diff --git a/bicorder-app/README.md b/bicorder-app/README.md
index 6bf2c6f..df3813e 100644
--- a/bicorder-app/README.md
+++ b/bicorder-app/README.md
@@ -104,6 +104,21 @@ When you click **Upload**, your readings will be:
 
 All uploaded readings are public and available for research and analysis. By uploading, you consent to releasing your diagnostic under a public domain license.
 
+#### Upload credentials and security model
+
+The upload feature posts directly from the user's browser to the Gitea API using an access token defined in `src/components/ExportControls.svelte` (`GITEA_TOKEN`).
+
+**This token is intentionally embedded in the client bundle, and that is acceptable here.** Because this is a purely static app, the browser must make the API call itself — there is no server-side code of ours to hold the token. Any credential the browser uses is therefore necessarily public; build-time environment variables would still be baked into the shipped JavaScript, so they would offer no real protection. The exposure is contained by *what the token can do* rather than by hiding it:
+
+- The token belongs to a **dedicated `bicorder-bot` account**, not to a personal account.
+- `bicorder-bot` is a **collaborator with write access only to the public [`protocol-bicorder-data`](https://git.medlab.host/ntnsndr/protocol-bicorder-data) repo**. It cannot push to any other repository.
+- It has **`admin: false`** on that repo, so it can only add/modify files — it cannot delete the repo or change its settings.
+- The token scope is `write:repository` (it cannot even read user account details).
+
+The entire worst-case blast radius is therefore: someone extracts the token and spams or vandalizes the contents of the public data repo. This is recoverable (revert the commits) and the repo contains only public submissions.
+
+**If the token is ever abused:** revoke it under the `bicorder-bot` account (Gitea → Settings → Applications → Access Tokens — note that tokens live under the *user account*, not the repo), generate a replacement with the same `write:repository` scope, update `GITEA_TOKEN` in `ExportControls.svelte`, and rebuild. Optionally, enable branch protection on the data repo's `main` branch as an additional safeguard.
+
 ## Browser Support
 
 - Modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
diff --git a/bicorder-app/src/App.svelte b/bicorder-app/src/App.svelte
index 986f1e2..ab42762 100644
--- a/bicorder-app/src/App.svelte
+++ b/bicorder-app/src/App.svelte
@@ -77,11 +77,6 @@
   $: currentScreenData = screens[currentScreen];
   $: totalScreens = screens.length;
 
-  // Debug: log when screens change
-  $: if (screens) {
-    console.log(`Screens updated: ${screens.length} total, shortform: ${data.metadata.shortform}`);
-  }
-
   function goToNextScreen() {
     if (currentScreen < totalScreens - 1) {
       currentScreen++;
diff --git a/bicorder-app/src/components/ExportControls.svelte b/bicorder-app/src/components/ExportControls.svelte
index 1711ab9..33444e5 100644
--- a/bicorder-app/src/components/ExportControls.svelte
+++ b/bicorder-app/src/components/ExportControls.svelte
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@
         showUploadDialog = false;
       } else {
         const errorData = await response.json();
-        throw new Error(errorData.message || `Upload failed: ${response.statusContents}`);
+        throw new Error(errorData.message || `Upload failed: ${response.statusText}`);
       }
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Upload error:', err);
diff --git a/bicorder-app/src/components/MetadataFields.svelte b/bicorder-app/src/components/MetadataFields.svelte
index 3040773..ee111ec 100644
--- a/bicorder-app/src/components/MetadataFields.svelte
+++ b/bicorder-app/src/components/MetadataFields.svelte
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     <input
       id="protocol"
       type="text"
-      placeholder="[Protocol]"
+      placeholder="What protocol are you analyzing?"
       value={metadata.protocol || ''}
       on:input={(e) => handleInput('protocol', e.currentTarget.value)}
     />
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
     <label for="description">Description:</label>
     <textarea
       id="description"
-      placeholder="[Description]"
+      placeholder="Briefly, what is this protocol?"
       value={metadata.description || ''}
       on:input={(e) => handleInput('description', e.currentTarget.value)}
       rows="3"
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
     <input
       id="analyst"
       type="text"
-      placeholder="[Analyst]"
+      placeholder="How do you identify yourself?"
       value={metadata.analyst || ''}
       on:input={(e) => handleInput('analyst', e.currentTarget.value)}
     />
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
     <input
       id="standpoint"
       type="text"
-      placeholder="[Standpoint]"
+      placeholder="What is your relationship to the protocol?"
       value={metadata.standpoint || ''}
       on:input={(e) => handleInput('standpoint', e.currentTarget.value)}
     />