diff --git a/common/src/ads/sponsored-consent.test.ts b/common/src/ads/sponsored-consent.test.ts
index 3adeeb6c35..cc6b2a3b39 100644
--- a/common/src/ads/sponsored-consent.test.ts
+++ b/common/src/ads/sponsored-consent.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
-import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
 import path from 'node:path'
 
 import {
@@ -52,31 +52,49 @@ describe('every surface asks the same question', () => {
   const root = path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', '..')
   const read = (rel: string) => readFileSync(path.join(root, rel), 'utf8')
 
-  test.each([
-    ['freebuff-desktop/electron/mcp-consent-bridge.cjs'],
-    ['freebuff-desktop/electron/consent-window.html'],
-  ])('%s carries the same sentence, verbatim', (rel) => {
-    expect(read(rel)).toContain(SPONSORED_CONSENT_SENTENCE.trim())
-  })
+  /**
+   * Whether this tree carries the file at `rel`.
+   *
+   * This repository is an export of the private source tree, and the export
+   * ships neither the web app nor `freebuff-desktop/`, which is not one of the
+   * in-scope paths in CONTRIBUTING.md. A case that reads one of those paths is
+   * asserting against a file that was never exported, so it dies with ENOENT
+   * here instead of skipping. Skipping on presence keeps the drift check running
+   * in the private tree, where the sources do exist, and reactivates it here by
+   * itself if the export ever starts including them.
+   */
+  const isInThisTree = (rel: string) => existsSync(path.join(root, rel))
 
-  // The IN-PLACE question (#3989) is asked by Desktop's bridge and by the CLI's
-  // dock from this constant; the two must be the same words.
-  test('the bridge carries the same in-place sentence, verbatim', () => {
-    expect(read('freebuff-desktop/electron/mcp-consent-bridge.cjs')).toContain(
-      SPONSORED_CONSENT_IN_PLACE_SENTENCE.trim(),
+  const BRIDGE = 'freebuff-desktop/electron/mcp-consent-bridge.cjs'
+  const WINDOW = 'freebuff-desktop/electron/consent-window.html'
+
+  for (const rel of [BRIDGE, WINDOW]) {
+    test.skipIf(!isInThisTree(rel))(
+      `${rel} carries the same sentence, verbatim`,
+      () => {
+        expect(read(rel)).toContain(SPONSORED_CONSENT_SENTENCE.trim())
+      },
     )
-  })
+  }
 
-  test.each([
-    ['freebuff-desktop/electron/mcp-consent-bridge.cjs'],
-    ['freebuff-desktop/electron/consent-window.html'],
-  ])(
-    '%s carries the same Windows no-sandbox sentence, verbatim (COD-642)',
-    (rel) => {
-      expect(read(rel)).toContain(SPONSORED_CONSENT_WINDOWS_FLOOR_SENTENCE)
+  // The IN-PLACE question (#3989) is asked by Desktop's bridge and by the CLI's
+  // dock from this constant; the two must be the same words.
+  test.skipIf(!isInThisTree(BRIDGE))(
+    'the bridge carries the same in-place sentence, verbatim',
+    () => {
+      expect(read(BRIDGE)).toContain(SPONSORED_CONSENT_IN_PLACE_SENTENCE.trim())
     },
   )
 
+  for (const rel of [BRIDGE, WINDOW]) {
+    test.skipIf(!isInThisTree(rel))(
+      `${rel} carries the same Windows no-sandbox sentence, verbatim (COD-642)`,
+      () => {
+        expect(read(rel)).toContain(SPONSORED_CONSENT_WINDOWS_FLOOR_SENTENCE)
+      },
+    )
+  }
+
   test('the Windows sentence says the three things, in plain words', () => {
     expect(SPONSORED_CONSENT_WINDOWS_FLOOR_SENTENCE).toContain('no sandbox')
     expect(SPONSORED_CONSENT_WINDOWS_FLOOR_SENTENCE).toContain(
@@ -87,21 +105,24 @@ describe('every surface asks the same question', () => {
     )
   })
 
-  test('the desktop window says the same thing when it cannot name who is asking', () => {
-    expect(read('freebuff-desktop/electron/consent-window.html')).toContain(
-      SPONSORED_CONSENT_NO_NAME,
-    )
-  })
+  test.skipIf(!isInThisTree(WINDOW))(
+    'the desktop window says the same thing when it cannot name who is asking',
+    () => {
+      expect(read(WINDOW)).toContain(SPONSORED_CONSENT_NO_NAME)
+    },
+  )
 
-  test.each([
-    ['freebuff-desktop/electron/mcp-consent-bridge.cjs'],
-    ['freebuff-desktop/electron/consent-window.html'],
-  ])('%s caps the name at the same length', (rel) => {
+  for (const rel of [BRIDGE, WINDOW]) {
     // Both of them, because the bridge clamps before it sends AND the page clamps what it is
     // given: the page is the last thing between an advertiser's name and a human's eyes, and one
     // U+202E there reverses our own sentence.
-    expect(read(rel)).toContain(
-      `MAX_NAME_CHARS = ${SPONSORED_CONSENT_MAX_NAME_CHARS}`,
+    test.skipIf(!isInThisTree(rel))(
+      `${rel} caps the name at the same length`,
+      () => {
+        expect(read(rel)).toContain(
+          `MAX_NAME_CHARS = ${SPONSORED_CONSENT_MAX_NAME_CHARS}`,
+        )
+      },
     )
-  })
+  }
 })