diff --git a/src/mcp/server.ts b/src/mcp/server.ts
index dfb6212d7e..451c08a68a 100644
--- a/src/mcp/server.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/server.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import type { RequestHandlerExtra } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/shared/proto
 import { ElicitResultSchema, type ServerNotification, type ServerRequest } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/types.js";
 import { z } from "zod";
 import { authenticatePrivateToken, extractBearerToken, type AuthIdentity } from "../auth/security";
-import { loadControlPanelAccessScope, loadControlPanelRoleSummary, type ControlPanelAccessScope } from "../services/control-panel-roles";
+import { canLoginAccessRepo, canWatchRepo, loadControlPanelAccessScope, loadControlPanelRoleSummary, type ControlPanelAccessScope } from "../services/control-panel-roles";
 import {
   countOpenIssues,
   countOpenPullRequests,
@@ -1241,6 +1241,15 @@ export class GittensoryMcp {
     throw new Error("Forbidden: session cannot access this repository.");
   }
 
+  // Issue-watch gate (#699 path B). Sessions may only watch repos they can SEE: any gittensory-tracked PUBLIC
+  // repo (the miner use case) or a PRIVATE repo they can access — never an arbitrary/private repo they cannot,
+  // so private-repo issues never fan out to them. Non-session (private-token) identities are trusted.
+  private async requireWatchableRepo(login: string, repoFullName: string): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.identity.kind !== "session") return;
+    if (await canWatchRepo(this.env, login, repoFullName)) return;
+    throw new Error("Forbidden: session cannot watch this repository.");
+  }
+
   private loadSessionAccessScope(): Promise<ControlPanelAccessScope> {
     if (this.identity.kind !== "session") throw new Error("Session access scope is only available for session identities.");
     this.accessScopePromise ??= loadControlPanelAccessScope(this.env, this.identity.actor);
@@ -1398,11 +1407,7 @@ export class GittensoryMcp {
 
   private async canAccessRepo(fullName: string): Promise<boolean> {
     if (this.identity.kind !== "session") return true;
-    const [scope, repo] = await Promise.all([this.loadSessionAccessScope(), getRepository(this.env, fullName)]);
-    if (scope.operator) return true;
-    const requestedRepo = fullName.toLowerCase();
-    if (scope.repositoryFullNames.some((name) => name.toLowerCase() === requestedRepo)) return true;
-    return Boolean(repo && scope.accountLogins.some((login) => login.toLowerCase() === repo.owner.toLowerCase()));
+    return canLoginAccessRepo(this.env, this.identity.actor, fullName);
   }
 
   private async getRepoOutcomePatterns(input: { owner: string; repo: string }): Promise<ToolPayload> {
@@ -1559,6 +1564,7 @@ export class GittensoryMcp {
     let changed: string | undefined;
     if (input.action === "watch" || input.action === "unwatch") {
       if (!input.repoFullName) return { summary: `${input.action} requires repoFullName.`, data: {} };
+      await this.requireWatchableRepo(input.login, input.repoFullName);
       if (input.action === "watch") {
         await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(this.env, { login: input.login, repoFullName: input.repoFullName, labels: input.labels });
         changed = `watching ${input.repoFullName}${input.labels && input.labels.length > 0 ? ` (labels: ${input.labels.join(", ")})` : ""}`;
diff --git a/src/notifications/service.ts b/src/notifications/service.ts
index ba939b7a59..df649f8436 100644
--- a/src/notifications/service.ts
+++ b/src/notifications/service.ts
@@ -2,12 +2,14 @@ import { sanitizePublicComment } from "../github/commands";
 import {
   countRecentNotificationDeliveries,
   getNotificationDeliveryById,
+  getRepository,
   insertNotificationDeliveryIfAbsent,
   listIssueWatchersForRepo,
   listNotificationSubscriptionsForLogin,
   markNotificationDeliveryDelivered,
 } from "../db/repositories";
 import { isGrabbableHighMultiplierIssue } from "../signals/engine";
+import { canLoginAccessRepo } from "../services/control-panel-roles";
 import type { DetectedNotificationEvent, IssueRecord, NotificationChannel, NotificationDeliveryRecord, NotificationSubscriptionRecord } from "../types";
 import { nowIso } from "../utils/json";
 
@@ -76,21 +78,34 @@ export async function detectIssueWatchEvents(env: Env, repoFullName: string, iss
   const detectedAt = nowIso();
   const issueLabels = new Set(issue.labels.map((label) => label.toLowerCase().trim()));
   const authorLogin = issue.authorLogin?.toLowerCase();
-  return watchers
+  const matching = watchers
     // An empty label filter matches any issue; otherwise at least one watched label must be present.
     .filter((watcher) => watcher.labels.length === 0 || watcher.labels.some((label) => issueLabels.has(label)))
     // Don't ping the maintainer who opened the issue about their own issue.
-    .filter((watcher) => watcher.login.toLowerCase() !== authorLogin)
-    .map((watcher) => ({
-      eventType: "issue_watch_match" as const,
-      recipientLogin: watcher.login,
-      repoFullName,
-      pullNumber: issue.number, // carries the ISSUE number for this eventType
-      dedupKey: `issue_watch_match:${repoFullName}#${issue.number}:${watcher.login.toLowerCase()}`,
-      deeplink: `https://github.com/${repoFullName}/issues/${issue.number}`,
-      actorLogin: issue.authorLogin ?? "unknown",
-      detectedAt,
-    }));
+    .filter((watcher) => watcher.login.toLowerCase() !== authorLogin);
+
+  // Access gate: a gittensory-tracked PUBLIC repo fans out to every matching watcher (the miner use case);
+  // a PRIVATE — or untracked/unknown — repo only to watchers who can access it, so private-repo issues never
+  // reach a non-collaborator. The repo is the same for all watchers, so resolve it once and only pay the
+  // per-watcher access check on the private path.
+  const repo = await getRepository(env, repoFullName);
+  const authorizedWatchers =
+    repo && !repo.isPrivate
+      ? matching
+      : (await Promise.all(matching.map(async (watcher) => ((repo && (await canLoginAccessRepo(env, watcher.login, repoFullName))) ? watcher : null)))).filter(
+          (watcher) => watcher !== null,
+        );
+
+  return authorizedWatchers.map((watcher) => ({
+    eventType: "issue_watch_match" as const,
+    recipientLogin: watcher.login,
+    repoFullName,
+    pullNumber: issue.number, // carries the ISSUE number for this eventType
+    dedupKey: `issue_watch_match:${repoFullName}#${issue.number}:${watcher.login.toLowerCase()}`,
+    deeplink: `https://github.com/${repoFullName}/issues/${issue.number}`,
+    actorLogin: issue.authorLogin ?? "unknown",
+    detectedAt,
+  }));
 }
 
 function rateLimitWindowStart(now: string): string {
diff --git a/src/services/control-panel-roles.ts b/src/services/control-panel-roles.ts
index 22dc95df61..e143cfe5c5 100644
--- a/src/services/control-panel-roles.ts
+++ b/src/services/control-panel-roles.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { isAuthorizedGitHubSessionLogin } from "../auth/security";
-import { getFreshOfficialMinerDetection, listAllPullRequests, listInstallations, listRepositories } from "../db/repositories";
+import { getFreshOfficialMinerDetection, getRepository, listAllPullRequests, listInstallations, listRepositories } from "../db/repositories";
 import type { ControlPanelRoleCard, ControlPanelRoleName, ControlPanelRoleSummary, InstallationRecord, PullRequestRecord, RepositoryRecord } from "../types";
 import { nowIso } from "../utils/json";
 
@@ -33,6 +33,25 @@ export async function loadControlPanelAccessScope(env: Env, login: string): Prom
   });
 }
 
+export async function canLoginAccessRepo(env: Env, login: string, fullName: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  const [scope, repo] = await Promise.all([loadControlPanelAccessScope(env, login), getRepository(env, fullName)]);
+  if (scope.operator) return true;
+  const requestedRepo = fullName.toLowerCase();
+  if (scope.repositoryFullNames.some((name) => name.toLowerCase() === requestedRepo)) return true;
+  return Boolean(repo && scope.accountLogins.some((accountLogin) => accountLogin.toLowerCase() === repo.owner.toLowerCase()));
+}
+
+// Whether `login` may watch `fullName`'s issues. Issue-watch (#699 path B) is a MINER feature: miners watch
+// PUBLIC gittensor-tracked repos they don't own or maintain, so a tracked public repo is watchable by any
+// contributor. A PRIVATE repo is gated to maintainer/owner/operator scope so its issues never fan out to a
+// non-collaborator. An untracked repo (unknown visibility) is treated as not watchable (fail-closed).
+export async function canWatchRepo(env: Env, login: string, fullName: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  const repo = await getRepository(env, fullName);
+  if (!repo) return false;
+  if (!repo.isPrivate) return true;
+  return canLoginAccessRepo(env, login, fullName);
+}
+
 export async function loadControlPanelRoleSummary(env: Env, login: string): Promise<ControlPanelRoleSummary> {
   const [miner, repositories, installations, pullRequests] = await Promise.all([
     getFreshOfficialMinerDetection(env, login).catch(() => null),
diff --git a/test/unit/issue-watch.test.ts b/test/unit/issue-watch.test.ts
index a8dc1cc204..171faf05bb 100644
--- a/test/unit/issue-watch.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/issue-watch.test.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   listIssueWatchSubscriptionsForLogin,
   listIssueWatchersForRepo,
   upsertIssueWatchSubscription,
+  upsertRepositoryFromGitHub,
 } from "../../src/db/repositories";
 import { isGrabbableHighMultiplierIssue } from "../../src/signals/engine";
 import { buildIssueWatchNotification, buildNotificationContent, detectIssueWatchEvents } from "../../src/notifications/service";
@@ -54,6 +55,8 @@ describe("issue-watch subscriptions (CRUD)", () => {
 describe("detectIssueWatchEvents", () => {
   it("fans out one event per matching watcher, skips the author, honours the label filter", async () => {
     const env = createTestEnv();
+    // owner/repo is a tracked PUBLIC repo, so any contributor may watch it (the miner use case).
+    await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "repo", full_name: "owner/repo", private: false, owner: { login: "owner" }, default_branch: "main" }, 100);
     await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(env, { login: "alice", repoFullName: "owner/repo" }); // any label
     await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(env, { login: "bob", repoFullName: "owner/repo", labels: ["bug"] }); // bug only
     await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(env, { login: "maintainer", repoFullName: "owner/repo" }); // the issue's author
@@ -78,8 +81,32 @@ describe("detectIssueWatchEvents", () => {
     expect(await detectIssueWatchEvents(env, "unwatched/repo", issue())).toEqual([]); // no watchers
   });
 
+
+  it("filters legacy watchers that no longer have repository access", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv();
+    await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "private", full_name: "victim/private", private: true, owner: { login: "victim" }, default_branch: "main" }, 123);
+    await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(env, { login: "attacker", repoFullName: "victim/private" });
+
+    await expect(detectIssueWatchEvents(env, "victim/private", issue({ repoFullName: "victim/private", number: 77 }))).resolves.toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("does not fan out for an untracked repo even if it has watchers (fail-closed on unknown visibility)", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv();
+    await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(env, { login: "alice", repoFullName: "ghost/repo" }); // repo never upserted
+    await expect(detectIssueWatchEvents(env, "ghost/repo", issue({ repoFullName: "ghost/repo", number: 88 }))).resolves.toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("still fans out a PRIVATE-repo issue to a watcher who can access it", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv({ ADMIN_GITHUB_LOGINS: "operator" }); // operator has access to any repo
+    await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "private", full_name: "acme/private", private: true, owner: { login: "acme" }, default_branch: "main" }, 555);
+    await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(env, { login: "operator", repoFullName: "acme/private" });
+    const events = await detectIssueWatchEvents(env, "acme/private", issue({ repoFullName: "acme/private", number: 90, authorLogin: "acme" }));
+    expect(events.map((event) => event.recipientLogin)).toEqual(["operator"]);
+  });
+
   it("handles an issue with no recorded author (actor falls back to 'unknown', no one is skipped)", async () => {
     const env = createTestEnv();
+    await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "repo", full_name: "owner/repo", private: false, owner: { login: "owner" }, default_branch: "main" }, 100);
     await upsertIssueWatchSubscription(env, { login: "alice", repoFullName: "owner/repo" });
     const events = await detectIssueWatchEvents(env, "owner/repo", issue({ number: 12, authorLogin: undefined, authorAssociation: "MEMBER" }));
     expect(events).toHaveLength(1);
@@ -134,6 +161,32 @@ describe("MCP gittensory_watch_issues", () => {
     expect((unwatched.structuredContent as { watching: unknown[] }).watching).toHaveLength(0);
   });
 
+
+  it("lets a session watch a tracked PUBLIC repo it does not maintain (the miner use case)", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv();
+    await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "repo", full_name: "owner/repo", private: false, owner: { login: "owner" }, default_branch: "main" }, 100);
+    const { session } = await createSessionForGitHubUser(env, { login: "miner", id: 1 });
+    const client = await connect(env, { kind: "session", actor: "miner", session });
+
+    const result = await client.callTool({ name: "gittensory_watch_issues", arguments: { login: "miner", action: "watch", repoFullName: "owner/repo" } });
+
+    expect(result.isError).toBeFalsy();
+    expect((result.structuredContent as { watching: Array<{ repoFullName: string }> }).watching).toEqual([{ repoFullName: "owner/repo", labels: [] }]);
+  });
+
+  it("blocks session actors from watching inaccessible (private) repositories", async () => {
+    const env = createTestEnv();
+    await upsertRepositoryFromGitHub(env, { name: "private", full_name: "victim/private", private: true, owner: { login: "victim" }, default_branch: "main" }, 321);
+    const { session } = await createSessionForGitHubUser(env, { login: "miner", id: 1 });
+    const client = await connect(env, { kind: "session", actor: "miner", session });
+
+    const result = await client.callTool({ name: "gittensory_watch_issues", arguments: { login: "miner", action: "watch", repoFullName: "victim/private" } });
+
+    expect(result.isError).toBe(true);
+    expect(JSON.stringify(result.content)).toContain("session cannot watch this repository");
+    await expect(listIssueWatchSubscriptionsForLogin(env, "miner")).resolves.toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   it("is self-scoped: a session cannot manage another login's watches", async () => {
     const env = createTestEnv();
     const { session } = await createSessionForGitHubUser(env, { login: "miner", id: 1 });