diff --git a/src/services/indeehub-api.service.ts b/src/services/indeehub-api.service.ts
index 0815b06..931c2d6 100644
--- a/src/services/indeehub-api.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/indeehub-api.service.ts
@@ -206,7 +206,8 @@ class IndeehubApiService {
 
   /**
    * Get zap stats for film cards (count, amount, recent zapper pubkeys) by project id.
-   * In dev, merges mock zap data for the first few projects so the UI is visible without real zaps.
+   * In dev, or when API returns empty (e.g. no zaps in DB yet), merges mock data so the zap UI is visible.
+   * Set VITE_HIDE_MOCK_ZAPS=true to never show mock zaps in production.
    */
   async getZapStats(projectIds: string[]): Promise<Record<string, { zapCount: number; zapAmountSats: number; recentZapperPubkeys: string[] }>> {
     if (projectIds.length === 0) return {}
@@ -221,7 +222,9 @@ class IndeehubApiService {
     } catch {
       data = {}
     }
-    if (import.meta.env.DEV) {
+    const hideMock = import.meta.env.VITE_HIDE_MOCK_ZAPS === 'true'
+    const shouldMock = !hideMock && (import.meta.env.DEV || Object.keys(data).length === 0)
+    if (shouldMock) {
       Object.assign(data, this.getMockZapStats(projectIds))
     }
     return data