diff --git a/scripts/check-stageable-secrets.mjs b/scripts/check-stageable-secrets.mjs
index 4fd2187..c86245c 100755
--- a/scripts/check-stageable-secrets.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check-stageable-secrets.mjs
@@ -135,9 +135,12 @@ function describeDetail(detail) {
   if (!detail || detail.kind !== 'jwt') return '';
   const claims = renderClaims(detail.claims);
   let expiry;
-  if (detail.noExpiry) expiry = 'NO EXPIRY CLAIM';
-  else if (detail.expired) expiry = `EXPIRED ${detail.expiresAt}`;
-  else expiry = `live until ${detail.expiresAt} (${detail.daysRemaining} days)`;
+  // Everything here is what the token SAYS about itself. Decoding `exp` proves
+  // neither that the token still works nor that it was revoked, so the wording
+  // stays scoped to the claim (codexmb, post-merge review of #123).
+  if (detail.noExpiry) expiry = 'no expiry claim; validity and revocation unverified';
+  else if (detail.expired) expiry = `expiry claim: ${detail.expiresAt} (past)`;
+  else expiry = `expiry claim: ${detail.expiresAt} (in ${detail.daysRemaining} days)`;
   return `claims: ${claims} | ${expiry}`;
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/scan-history-for-secrets.mjs b/scripts/scan-history-for-secrets.mjs
index ea147c2..8ac2fba 100755
--- a/scripts/scan-history-for-secrets.mjs
+++ b/scripts/scan-history-for-secrets.mjs
@@ -160,9 +160,13 @@ function printHuman(report) {
         // vocabulary we defined; everything else is presence and length. A
         // JWT's claims are free text chosen by whoever made the token.
         out(`      claims: ${renderClaims(f.detail.claims)}`);
-        if (f.detail.noExpiry) out('      expiry: NO EXPIRY CLAIM - this token does not stop working');
-        else if (f.detail.expired) out(`      expiry: EXPIRED ${f.detail.expiresAt}`);
-        else out(`      expiry: LIVE until ${f.detail.expiresAt} (${f.detail.daysRemaining} days remaining)`);
+        // The exp claim is the token's own statement, not evidence about it.
+        // "LIVE until" read as proof of validity and "does not stop working" as
+        // proof of permanence; neither survives the fact that we never asked an
+        // issuer anything (codexmb, post-merge review of #123).
+        if (f.detail.noExpiry) out('      expiry: no expiry claim; validity and revocation unverified');
+        else if (f.detail.expired) out(`      expiry: expiry claim ${f.detail.expiresAt} (past); revocation unverified`);
+        else out(`      expiry: expiry claim ${f.detail.expiresAt} (in ${f.detail.daysRemaining} days); validity and revocation unverified`);
       }
       out(`      blob:   ${f.blob}`);
       out(`      commit: ${f.commit ?? '(not attributable to a single commit)'}`);
diff --git a/src/secret-patterns.mjs b/src/secret-patterns.mjs
index 395f555..9e9c514 100644
--- a/src/secret-patterns.mjs
+++ b/src/secret-patterns.mjs
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ export function renderClaims(claims) {
  *
  * Claims yes, token never - and only the constrained parts of the claims, see
  * the note above. The point is a report that is safe to share: it says what the
- * token IS (a service_role key for project x, live until 2036) without
+ * token CLAIMS to be (a service_role key for project x, exp 2036) without
  * republishing anything the token's author chose to write.
  *
  * Returns null for an eyJ-prefixed string that is not actually a JWT, which is
diff --git a/test/scan-history-for-secrets.test.mjs b/test/scan-history-for-secrets.test.mjs
index cc0d7e7..21c75ae 100644
--- a/test/scan-history-for-secrets.test.mjs
+++ b/test/scan-history-for-secrets.test.mjs
@@ -630,9 +630,17 @@ test('an expired JWT is reported and distinguished from a live one', () => {
   // conversation, not a non-event.
   assert.equal(report.findings.length, 3);
   const human = runScanner([dir]);
-  assert.match(human.stderr, /EXPIRED/);
-  assert.match(human.stderr, /LIVE until/);
-  assert.match(human.stderr, /NO EXPIRY CLAIM/);
+  // The report may describe what the token CLAIMS, never what it IS. We never
+  // asked an issuer anything, so validity and revocation are both unknown.
+  assert.match(human.stderr, /expiry claim [^\n]*\(past\)/);
+  assert.match(human.stderr, /expiry claim [^\n]*\(in \d+ days\)/);
+  assert.match(human.stderr, /no expiry claim; validity and revocation unverified/);
+
+  // The wording this replaced asserted facts the scanner cannot establish:
+  // "LIVE until" read as proof the token still works, and "does not stop
+  // working" as proof it never will. Assert they cannot come back.
+  assert.doesNotMatch(human.stderr, /live until/i);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(human.stderr, /does not stop working/i);
 });
 
 test('a malformed eyJ-prefixed string does not crash the scanner', () => {