diff --git a/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.test.ts b/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.test.ts
index 06ce0b84660..44c9dd8d08c 100644
--- a/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.test.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,24 @@ describe('ElectronSecretStore', () => {
     safeStorageMock.getSelectedStorageBackend.mockReturnValue('gnome_libsecret')
   })
 
+  function withDesktop<T>(desktop: string | undefined, run: () => T): T {
+    const original = process.env.XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP
+    if (desktop === undefined) {
+      delete process.env.XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP
+    } else {
+      process.env.XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP = desktop
+    }
+    try {
+      return run()
+    } finally {
+      if (original === undefined) {
+        delete process.env.XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP
+      } else {
+        process.env.XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP = original
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   function withPlatform<T>(platform: NodeJS.Platform, run: () => T): T {
     const original = process.platform
     Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', { configurable: true, value: platform })
@@ -100,6 +118,52 @@ describe('ElectronSecretStore', () => {
         expect(new ElectronSecretStore().describeProtectionGap()).toMatch(/keyring is unavailable/)
       })
     })
+
+    // Why these three: on Hyprland/sway/river/niri the desktop is unrecognised, so the
+    // backend is basic_text AND sealing is unavailable — and the old text told those users
+    // to install a keyring that gnome-keyring was already serving the whole time.
+    it('does not blame a missing keyring when the desktop was simply not recognised', () => {
+      safeStorageMock.isEncryptionAvailable.mockReturnValue(false)
+      safeStorageMock.getSelectedStorageBackend.mockReturnValue('basic_text')
+      withPlatform('linux', () => {
+        const gap = new ElectronSecretStore().describeProtectionGap()
+        expect(gap).toMatch(/could not tell which keyring service/)
+        expect(gap).toMatch(/already running/)
+        expect(gap).not.toMatch(/Install and unlock/)
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('names the desktop in the unrecognised-desktop gap, so support can act on the log', () => {
+      safeStorageMock.isEncryptionAvailable.mockReturnValue(false)
+      safeStorageMock.getSelectedStorageBackend.mockReturnValue('basic_text')
+      withDesktop('Hyprland', () => {
+        withPlatform('linux', () => {
+          expect(new ElectronSecretStore().describeProtectionGap()).toContain(
+            'XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=Hyprland'
+          )
+        })
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('omits the parenthetical when no desktop is set rather than printing an empty one', () => {
+      safeStorageMock.isEncryptionAvailable.mockReturnValue(false)
+      safeStorageMock.getSelectedStorageBackend.mockReturnValue('basic_text')
+      withDesktop(undefined, () => {
+        withPlatform('linux', () => {
+          const gap = new ElectronSecretStore().describeProtectionGap()
+          expect(gap).not.toMatch(/XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP/)
+          expect(gap).toContain('this desktop uses, so secrets')
+        })
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('still blames the keyring when a real backend was selected but cannot seal', () => {
+      safeStorageMock.isEncryptionAvailable.mockReturnValue(false)
+      safeStorageMock.getSelectedStorageBackend.mockReturnValue('gnome_libsecret')
+      withPlatform('linux', () => {
+        expect(new ElectronSecretStore().describeProtectionGap()).toMatch(/Install and unlock/)
+      })
+    })
   })
 
   // Why this shape: the whole safety argument for the SecretStore refactor is that the
diff --git a/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.ts b/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.ts
index 0fd888c2d60..c0804667e5a 100644
--- a/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.ts
+++ b/src/main/host/electron-secret-store.ts
@@ -19,24 +19,41 @@ export class ElectronSecretStore implements SecretStore {
   }
 
   describeProtectionGap(): string | null {
+    // Why availability first: it is the call that actually probes the keyring, so every
+    // backend read below is free and cannot change which call blocks.
     if (!safeStorage.isEncryptionAvailable()) {
       // Why platform-specific: the fix differs, and "encryption unavailable" alone
       // sends users looking in the wrong place.
-      return process.platform === 'linux'
-        ? 'The OS keyring is unavailable, so secrets are stored unencrypted. Install and unlock gnome-keyring or kwallet to seal them.'
-        : 'The OS keychain is unavailable, so secrets are stored unencrypted.'
+      if (process.platform !== 'linux') {
+        return 'The OS keychain is unavailable, so secrets are stored unencrypted.'
+      }
+      return readLinuxBackend() === 'basic_text'
+        ? // Chromium picks the backend from XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP and recognises none of the
+          // tiling compositors, so it never asks the secret service that is usually running
+          // the whole time. Telling these users to install a keyring sends them after one
+          // they already have.
+          `Orca could not tell which keyring service this desktop uses${describeDesktop()}, so secrets are stored unencrypted — even if a secret service is already running. Start Orca with --password-store=gnome-libsecret (or --password-store=kwallet6 on KDE) to name one.`
+        : 'The OS keyring is unavailable, so secrets are stored unencrypted. Install and unlock gnome-keyring or kwallet to seal them.'
     }
-    // Why this is not folded into isEncryptionAvailable(): on Linux with no keyring,
-    // Electron falls back to `basic_text`, which "encrypts" with a hardcoded password.
-    // It round-trips, so sealing and unsealing genuinely work and must keep working —
-    // reporting it unavailable would strand every credential already stored this way.
-    // But it protects nothing, and reporting it as sealed is the actual lie.
+    // Why this is not folded into isEncryptionAvailable(): `basic_text` "encrypts" with a
+    // hardcoded password, and Electron makes that key available only after an explicit
+    // `setUsePlainTextEncryption(true)` (or `--password-store=basic`) — which this app never
+    // asks for, so the branch is currently unreachable on Linux and stays for the day it is
+    // not. Where it does apply, sealing round-trips and must keep working: reporting it
+    // unavailable would strand every credential already stored that way. But it protects
+    // nothing, and reporting it as sealed is the actual lie.
     return describeLinuxBackendGap()
   }
 }
 
+/** The active desktop, as a parenthetical for support triage, or '' when unset. */
+function describeDesktop(): string {
+  const desktop = process.env.XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP?.trim()
+  return desktop ? ` (XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=${desktop})` : ''
+}
+
 // Electron omits getSelectedStorageBackend at runtime outside Linux despite its type declaration.
-function describeLinuxBackendGap(): string | null {
+function readLinuxBackend(): string | null {
   if (process.platform !== 'linux') {
     return null
   }
@@ -44,13 +61,15 @@ function describeLinuxBackendGap(): string | null {
   if (typeof probe !== 'function') {
     return null
   }
-  let backend: string
   try {
-    backend = probe.call(safeStorage)
+    return probe.call(safeStorage)
   } catch {
     return null
   }
-  return backend === 'basic_text'
+}
+
+function describeLinuxBackendGap(): string | null {
+  return readLinuxBackend() === 'basic_text'
     ? 'Secrets are obfuscated with a built-in key, not protected by the OS keyring. Install and unlock gnome-keyring or kwallet, then restart Orca, to seal them properly.'
     : null
 }