diff --git a/internal/telemetry/optout.go b/internal/telemetry/optout.go
index aa5cf011d..5a2cf8dfc 100644
--- a/internal/telemetry/optout.go
+++ b/internal/telemetry/optout.go
@@ -132,6 +132,12 @@ func (s *Service) SendOptOutBeacon(ctx context.Context) error {
 	}
 	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
 
+	// The beacon is fire-and-forget from NotifyConfigChanged, so a Service
+	// built without a client (test literals do this) must not take the
+	// goroutine — and the test binary — down with a nil dereference.
+	if s.client == nil {
+		return errors.New("send opt-out beacon: no HTTP client configured")
+	}
 	resp, err := s.client.Do(req)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("send opt-out beacon: %w", err)