diff --git a/db_async.py b/db_async.py
index d401ec09..fecee594 100644
--- a/db_async.py
+++ b/db_async.py
@@ -143,13 +143,17 @@ async def init_db_async():
             ))
     except Exception as e:
         print(f"Warning: failed to create composite index ix_telemetry_events_char_ts: {e}")
-    # Disable parallel workers at the system level to avoid OOMs from large parallel scans
+    # Add retention and compression policies on the hypertable
     try:
-        # Apply settings outside transaction for ALTER SYSTEM
-        conn2 = engine.connect().execution_options(isolation_level="AUTOCOMMIT")
-        conn2.execute(text("ALTER SYSTEM SET max_parallel_workers_per_gather = 0"))
-        conn2.execute(text("ALTER SYSTEM SET max_parallel_workers = 0"))
-        conn2.execute(text("SELECT pg_reload_conf()"))
-        conn2.close()
+        with engine.connect().execution_options(isolation_level="AUTOCOMMIT") as conn:
+            # Retain only recent data (default 7 days or override via DB_RETENTION_DAYS)
+            days = int(os.getenv('DB_RETENTION_DAYS', '7'))
+            conn.execute(text(
+                f"SELECT add_retention_policy('telemetry_events', INTERVAL '{days} days')"
+            ))
+            # Compress chunks older than 1 day
+            conn.execute(text(
+                "SELECT add_compression_policy('telemetry_events', INTERVAL '1 day')"
+            ))
     except Exception as e:
-        print(f"Warning: failed to disable parallel workers: {e}")
\ No newline at end of file
+        print(f"Warning: failed to set retention/compression policies: {e}")
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index d2ccd29b..49925606 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -153,6 +153,7 @@ async def get_live_players():
         FROM (
             SELECT DISTINCT ON (character_name) *
             FROM telemetry_events
+            WHERE timestamp > :cutoff
             ORDER BY character_name, timestamp DESC
         ) sub
         LEFT JOIN rare_stats rs
@@ -160,7 +161,6 @@ async def get_live_players():
         LEFT JOIN rare_stats_sessions rss
           ON sub.character_name = rss.character_name
          AND sub.session_id    = rss.session_id
-        WHERE sub.timestamp > :cutoff
     """
     rows = await database.fetch_all(sql, {"cutoff": cutoff})
     players = [dict(r) for r in rows]
@@ -168,43 +168,6 @@ async def get_live_players():
     return JSONResponse(content=jsonable_encoder({"players": players}))
 
 
-@app.get("/history/")
-@app.get("/history")
-async def get_history(
-    from_ts: str | None = Query(None, alias="from"),
-    to_ts: str | None = Query(None, alias="to"),
-):
-    """Returns a time-ordered list of telemetry snapshots."""
-    # Base SQL query: fetch timestamp, character_name, kills, kills_per_hour (as kph)
-    sql = (
-        "SELECT timestamp, character_name, kills, kills_per_hour AS kph "
-        "FROM telemetry_events"
-    )
-    values: dict = {}
-    conditions: list[str] = []
-    # Apply filters if time bounds provided via 'from' and 'to' query parameters
-    if from_ts:
-        conditions.append("timestamp >= :from_ts")
-        values["from_ts"] = from_ts
-    if to_ts:
-        conditions.append("timestamp <= :to_ts")
-        values["to_ts"] = to_ts
-    # Concatenate WHERE clauses dynamically based on provided filters
-    if conditions:
-        sql += " WHERE " + " AND ".join(conditions)
-    sql += " ORDER BY timestamp"
-    rows = await database.fetch_all(sql, values)
-    data = [
-        {
-            "timestamp": row["timestamp"],
-            "character_name": row["character_name"],
-            "kills": row["kills"],
-            "kph": row["kph"],
-        }
-        for row in rows
-    ]
-    # Ensure all types (e.g. datetime) are JSON serializable
-    return JSONResponse(content=jsonable_encoder({"data": data}))
 
 
 # --- GET Trails ---------------------------------
@@ -322,25 +285,26 @@ async def ws_receive_snapshots(
                 payload.pop("type", None)
                 snap = TelemetrySnapshot.parse_obj(payload)
                 live_snapshots[snap.character_name] = snap.dict()
-                # Persist snapshot to TimescaleDB, force rares_found=0
+                # Prepare data and compute kill delta
                 db_data = snap.dict()
                 db_data['rares_found'] = 0
-                await database.execute(
-                    telemetry_events.insert().values(**db_data)
-                )
-                # Update persistent kill stats (delta per session)
                 key = (snap.session_id, snap.character_name)
                 last = ws_receive_snapshots._last_kills.get(key, 0)
                 delta = snap.kills - last
-                if delta > 0:
-                    stmt = pg_insert(char_stats).values(
-                        character_name=snap.character_name,
-                        total_kills=delta
-                    ).on_conflict_do_update(
-                        index_elements=["character_name"],
-                        set_={"total_kills": char_stats.c.total_kills + delta},
+                # Persist snapshot and any kill delta in a single transaction
+                async with database.transaction():
+                    await database.execute(
+                        telemetry_events.insert().values(**db_data)
                     )
-                    await database.execute(stmt)
+                    if delta > 0:
+                        stmt = pg_insert(char_stats).values(
+                            character_name=snap.character_name,
+                            total_kills=delta
+                        ).on_conflict_do_update(
+                            index_elements=["character_name"],
+                            set_={"total_kills": char_stats.c.total_kills + delta},
+                        )
+                        await database.execute(stmt)
                 ws_receive_snapshots._last_kills[key] = snap.kills
                 # Broadcast updated snapshot to all browser clients
                 await _broadcast_to_browser_clients(snap.dict())