f301 100644
--- a/apps/accounts/src/test/integration/api.test.ts
+++ b/apps/accounts/src/test/integration/api.test.ts
@@ -161,6 +161,9 @@ describe('auth-gated endpoints', () => {
 			personalPronouns: 0,
 			identityFlags: 0,
 			availableUsernameChanges: 1,
+			// An unset email is "", not null — the client reads it as a string, and the
+			// hub frame this DTO also rides drops null values outright.
+			email: '',
 		})
 		// juniorState + parentAccountId must be omitted when null, not emitted as
 		// null, or the client's enum parser throws on `juniorState`. `phone` isn't