diff --git a/frontend/src/components/dialogs/SettingsDialog.tsx b/frontend/src/components/dialogs/SettingsDialog.tsx
index 2455d1b..46f4d65 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/dialogs/SettingsDialog.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/dialogs/SettingsDialog.tsx
@@ -26,12 +26,14 @@ import {
   library,
   admin as adminApi,
   account as accountApi,
+  features as featuresApi,
   nextcloud as nextcloudApi,
   type MediaType,
   type PipelineStage,
   type ScanStatus,
   type WorkerStatus,
   type FeatureFlagSnapshot,
+  type FeaturesMap,
   type NextcloudSourceRoot,
 } from '../../services/api'
 import { toast } from '../ToastContainer'
@@ -59,7 +61,10 @@ type SettingsTab = 'library' | 'ai' | 'users'
 
 const TABS: { id: SettingsTab; label: string; adminOnly?: boolean }[] = [
   { id: 'library', label: 'Library Management' },
-  { id: 'ai', label: 'AI Features', adminOnly: true },
+  // AI is open to non-admins; per-user scope. Admin-only mutations
+  // (system-wide flag toggles, bulk backfill, rescan-all) are hidden
+  // inside the panel for non-admins.
+  { id: 'ai', label: 'AI Features' },
   { id: 'users', label: 'Users', adminOnly: true },
 ]
 
@@ -81,20 +86,23 @@ export function SettingsPage() {
 
   // All four panels fetch through React Query so cached data shows
   // instantly on reopen while a background refetch updates the numbers.
-  // All queries use scope=global so the admin sees cross-user totals.
+  // Admins request scope=global to see cross-user totals; non-admins get
+  // user-scoped data automatically (the backend's _owner_filter falls
+  // back to current_user when scope is omitted).
+  const libScope: 'global' | undefined = isAdmin ? 'global' : undefined
   const thumbStatsQuery = useQuery({
-    queryKey: SETTINGS_THUMB_STATS_KEY,
-    queryFn: () => library.maintenance.thumbnailStats('global'),
+    queryKey: [...SETTINGS_THUMB_STATS_KEY, libScope ?? 'self'],
+    queryFn: () => library.maintenance.thumbnailStats(libScope),
     staleTime: 0,
   })
   const libStatsQuery = useQuery({
-    queryKey: SETTINGS_LIB_STATS_KEY,
-    queryFn: () => library.stats('global'),
+    queryKey: [...SETTINGS_LIB_STATS_KEY, libScope ?? 'self'],
+    queryFn: () => library.stats(libScope),
     staleTime: 0,
   })
   const workerStatusQuery = useQuery({
-    queryKey: SETTINGS_WORKER_STATUS_KEY,
-    queryFn: () => library.maintenance.workerStatus('global'),
+    queryKey: [...SETTINGS_WORKER_STATUS_KEY, libScope ?? 'self'],
+    queryFn: () => library.maintenance.workerStatus(libScope),
     refetchInterval: 5000,
     staleTime: 0,
   })
@@ -105,8 +113,8 @@ export function SettingsPage() {
     staleTime: 0,
   })
   const pipelineStatsQuery = useQuery({
-    queryKey: SETTINGS_PIPELINE_STATS_KEY,
-    queryFn: () => library.maintenance.pipelineStats('global'),
+    queryKey: [...SETTINGS_PIPELINE_STATS_KEY, libScope ?? 'self'],
+    queryFn: () => library.maintenance.pipelineStats(libScope),
     refetchInterval: 5000,
     staleTime: 0,
   })
@@ -118,8 +126,8 @@ export function SettingsPage() {
     staleTime: 0,
   })
   const duplicatesQuery = useQuery({
-    queryKey: [...DUPLICATE_GROUPS_QUERY_KEY, 'global'],
-    queryFn: () => library.duplicates.groups('global'),
+    queryKey: [...DUPLICATE_GROUPS_QUERY_KEY, libScope ?? 'self'],
+    queryFn: () => library.duplicates.groups(libScope),
     staleTime: 0,
   })
 
@@ -211,7 +219,7 @@ export function SettingsPage() {
     ) =>
       runAction(
         key,
-        () => library.maintenance.regenerateThumbnails(body, 'global'),
+        () => library.maintenance.regenerateThumbnails(body, libScope),
         'Regeneration queued',
         (r) => `${r.queued} photos queued, ${r.cleared_dirs} thumb dirs cleared`
       ),
@@ -861,10 +869,11 @@ export function SettingsPage() {
             </Section>
         </>)}
 
-        {activeTab === 'ai' && isAdmin && (
+        {activeTab === 'ai' && (
           <AiFeaturesTab
             busy={busy}
             runAction={runAction}
+            isAdmin={isAdmin}
           />
         )}
 
@@ -1113,6 +1122,7 @@ interface AiFeaturesTabProps {
     successTitle: string,
     describe?: (result: T) => string | undefined,
   ) => Promise<void>
+  isAdmin: boolean
 }
 
 const FLAG_META: Array<{
@@ -1131,15 +1141,32 @@ const FLAG_META: Array<{
   },
 ]
 
-function AiFeaturesTab({ busy, runAction }: AiFeaturesTabProps) {
+function AiFeaturesTab({ busy, runAction, isAdmin }: AiFeaturesTabProps) {
   const queryClient = useQueryClient()
+  // Admins get the full snapshot (default + effective + overridden) so
+  // they can toggle. Non-admins only read effective values via the
+  // public /features endpoint — no leaked override metadata, no 403s.
   const flagsQuery = useQuery<{ flags: FeatureFlagSnapshot }>({
     queryKey: SETTINGS_FEATURE_FLAGS_KEY,
     queryFn: adminApi.listFeatureFlags,
     staleTime: 5_000,
+    enabled: isAdmin,
+  })
+  const featuresQuery = useQuery<FeaturesMap>({
+    queryKey: ['features'],
+    queryFn: featuresApi.list,
+    staleTime: 5_000,
+    enabled: !isAdmin,
   })
 
-  const flags = flagsQuery.data?.flags ?? {}
+  const flags: FeatureFlagSnapshot = isAdmin
+    ? (flagsQuery.data?.flags ?? {})
+    : Object.fromEntries(
+        Object.entries(featuresQuery.data ?? {}).map(([name, on]) => [
+          name,
+          { effective: on, default: on, overridden: false },
+        ]),
+      )
   const masterOff = flags['vision.enabled'] && !flags['vision.enabled'].effective
 
   const applyFlag = async (name: string, value: boolean | null) => {
@@ -1167,26 +1194,29 @@ function AiFeaturesTab({ busy, runAction }: AiFeaturesTabProps) {
     <>
       <Section icon={<Brain className="h-4 w-4" />} title="AI feature flags">
         <p className="text-xs text-text-muted">
-          Toggle each stage at runtime. Changes are observed by Celery
-          workers on the next task — no restart needed. "Default" means
-          the flag hasn\'t been overridden and is tracking the YAML config;
-          an overridden flag is pinned to the value shown until cleared.
+          {isAdmin
+            ? 'Toggle each stage at runtime. Changes are observed by Celery workers on the next task — no restart needed. "Default" means the flag hasn\'t been overridden and is tracking the YAML config; an overridden flag is pinned to the value shown until cleared.'
+            : 'Effective AI features for your library. Flags are system-wide; only an admin can toggle them.'}
         </p>
 
-        {flagsQuery.isLoading && (
+        {(isAdmin ? flagsQuery.isLoading : featuresQuery.isLoading) && (
           <div className="mt-3 flex items-center gap-2 text-xs text-text-muted">
             <Loader2 className="h-3 w-3 animate-spin" />
             Loading feature flags…
           </div>
         )}
-        {flagsQuery.error && (
+        {(isAdmin ? flagsQuery.error : featuresQuery.error) && (
           <ErrorBanner
             title="Could not load feature flags"
-            detail={String((flagsQuery.error as Error).message || flagsQuery.error)}
+            detail={String(
+              ((isAdmin ? flagsQuery.error : featuresQuery.error) as Error).message
+                || (isAdmin ? flagsQuery.error : featuresQuery.error),
+            )}
           />
         )}
 
-        {!flagsQuery.isLoading && !flagsQuery.error && (
+        {!(isAdmin ? flagsQuery.isLoading : featuresQuery.isLoading)
+          && !(isAdmin ? flagsQuery.error : featuresQuery.error) && (
           <div className="mt-3 space-y-2">
             {FLAG_META.map((meta) => {
               const state = flags[meta.id]
@@ -1226,10 +1256,16 @@ function AiFeaturesTab({ busy, runAction }: AiFeaturesTabProps) {
                       <Switch
                         checked={state.effective}
                         onCheckedChange={(v) => applyFlag(meta.id, v)}
-                        disabled={isBusy || (dimmed && !isMaster)}
-                        title={state.effective ? 'Click to disable' : 'Click to enable'}
+                        disabled={!isAdmin || isBusy || (dimmed && !isMaster)}
+                        title={
+                          !isAdmin
+                            ? 'Admin only — flags are system-wide'
+                            : state.effective
+                              ? 'Click to disable'
+                              : 'Click to enable'
+                        }
                       />
-                      {state.overridden && (
+                      {isAdmin && state.overridden && (
                         <Button
                           variant="outline"
                           size="icon"
@@ -1252,36 +1288,41 @@ function AiFeaturesTab({ busy, runAction }: AiFeaturesTabProps) {
         )}
       </Section>
 
-      <Section icon={<Cpu className="h-4 w-4" />} title="Manual pipeline triggers">
-        <p className="text-xs text-text-muted">
-          Run the classifier over any photos that haven't been classified yet,
-          or force a fresh filesystem scan. Both are safe to run repeatedly.
-        </p>
-        <div className="mt-3 flex flex-wrap gap-2">
-          <ActionButton
-            loading={!!busy['ai-backfill:all']}
-            onClick={() => runBackfill()}
-            disabled={masterOff}
-          >
-            <Sparkles className="h-4 w-4" />
-            Run classifier backfill
-          </ActionButton>
-          <ActionButton
-            loading={!!busy['rescan-full']}
-            onClick={() =>
-              runAction(
-                'rescan-full',
-                () => adminApi.triggerFullRescan(),
-                'Rescan queued',
-                (r) => `Celery task ${r.task_id}`,
-              )
-            }
-          >
-            <RefreshCw className="h-4 w-4" />
-            Rescan all source roots
-          </ActionButton>
-        </div>
-      </Section>
+      {isAdmin && (
+        <Section icon={<Cpu className="h-4 w-4" />} title="Manual pipeline triggers">
+          <p className="text-xs text-text-muted">
+            Run the classifier over any photos that haven't been classified yet,
+            or force a fresh filesystem scan. Both are safe to run repeatedly.
+            These are bulk admin operations across every user; non-admins
+            should use "Re-scan source folders" in the Library tab to
+            re-scan their own libraries.
+          </p>
+          <div className="mt-3 flex flex-wrap gap-2">
+            <ActionButton
+              loading={!!busy['ai-backfill:all']}
+              onClick={() => runBackfill()}
+              disabled={masterOff}
+            >
+              <Sparkles className="h-4 w-4" />
+              Run classifier backfill
+            </ActionButton>
+            <ActionButton
+              loading={!!busy['rescan-full']}
+              onClick={() =>
+                runAction(
+                  'rescan-full',
+                  () => adminApi.triggerFullRescan(),
+                  'Rescan queued',
+                  (r) => `Celery task ${r.task_id}`,
+                )
+              }
+            >
+              <RefreshCw className="h-4 w-4" />
+              Rescan all source roots
+            </ActionButton>
+          </div>
+        </Section>
+      )}
     </>
   )
 }