diff --git a/hugo-site/content/presentations/2026-07-17-apps-without-platforms.md b/hugo-site/content/presentations/2026-07-17-apps-without-platforms.md
index e75cc416..82f78aea 100644
--- a/hugo-site/content/presentations/2026-07-17-apps-without-platforms.md
+++ b/hugo-site/content/presentations/2026-07-17-apps-without-platforms.md
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ slides:
   - futo/renegade
   # 7. The apps
   - futo/app-status
-  - futo/river-no-backend
   - futo/private-rooms
   - futo/private-rooms-limits
   - futo/delta
@@ -52,4 +51,10 @@ slides:
   #   futo/demand-hosting       (partly-done redesign, needs hedging)
   #   futo/issue-prioritizer    (about running the project, not the thesis)
   #   futo/signal-contrast      (folded into private-rooms-limits; value-prop redundant with slides 3 and 8)
+  # RETIRED (files deleted, not recoverable by re-adding):
+  #   futo/river-no-backend     (its screenshot showed a contributor's direct-message
+  #                              list, a stale "Atlas (search engine)" topic, and a
+  #                              pinned line calling the browser version centralized,
+  #                              which #125 corrected. River is still covered by
+  #                              private-rooms and private-rooms-limits.)
 ---
diff --git a/hugo-site/static/slides/futo/river-no-backend.html b/hugo-site/static/slides/futo/river-no-backend.html
deleted file mode 100644
index 96170015..00000000
--- a/hugo-site/static/slides/futo/river-no-backend.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-<section style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 100%;">
-  <h2 style="flex-shrink: 0; margin-bottom: 0.2em; display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 0.4em;"><img src="/slides/futo/river-logo.svg" alt="" style="height: 0.95em; width: auto;">River: Group Chat With No Backend</h2>
-
-  <div style="flex: 1; display: flex; align-items: safe center; justify-content: safe center; gap: 1.8em; min-height: 0; width: 100%;">
-
-    <!-- the real app -->
-    <div style="flex: 1 1 auto; min-width: 0; height: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: safe center; justify-content: safe center; gap: 0.35em;">
-      <img src="/slides/futo/river-screenshot.png" alt="A live River room running on Freenet"
-           style="max-width: 100%; max-height: 90%; width: auto; height: auto; border-radius: 10px; border: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.15); box-shadow: 0 8px 32px rgba(0,0,0,0.45);">
-      <p style="flex-shrink: 0; font-size: 0.62em; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.5); margin: 0;">A live River room, running on Freenet today</p>
-    </div>
-
-    <!-- the differentiator -->
-    <div style="flex: 0 1 300px; min-width: 210px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 0.8em;">
-      <p style="font-size: 0.98em; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.9); margin: 0;">A normal group chat. The difference is what's <span class="highlight-green">not</span> behind it.</p>
-      <ul style="margin: 0; font-size: 0.86em; line-height: 1.5; padding-left: 1.1em;">
-        <li>No River company server</li>
-        <li>No account or phone number</li>
-        <li>The room is a contract on Freenet</li>
-        <li>Popularity adds capacity, not a server bill</li>
-      </ul>
-    </div>
-
-  </div>
-
-  <aside class="notes">
-    <p><strong>SAY (cues):</strong></p>
-    <ul>
-      <li>This is a real, active River room. Real people, real conversation, on Freenet right now.</li>
-      <li>The difference is the backend: there isn't one. The room is a contract on Freenet, not a company's server.</li>
-      <li>No account, no phone number. Nothing to hold against you.</li>
-      <li>Popularity becomes capacity, not a server bill.</li>
-    </ul>
-  </aside>
-</section>
diff --git a/hugo-site/static/slides/futo/river-screenshot.png b/hugo-site/static/slides/futo/river-screenshot.png
deleted file mode 100644
index 9e61f8bc..00000000
Binary files a/hugo-site/static/slides/futo/river-screenshot.png and /dev/null differ