diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2c09b47e70..95df620ca6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
+## 0.22.0
+
+### Breaking changes
+- **Opt-out env semantics**: `DO_NOT_TRACK` and `SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS` now treat any non-empty value (after strip) as opt-out. Previously only the exact string `"true"` opted out. Values like `false`, `0`, or `no` now also disable telemetry. To avoid opting out, unset the variable or leave it empty.
+
+### Enhancements
+- **Telemetry off by default**: The library-load analytics ping is disabled by default. Set `UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true` before importing to restore the previous behavior. Opt-out via `DO_NOT_TRACK` or `SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS` (any non-empty value) takes precedence.
+- Telemetry ping uses `requests.get(..., params=...)` for correct URL encoding and a single dev/non-dev code path.
+
 ## 0.21.12
 - **Add Check for complex documents**: Adds a check for complex documents to avoid pdfminer with a high ratio of vector objects
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ff0aad2ab6..2b53faf0e5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -268,4 +268,4 @@ Encountered a bug? Please create a new [GitHub issue](https://github.com/Unstruc
 
 ## :chart_with_upwards_trend: Analytics
 
-This library includes a very lightweight analytics "ping" when the library is loaded, however you can opt out of this data collection by setting the environment variable `DO_NOT_TRACK=true` before executing any `unstructured` code. To learn more about how we collect and use this data, please read our [Privacy Policy](https://unstructured.io/privacy-policy).
+Telemetry is **off by default**. To opt in, set `UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true` (or `=1`) before importing `unstructured`. To opt out, set `DO_NOT_TRACK` or `SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS` to any non-empty value (e.g. `true`, `1`, `yes`, `false`, `0`—any non-empty string opts out); opt-out takes precedence. Unset the variable or leave it empty if you do not want to opt out. See our [Privacy Policy](https://unstructured.io/privacy-policy).
diff --git a/scripts/image/test-outbound-connectivity.sh b/scripts/image/test-outbound-connectivity.sh
index 82eda50385..d2e33a37bc 100755
--- a/scripts/image/test-outbound-connectivity.sh
+++ b/scripts/image/test-outbound-connectivity.sh
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ fi
 
 SCENARIO="${1:-}"
 if [[ -z "$SCENARIO" ]]; then
-  echo "Usage: $0 [--cleanup] {baseline|missing-models|offline|offline-and-missing-models}" >&2
+  echo "Usage: $0 [--cleanup] {baseline|missing-models|analytics-online-only|offline|offline-and-missing-models}" >&2
   exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -61,12 +61,16 @@ fi
 
 # ---------- scenario‑specific settings --------------------------------
 DO_NOT_TRACK=""
+UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=""
 HF_HUB_OFFLINE=""
 REMOVE_CACHE=0
 case "$SCENARIO" in
 baseline) ;;
 missing-models) REMOVE_CACHE=1 ;;
-analytics-online-only) HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1 ;;
+analytics-online-only)
+  UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=1
+  HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1
+  ;;
 offline)
   DO_NOT_TRACK=true
   HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1
@@ -89,6 +93,7 @@ CID=$(docker run -d --rm --name "sut_${SCENARIO}" \
   --network "$NET" \
   --cap-add NET_RAW --cap-add NET_ADMIN \
   -e DO_NOT_TRACK="$DO_NOT_TRACK" \
+  -e UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED="$UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED" \
   -e HF_HUB_OFFLINE="$HF_HUB_OFFLINE" \
   --entrypoint /bin/sh "$IMAGE" -c "sleep infinity")
 echo "Container: $CID  (scenario $SCENARIO)"
@@ -127,8 +132,8 @@ fi
 
 docker exec -i -e PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 "$CID" python - <<PY |& tee "${PY_LOG_DIR}/${SCENARIO}.log"
 import logging
+# Telemetry runs at package init when UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED is set (see analytics-online-only scenario).
 from unstructured.partition.auto import partition
-from unstructured.logger import logger  # force analytics ping if not DO_NOT_TRACK
 import urllib.request, time, os, sys
 
 # Configure detailed logging
diff --git a/test_unstructured/test_telemetry.py b/test_unstructured/test_telemetry.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d88bb78888
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_unstructured/test_telemetry.py
@@ -0,0 +1,257 @@
+"""Hermetic telemetry tests: env is set to opt-out before importing unstructured.
+
+This module must set DO_NOT_TRACK (or equivalent) before any import of unstructured
+so that init_telemetry() runs with opt-out at import time and no real network/subprocess
+occurs. Tests then use monkeypatch and mocks to assert behavior.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+# Set opt-out before any unstructured import so package init does not run telemetry.
+import os
+
+os.environ["DO_NOT_TRACK"] = "1"
+os.environ.pop("UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED", None)
+os.environ.pop("SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS", None)
+
+import platform
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import Mock
+
+import pytest
+import requests
+
+from unstructured import utils
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def telemetry_mocks(monkeypatch):
+    """Clear telemetry env and patch requests.get + subprocess.check_output.
+
+    Returns (mock_get, mock_subprocess). Use for both send and no-send tests so
+    we can assert network and subprocess side effects.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.delenv("UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("DO_NOT_TRACK", raising=False)
+    mock_get = Mock()
+    mock_subprocess = Mock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr("unstructured.utils.requests.get", mock_get)
+    monkeypatch.setattr("unstructured.utils.subprocess.check_output", mock_subprocess)
+    return mock_get, mock_subprocess
+
+
+def _apply_telemetry_env(monkeypatch, env_overrides):
+    """Set env vars from dict; keys are env var names, values are str or None (delenv)."""
+    for key, value in env_overrides.items():
+        if value is None:
+            monkeypatch.delenv(key, raising=False)
+        else:
+            monkeypatch.setenv(key, value)
+
+
+class DescribeScarfAnalytics:
+    """Tests for scarf_analytics (telemetry off by default, opt-in only)."""
+
+    def it_telemetry_opt_out_any_non_empty_for_both_vars(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Contract: DO_NOT_TRACK and SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS both opt out on any non-empty value."""
+        monkeypatch.delenv("DO_NOT_TRACK", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS", raising=False)
+        assert utils._telemetry_opt_out() is False
+        monkeypatch.setenv("DO_NOT_TRACK", "yes")
+        assert utils._telemetry_opt_out() is True
+        monkeypatch.delenv("DO_NOT_TRACK", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS", "on")
+        assert utils._telemetry_opt_out() is True
+
+    def it_telemetry_opt_in_only_true_or_1(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Contract: only UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED in ('true','1') opts in."""
+        monkeypatch.delenv("UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED", raising=False)
+        assert utils._telemetry_opt_in() is False
+        for val in ("true", "1", "True", "TRUE"):
+            monkeypatch.setenv("UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED", val)
+            assert utils._telemetry_opt_in() is True
+        for val in ("false", "0", "yes", ""):
+            monkeypatch.setenv("UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED", val)
+            assert utils._telemetry_opt_in() is False
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "env_overrides",
+        [
+            {},
+            {"DO_NOT_TRACK": "true"},
+            {"DO_NOT_TRACK": "1"},
+            {"DO_NOT_TRACK": "TRUE"},
+            {"DO_NOT_TRACK": "false"},
+            {"DO_NOT_TRACK": "0"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "true"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "yes"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "on"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "1"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "TRUE"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "false"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "0"},
+            {"SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "  true  "},
+            {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "false"},
+            {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "0"},
+            {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "yes"},
+            {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "FALSE"},
+            {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "true", "DO_NOT_TRACK": "true"},
+            {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "true", "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "on"},
+        ],
+        ids=[
+            "default_no_opt_in",
+            "DO_NOT_TRACK=true",
+            "DO_NOT_TRACK=1",
+            "DO_NOT_TRACK=TRUE",
+            "DO_NOT_TRACK=false",
+            "DO_NOT_TRACK=0",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=true",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=yes",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=on",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=1",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=TRUE",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=false",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=0",
+            "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=whitespace",
+            "opt_in=false",
+            "opt_in=0",
+            "opt_in=yes",
+            "opt_in=FALSE",
+            "opt_in_true_but_DO_NOT_TRACK",
+            "opt_in_true_but_SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS",
+        ],
+    )
+    def it_does_not_send_telemetry_when_disabled_or_opted_out(
+        self, monkeypatch, telemetry_mocks, env_overrides
+    ):
+        """No network or subprocess when telemetry disabled or opt-out set."""
+        mock_get, mock_subprocess = telemetry_mocks
+        _apply_telemetry_env(monkeypatch, env_overrides)
+        utils.scarf_analytics()
+        mock_get.assert_not_called()
+        mock_subprocess.assert_not_called()
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("opt_in_value", ["true", "True", "TRUE", "1"])
+    def it_sends_telemetry_when_opt_in_is_set(self, monkeypatch, telemetry_mocks, opt_in_value):
+        mock_get, mock_subprocess = telemetry_mocks
+        _apply_telemetry_env(monkeypatch, {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": opt_in_value})
+        utils.scarf_analytics()
+        mock_get.assert_called_once()
+        mock_subprocess.assert_called_once_with(["nvidia-smi"], stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
+        call_args = mock_get.call_args
+        assert call_args[0][0] == "https://packages.unstructured.io/python-telemetry"
+        params = call_args[1]["params"]
+        assert set(params.keys()) == {"version", "platform", "python", "arch", "gpu", "dev"}
+        assert call_args[1]["timeout"] == 10
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        ("version_val", "expected_dev"),
+        [("1.2.3.dev0", "true"), ("1.2.3", "false")],
+        ids=["dev_version", "release_version"],
+    )
+    def it_sends_telemetry_with_correct_dev_param(
+        self, monkeypatch, telemetry_mocks, version_val, expected_dev
+    ):
+        mock_get, mock_subprocess = telemetry_mocks
+        _apply_telemetry_env(monkeypatch, {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "true"})
+        monkeypatch.setattr("unstructured.utils.__version__", version_val)
+        utils.scarf_analytics()
+        mock_get.assert_called_once()
+        mock_subprocess.assert_called_once()
+        params = mock_get.call_args[1]["params"]
+        assert params["dev"] == expected_dev
+        assert params["version"] == version_val
+        assert params["platform"] == platform.system()
+        assert params["arch"] == platform.machine()
+        assert mock_get.call_args[1]["timeout"] == 10
+
+    def it_handles_requests_exception_gracefully(self, monkeypatch, telemetry_mocks):
+        mock_get, mock_subprocess = telemetry_mocks
+        mock_get.side_effect = requests.RequestException("network error")
+        _apply_telemetry_env(monkeypatch, {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "true"})
+        utils.scarf_analytics()  # does not raise
+        mock_get.assert_called_once()
+        mock_subprocess.assert_called_once()
+        assert mock_get.call_args[0][0] == "https://packages.unstructured.io/python-telemetry"
+        assert "version" in mock_get.call_args[1]["params"]
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "exc",
+        [
+            OSError(),
+            PermissionError("nvidia-smi denied"),
+            subprocess.CalledProcessError(returncode=1, cmd=["nvidia-smi"]),
+        ],
+        ids=["OSError", "PermissionError", "CalledProcessError"],
+    )
+    def it_handles_nvidia_smi_failure_gracefully(self, monkeypatch, telemetry_mocks, exc):
+        """nvidia-smi probe failures must not propagate; telemetry still sends with gpu=False."""
+        mock_get, mock_subprocess = telemetry_mocks
+        mock_subprocess.side_effect = exc
+        _apply_telemetry_env(monkeypatch, {"UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "true"})
+        utils.scarf_analytics()  # does not raise
+        mock_get.assert_called_once()
+        assert mock_get.call_args[1]["params"]["gpu"] == "False"
+        mock_subprocess.assert_called_once_with(["nvidia-smi"], stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
+
+    def it_import_unstructured_succeeds_with_opt_out(self):
+        """Import path with opt-out env does not crash (integration-style)."""
+        project_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+        env = {k: v for k, v in os.environ.items() if k != "UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED"}
+        env.update(
+            {
+                "DO_NOT_TRACK": "1",
+                "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS": "1",
+                "UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "",
+                "PYTHONPATH": str(project_root),
+            }
+        )
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [sys.executable, "-c", "import unstructured; print('ok')"],
+            env=env,
+            cwd=project_root,
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=30,
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr or result.stdout
+        assert "ok" in result.stdout
+
+    def it_import_unstructured_runs_telemetry_once_when_opt_in(self):
+        """Import path with opt-in runs init_telemetry exactly once (patch then import)."""
+        project_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+        env = {
+            k: v
+            for k, v in os.environ.items()
+            if k not in ("DO_NOT_TRACK", "SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS", "UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED")
+        }
+        env.update(
+            {
+                "UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED": "true",
+                "PYTHONPATH": str(project_root),
+            }
+        )
+        script = """
+from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
+m_get = Mock()
+m_subprocess = Mock()
+with patch('requests.get', m_get), patch('subprocess.check_output', m_subprocess):
+    import unstructured
+exit(0 if (m_get.call_count == 1 and m_subprocess.call_count == 1) else 1)
+"""
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [sys.executable, "-c", script],
+            env=env,
+            cwd=project_root,
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=30,
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0, (
+            "Import with opt-in should run telemetry exactly once (requests.get and "
+            "subprocess.check_output each called once). "
+            f"stderr={result.stderr!r} stdout={result.stdout!r}"
+        )
diff --git a/unstructured/__init__.py b/unstructured/__init__.py
index b8f3f32f1d..0c820eaf4a 100644
--- a/unstructured/__init__.py
+++ b/unstructured/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 from .partition.utils.config import env_config
+from .telemetry import init_telemetry
 
 # init env_config
 env_config
+
+# Explicit startup boundary for telemetry (opt-in, best-effort)
+init_telemetry()
diff --git a/unstructured/__version__.py b/unstructured/__version__.py
index 1a6f7540fc..d4703816f2 100644
--- a/unstructured/__version__.py
+++ b/unstructured/__version__.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "0.21.12"  # pragma: no cover
+__version__ = "0.22.0"  # pragma: no cover
diff --git a/unstructured/logger.py b/unstructured/logger.py
index 93ba622676..b1f7c11ede 100644
--- a/unstructured/logger.py
+++ b/unstructured/logger.py
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 import logging
 
-from unstructured.utils import scarf_analytics
-
 logger = logging.getLogger("unstructured")
 trace_logger = logging.getLogger("unstructured.trace")
 
@@ -16,9 +14,5 @@ def detail(self, message, *args, **kws):
         self._log(DETAIL, message, args, **kws)
 
 
-# Note(Trevor,Crag): to opt out of scarf analytics, set the environment variable:
-# SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=true. See the README for more info.
-scarf_analytics()
-
 # Add the custom log method to the logging.Logger class
 logging.Logger.detail = detail  # type: ignore
diff --git a/unstructured/telemetry.py b/unstructured/telemetry.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d4c5969c25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unstructured/telemetry.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+"""Telemetry initializer. Called once at package startup from unstructured/__init__.py."""
+
+from unstructured.utils import scarf_analytics
+
+
+def init_telemetry() -> None:
+    """Run the analytics ping if enabled by env. Best-effort and non-fatal."""
+    scarf_analytics()
diff --git a/unstructured/utils.py b/unstructured/utils.py
index 7674cab6fe..25a8b78018 100644
--- a/unstructured/utils.py
+++ b/unstructured/utils.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import contextlib
 import functools
 import importlib
 import inspect
@@ -269,49 +270,55 @@ def only(it: Iterable[Any]) -> Any:
     return out
 
 
+def _telemetry_opt_out() -> bool:
+    """True if telemetry should be disabled via env.
+
+    DO_NOT_TRACK and SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS both follow the same rule: any non-empty
+    value (after strip) opts out. See README/CHANGELOG for the public contract.
+    """
+    return bool((os.getenv("DO_NOT_TRACK") or "").strip()) or bool(
+        (os.getenv("SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS") or "").strip()
+    )
+
+
+def _telemetry_opt_in() -> bool:
+    """True if telemetry is explicitly enabled via env. Only 'true' and '1' opt in."""
+    return (os.getenv("UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED") or "").strip().lower() in (
+        "true",
+        "1",
+    )
+
+
 def scarf_analytics():
+    """Send a lightweight analytics ping. Off by default.
+
+    Set UNSTRUCTURED_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=true to opt in.
+    Opt-out env vars (DO_NOT_TRACK, SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS): any non-empty value opts out.
+    """
+    if _telemetry_opt_out() or not _telemetry_opt_in():
+        return
+
     try:
-        subprocess.check_output("nvidia-smi")
+        subprocess.check_output(["nvidia-smi"], stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
         gpu_present = True
-    except Exception:
+    except (OSError, subprocess.CalledProcessError):
         gpu_present = False
 
     python_version = ".".join(platform.python_version().split(".")[:2])
 
-    try:
-        if os.getenv("SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS") != "true" and os.getenv("DO_NOT_TRACK") != "true":
-            if "dev" in __version__:
-                requests.get(
-                    "https://packages.unstructured.io/python-telemetry?version="
-                    + __version__
-                    + "&platform="
-                    + platform.system()
-                    + "&python"
-                    + python_version
-                    + "&arch="
-                    + platform.machine()
-                    + "&gpu="
-                    + str(gpu_present)
-                    + "&dev=true",
-                    timeout=10,
-                )
-            else:
-                requests.get(
-                    "https://packages.unstructured.io/python-telemetry?version="
-                    + __version__
-                    + "&platform="
-                    + platform.system()
-                    + "&python"
-                    + python_version
-                    + "&arch="
-                    + platform.machine()
-                    + "&gpu="
-                    + str(gpu_present)
-                    + "&dev=false",
-                    timeout=10,
-                )
-    except Exception:
-        pass
+    with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+        requests.get(
+            "https://packages.unstructured.io/python-telemetry",
+            params={
+                "version": __version__,
+                "platform": platform.system(),
+                "python": python_version,
+                "arch": platform.machine(),
+                "gpu": str(gpu_present),
+                "dev": str("dev" in __version__).lower(),
+            },
+            timeout=10,
+        )
 
 
 def ngrams(s: list[str], n: int) -> list[tuple[str, ...]]: