diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index b2f1d99..222284d 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "breadcrumbs"
-version = "2.1.4"
+version = "2.1.5"
 dependencies = [
  "clap",
  "serde",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index e2333f2..b62a77a 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "breadcrumbs"
-version = "2.1.4"
+version = "2.1.5"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "Profile-aware Wi-Fi state machine with Tailscale handling and self-healing watch daemon"
 license = "MIT"
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index da094aa..2eb8cd6 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -218,8 +218,15 @@ fn core_profiles() -> BTreeMap<String, Profile> {
 }
 
 fn ensure_core_profiles(cfg: &mut Config) {
+    // Only self-heal a genuinely empty/corrupted profile set. A user who has
+    // defined their own profiles (any names, any case) should never have
+    // unused core-profile stubs ("home"/"work"/"away") silently padded in
+    // alongside them.
+    if !cfg.profiles.is_empty() {
+        return;
+    }
     for (name, prof) in core_profiles() {
-        cfg.profiles.entry(name).or_insert(prof);
+        cfg.profiles.insert(name, prof);
     }
 }
 
@@ -293,6 +300,25 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(home.exit_node.as_deref(), Some("mynode"));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn ensure_core_profiles_does_not_pad_a_customized_profile_set() {
+        let mut cfg = Config {
+            settings: Settings::default(),
+            networks: vec![],
+            profiles: BTreeMap::new(),
+        };
+        cfg.profiles.insert("Home".to_string(), Profile::default());
+        cfg.profiles.insert("Away".to_string(), Profile::default());
+        cfg.profiles.insert("School".to_string(), Profile::default());
+        ensure_core_profiles(&mut cfg);
+        // The user's own profile names are untouched, and no unused
+        // core-profile stubs (home/work/away) get injected alongside them.
+        assert_eq!(cfg.profiles.len(), 3);
+        assert!(cfg.profile("home").is_none());
+        assert!(cfg.profile("work").is_none());
+        assert!(cfg.profile("away").is_none());
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn network_lookup_found_and_not_found() {
         let mut cfg = build_initial_config();