diff --git a/backup/backup-k8s-apps.sh b/backup/backup-k8s-apps.sh
index dc0550f..93acb00 100755
--- a/backup/backup-k8s-apps.sh
+++ b/backup/backup-k8s-apps.sh
@@ -482,6 +482,16 @@ if [ $VM_SCP_RC -eq 0 ]; then
         "${BACKUP_NAME}.tar.gz.sha256" \
         "${VM_USER}@${VM_HOST}:${VM_DEST}" 2>/dev/null || true
     TIER2_STATUS="ok"
+
+    # VM-side retention — this tier never had any pruning at all until
+    # found accumulating 85 legacy pre-k8s archives (131GB) untouched
+    # since May. Mirrors the local [TIER 1] policy above: same
+    # MAX_BACKUPS, own glob/lineage only (never touches other
+    # unrelated backup dirs also living on this VM).
+    ssh -i "$VM_KEY" -p "$VM_PORT" -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o ConnectTimeout=15 \
+        "${VM_USER}@${VM_HOST}" \
+        "cd ${VM_DEST} && ls -t myapps-k8s-backup-*.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | tail -n +$((MAX_BACKUPS + 1)) | xargs -r -I{} rm -f {} {}.sha256 {}.meta.json" \
+        &>/dev/null || true
 else
     echo "   ⚠️  VM transfer failed (rc=$VM_SCP_RC) — local backup is safe, continuing..."
     TIER2_STATUS="failed:rc=${VM_SCP_RC}"