diff --git a/docs/operations.md b/docs/operations.md
index 07e7f33..2e0242c 100644
--- a/docs/operations.md
+++ b/docs/operations.md
@@ -847,6 +847,26 @@ integer-based; divide by `1_000_000` in PromQL when seconds are required.
 Definitions intentionally have no request path, user, request, or event-name
 labels that could create unbounded cardinality.
 
+The locked `telemetry_metrics_prometheus_core` reporter aggregates
+distribution samples only when a scrape occurs. Each application VM therefore
+also runs a supervised internal aggregation every ten seconds. This keeps the
+reporter's raw distribution table independent of whether an external
+Prometheus server is currently configured, while preserving the cumulative
+histograms exposed by the authenticated endpoint. The generated exposition
+text from the internal aggregation is discarded.
+
+After a deployment, the raw table can be inspected without exposing metric
+credentials:
+
+```bash
+/app/bin/who_need_help eval \
+  'IO.inspect(:ets.info(:prometheus_metrics_dist, :size), label: "pending_distribution_samples")'
+```
+
+Under idle conditions the value returns to zero after the next aggregation
+interval. During traffic it represents only samples received since the most
+recent internal or external scrape; it is not the cumulative histogram count.
+
 Metrics are local to each BEAM process. Discover and scrape every web pod or
 container as a distinct target and preserve Prometheus's `instance` label. A
 request through the load-balanced public route reaches only one replica and is
diff --git a/lib/who_need_help_web/prometheus_distribution_drain.ex b/lib/who_need_help_web/prometheus_distribution_drain.ex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..628b5cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/who_need_help_web/prometheus_distribution_drain.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+defmodule WhoNeedHelpWeb.PrometheusDistributionDrain do
+  @moduledoc false
+
+  use GenServer
+
+  @default_interval 10_000
+
+  def start_link(opts) do
+    reporter_name = Keyword.fetch!(opts, :reporter_name)
+    interval = Keyword.get(opts, :interval, @default_interval)
+
+    GenServer.start_link(__MODULE__, {reporter_name, interval})
+  end
+
+  @impl true
+  def init({reporter_name, interval}) when is_integer(interval) and interval > 0 do
+    schedule_drain(interval)
+    {:ok, %{reporter_name: reporter_name, interval: interval}}
+  end
+
+  @impl true
+  def handle_info(:drain, state) do
+    # telemetry_metrics_prometheus_core buffers every distribution sample until
+    # scrape time. Aggregate on a bounded interval even when no external
+    # Prometheus server is configured.
+    _scrape = TelemetryMetricsPrometheus.Core.scrape(state.reporter_name)
+
+    schedule_drain(state.interval)
+    {:noreply, state}
+  end
+
+  defp schedule_drain(interval) do
+    Process.send_after(self(), :drain, interval)
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/who_need_help_web/telemetry.ex b/lib/who_need_help_web/telemetry.ex
index 71d36b1..14eb68f 100644
--- a/lib/who_need_help_web/telemetry.ex
+++ b/lib/who_need_help_web/telemetry.ex
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelpWeb.Telemetry do
       if Application.fetch_env!(:who_need_help, :app_role) in [:web, :worker, :combined] do
         [
           {TelemetryMetricsPrometheus.Core,
-           name: :prometheus_metrics, metrics: prometheus_metrics(), start_async: false}
+           name: :prometheus_metrics, metrics: prometheus_metrics(), start_async: false},
+          {WhoNeedHelpWeb.PrometheusDistributionDrain,
+           reporter_name: :prometheus_metrics, interval: 10_000}
         ]
       else
         []
diff --git a/test/who_need_help_web/prometheus_distribution_drain_test.exs b/test/who_need_help_web/prometheus_distribution_drain_test.exs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44a39b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/who_need_help_web/prometheus_distribution_drain_test.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+defmodule WhoNeedHelpWeb.PrometheusDistributionDrainTest do
+  use ExUnit.Case, async: false
+
+  import Telemetry.Metrics
+
+  alias TelemetryMetricsPrometheus.Core.Registry
+  alias WhoNeedHelpWeb.PrometheusDistributionDrain
+
+  @reporter_name :prometheus_distribution_drain_test
+  @event_name [:who_need_help, :test, :distribution_drain]
+
+  test "aggregates distribution samples without an external metrics scrape" do
+    metric =
+      distribution("who_need_help.test.distribution.seconds",
+        event_name: @event_name,
+        measurement: :duration,
+        reporter_options: [buckets: [0.1, 0.5, 1.0]]
+      )
+
+    start_supervised!(
+      {TelemetryMetricsPrometheus.Core,
+       name: @reporter_name, metrics: [metric], start_async: false}
+    )
+
+    config = Registry.config(@reporter_name)
+
+    for duration <- 1..2_000 do
+      :telemetry.execute(@event_name, %{duration: duration / 10_000}, %{})
+    end
+
+    assert :ets.info(config.dist_table_id, :size) == 2_000
+
+    start_supervised!({PrometheusDistributionDrain, reporter_name: @reporter_name, interval: 10})
+
+    assert_eventually(fn -> :ets.info(config.dist_table_id, :size) == 0 end)
+
+    body = TelemetryMetricsPrometheus.Core.scrape(@reporter_name)
+
+    assert body =~ "who_need_help_test_distribution_seconds_count 2000"
+    assert :ets.info(config.dist_table_id, :size) == 0
+  end
+
+  defp assert_eventually(fun, attempts \\ 100)
+
+  defp assert_eventually(fun, attempts) when attempts > 0 do
+    if fun.() do
+      assert true
+    else
+      Process.sleep(10)
+      assert_eventually(fun, attempts - 1)
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp assert_eventually(_fun, 0) do
+    flunk("condition did not become true before the timeout")
+  end
+end