diff --git a/internal/api/settings.go b/internal/api/settings.go
index f44b949..3d2224c 100644
--- a/internal/api/settings.go
+++ b/internal/api/settings.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
+	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@@ -49,7 +50,15 @@ func (s *Server) HandlePutSettings(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		} `json:"settings"`
 	}
 	max := s.Cfg.Ops.MaxBodyBytes
-	if err := json.NewDecoder(http.MaxBytesReader(w, r.Body, max)).Decode(&body); err != nil {
+	dec := json.NewDecoder(http.MaxBytesReader(w, r.Body, max))
+	if err := dec.Decode(&body); err != nil {
+		writeError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "invalid JSON body")
+		return
+	}
+	// Decode stops at the end of the first value, so without this a
+	// second document, trailing rubbish, or padding past the body limit
+	// would be stored and answered 200 as if the request were clean.
+	if _, err := dec.Token(); err != io.EOF {
 		writeError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "invalid JSON body")
 		return
 	}
diff --git a/internal/api/settings_test.go b/internal/api/settings_test.go
index aa6e60f..8b258fb 100644
--- a/internal/api/settings_test.go
+++ b/internal/api/settings_test.go
@@ -389,3 +389,22 @@ func TestSettingsRejectsOversizedBatch(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("want 400 for a batch larger than the account cap, got %d %v", code, body)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestSettingsRejectsTrailingContent(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFolderFixture(t)
+
+	put := `{"settings":{"reader.font":{"value":"literata","updated_at":"2026-06-01T12:00:00Z"}}}{"settings":{}}`
+	code, body := putJSONReq(t, f.ts.URL+"/v1/me/settings", f.token, put)
+	if code != http.StatusBadRequest {
+		t.Fatalf("want 400 for a body with a second document, got %d %v", code, body)
+	}
+
+	// And nothing was stored on the way to refusing it.
+	code, body = getJSON(t, f.ts.URL+"/v1/me/settings", f.token)
+	if code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("get: %d %v", code, body)
+	}
+	if settings := body["settings"].(map[string]any); len(settings) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a refused request stored something: %v", settings)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/store/postgres/settings.go b/internal/store/postgres/settings.go
index e930ab5..8148e87 100644
--- a/internal/store/postgres/settings.go
+++ b/internal/store/postgres/settings.go
@@ -93,7 +93,11 @@ func checkSettingsQuota(ctx context.Context, tx *sql.Tx, userID string, settings
 			added++
 		}
 	}
-	if existing+added > maxPerAccount {
+	// Only a request that adds a key can be over the limit. An account
+	// already above it — because an operator lowered the cap — must
+	// still be able to replace what it has, or every key it holds is
+	// frozen with no delete route to get back under.
+	if added > 0 && existing+added > maxPerAccount {
 		return store.ErrQuotaExceeded
 	}
 	return nil