diff --git a/hscontrol/mapper/mapper.go b/hscontrol/mapper/mapper.go
index b6cf1a7d..313861bd 100644
--- a/hscontrol/mapper/mapper.go
+++ b/hscontrol/mapper/mapper.go
@@ -438,9 +438,9 @@ func (m *mapper) buildFromChange(
 // incremental peer-change and user-profile paths, computed from the same live
 // per-node matchers and [policy.ReduceNodes] filter that
 // [MapResponseBuilder.buildTailPeers] applies to full peer objects, so the
-// paths cannot drift. The snapshot peer map ([NodeStore.ListPeers]) is used
-// only as the candidate set, matching buildTailPeers; the live policy decides
-// visibility because the snapshot is not rebuilt on policy changes.
+// paths cannot drift. The recipient's adjacency from the NodeStore
+// ([NodeStore.ListPeers]) is the authority for which peers exist for it; the
+// live matchers only narrow that set further, matching buildTailPeers.
 //
 // ok is false when the node or its matchers cannot be resolved; callers must
 // then fail closed (emit nothing) rather than risk leaking forbidden peers.
diff --git a/hscontrol/mapper/mapper_test.go b/hscontrol/mapper/mapper_test.go
index f19f4657..25134002 100644
--- a/hscontrol/mapper/mapper_test.go
+++ b/hscontrol/mapper/mapper_test.go
@@ -485,12 +485,12 @@ func TestBuildFromChangeVisibilityMatchesFullMap(t *testing.T) {
 		return false
 	}
 
-	// wantFull pins the actual peer-visibility semantics so the invariant below
-	// cannot pass vacuously (e.g. if every path broke to zero identically).
-	// Note deny_all: an empty ACL set compiles to zero matchers, which headscale
-	// treats as "no visibility restriction" — all peers are visible on every
-	// path (the packet filter denies traffic separately). user_isolation and
-	// autogroup_self are the discriminating cases that prove filtering works.
+	// wantFull pins the actual peer-visibility semantics so the cross-path
+	// check below cannot pass vacuously (e.g. if every path broke to zero
+	// identically).
+	// Note deny_all: an empty ACL set yields no peer adjacency, so nothing is
+	// visible on any path. user_isolation and autogroup_self remain the
+	// discriminating cases that prove filtering works.
 	tests := []struct {
 		name     string
 		policy   string
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ func TestBuildFromChangeVisibilityMatchesFullMap(t *testing.T) {
 			]}`,
 			1,
 		},
-		{"deny_all", `{"acls":[]}`, 2},
+		{"deny_all", `{"acls":[]}`, 0},
 		{
 			"autogroup_self",
 			`{"acls":[{"action":"accept","src":["autogroup:member"],"dst":["autogroup:self:*"]}]}`,
diff --git a/hscontrol/state/state.go b/hscontrol/state/state.go
index 2c29ffa5..ddb6af25 100644
--- a/hscontrol/state/state.go
+++ b/hscontrol/state/state.go
@@ -865,14 +865,10 @@ func (s *State) ListPeers(nodeID types.NodeID, peerIDs ...types.NodeID) views.Sl
 		return s.nodeStore.ListPeers(nodeID)
 	}
 
-	// For specific peerIDs, filter from all nodes.
-	// This path is used for incremental updates (NodeAdded, NodeChanged)
-	// where the caller already knows which peer IDs are involved.
-	// Peer visibility filtering happens in the mapper against the live
-	// policy (buildTailPeers and the shared visiblePeerIDs filter), because
-	// the snapshot peer map is not rebuilt on policy changes.
-	allNodes := s.nodeStore.ListNodes()
-
+	// Incremental updates (NodeAdded, NodeChanged) name the peers involved.
+	// Resolve them through the recipient's adjacency so a changed node the
+	// policy hides from this recipient is never delivered; the mapper still
+	// applies the live matchers on top.
 	nodeIDSet := make(map[types.NodeID]struct{}, len(peerIDs))
 	for _, id := range peerIDs {
 		nodeIDSet[id] = struct{}{}
@@ -880,20 +876,11 @@ func (s *State) ListPeers(nodeID types.NodeID, peerIDs ...types.NodeID) views.Sl
 
 	var filteredNodes []types.NodeView
 
-	for _, node := range allNodes.All() {
-		// A node is never its own peer. [db.ListPeers] enforces this with
-		// `id <> nodeID`; the caller may name the recipient in peerIDs
-		// (a change batch that includes it), and the mapper's only other
-		// self filter is [policy.ReduceNodes], which is skipped when the
-		// node has no matchers. Self would then reach the client in
-		// [tailcfg.MapResponse.PeersChanged], where it is merged into the
-		// peer map and listed alongside the self node.
-		if node.ID() == nodeID {
-			continue
-		}
-
-		if _, exists := nodeIDSet[node.ID()]; exists {
-			filteredNodes = append(filteredNodes, node)
+	// Adjacency is built from node pairs, so it never contains the
+	// recipient: a change batch naming it cannot return it as its own peer.
+	for _, peer := range s.nodeStore.ListPeers(nodeID).All() {
+		if _, exists := nodeIDSet[peer.ID()]; exists {
+			filteredNodes = append(filteredNodes, peer)
 		}
 	}