diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index e174c81..f007341 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -77,6 +77,10 @@ class Conf {
   static get testDatabaseUrl(): string {
     return Deno.env.get('TEST_DATABASE_URL') ?? 'memory://';
   }
+  /** PGlite debug level. 0 disables logging. */
+  static get pgliteDebug(): 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 {
+    return Number(Deno.env.get('PGLITE_DEBUG') || 0) as 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5;
+  }
   static db = {
     /** Database query timeout configurations. */
     timeouts: {
diff --git a/src/controllers/api/accounts.ts b/src/controllers/api/accounts.ts
index c946b69..e5037a0 100644
--- a/src/controllers/api/accounts.ts
+++ b/src/controllers/api/accounts.ts
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ const followersController: AppController = (c) => {
 const followingController: AppController = async (c) => {
   const pubkey = c.req.param('pubkey');
   const pubkeys = await getFollowedPubkeys(pubkey);
-  return renderAccounts(c, pubkeys);
+  return renderAccounts(c, [...pubkeys]);
 };
 
 /** https://docs.joinmastodon.org/methods/accounts/#block */
@@ -460,7 +460,7 @@ const familiarFollowersController: AppController = async (c) => {
   const follows = await getFollowedPubkeys(pubkey);
 
   const results = await Promise.all(ids.map(async (id) => {
-    const followLists = await store.query([{ kinds: [3], authors: follows, '#p': [id] }])
+    const followLists = await store.query([{ kinds: [3], authors: [...follows], '#p': [id] }])
       .then((events) => hydrateEvents({ events, store }));
 
     const accounts = await Promise.all(
diff --git a/src/controllers/api/streaming.ts b/src/controllers/api/streaming.ts
index 23a9440..adee37b 100644
--- a/src/controllers/api/streaming.ts
+++ b/src/controllers/api/streaming.ts
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ async function topicToFilter(
       // HACK: this puts the user's entire contacts list into RAM,
       // and then calls `matchFilters` over it. Refreshing the page
       // is required after following a new user.
-      return pubkey ? { kinds: [1, 6, 9735], authors: await getFeedPubkeys(pubkey) } : undefined;
+      return pubkey ? { kinds: [1, 6], authors: [...await getFeedPubkeys(pubkey)] } : undefined;
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/controllers/api/timelines.ts b/src/controllers/api/timelines.ts
index 5fce460..483676e 100644
--- a/src/controllers/api/timelines.ts
+++ b/src/controllers/api/timelines.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import { renderReblog, renderStatus } from '@/views/mastodon/statuses.ts';
 const homeTimelineController: AppController = async (c) => {
   const params = c.get('pagination');
   const pubkey = await c.get('signer')?.getPublicKey()!;
-  const authors = await getFeedPubkeys(pubkey);
+  const authors = [...await getFeedPubkeys(pubkey)];
   return renderStatuses(c, [{ authors, kinds: [1, 6], ...params }]);
 };
 
diff --git a/src/db/DittoDB.ts b/src/db/DittoDB.ts
index 445c3da..923a109 100644
--- a/src/db/DittoDB.ts
+++ b/src/db/DittoDB.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ export class DittoDB {
     switch (protocol) {
       case 'file:':
       case 'memory:':
-        return DittoPglite.create(databaseUrl);
+        return DittoPglite.create(databaseUrl, opts);
       case 'postgres:':
       case 'postgresql:':
         return DittoPostgres.create(databaseUrl, opts);
diff --git a/src/db/DittoDatabase.ts b/src/db/DittoDatabase.ts
index 530d939..ec9a103 100644
--- a/src/db/DittoDatabase.ts
+++ b/src/db/DittoDatabase.ts
@@ -10,4 +10,5 @@ export interface DittoDatabase {
 
 export interface DittoDatabaseOpts {
   poolSize?: number;
+  debug?: 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5;
 }
diff --git a/src/db/adapters/DittoPglite.ts b/src/db/adapters/DittoPglite.ts
index 0e93075..2455fc3 100644
--- a/src/db/adapters/DittoPglite.ts
+++ b/src/db/adapters/DittoPglite.ts
@@ -3,15 +3,18 @@ import { pg_trgm } from '@electric-sql/pglite/contrib/pg_trgm';
 import { PgliteDialect } from '@soapbox/kysely-pglite';
 import { Kysely } from 'kysely';
 
-import { DittoDatabase } from '@/db/DittoDatabase.ts';
+import { DittoDatabase, DittoDatabaseOpts } from '@/db/DittoDatabase.ts';
 import { DittoTables } from '@/db/DittoTables.ts';
 import { KyselyLogger } from '@/db/KyselyLogger.ts';
 
 export class DittoPglite {
-  static create(databaseUrl: string): DittoDatabase {
+  static create(databaseUrl: string, opts?: DittoDatabaseOpts): DittoDatabase {
     const kysely = new Kysely<DittoTables>({
       dialect: new PgliteDialect({
-        database: new PGlite(databaseUrl, { extensions: { pg_trgm } }),
+        database: new PGlite(databaseUrl, {
+          extensions: { pg_trgm },
+          debug: opts?.debug,
+        }),
       }),
       log: KyselyLogger,
     });
diff --git a/src/pipeline.ts b/src/pipeline.ts
index 8ca7ae5..aaa6ca0 100644
--- a/src/pipeline.ts
+++ b/src/pipeline.ts
@@ -40,9 +40,14 @@ async function handleEvent(event: DittoEvent, signal: AbortSignal): Promise<void
   if (!(await verifyEventWorker(event))) return;
   if (encounterEvent(event)) return;
   if (await existsInDB(event)) return;
+
   debug(`NostrEvent<${event.kind}> ${event.id}`);
   pipelineEventsCounter.inc({ kind: event.kind });
 
+  if (isProtectedEvent(event)) {
+    throw new RelayError('invalid', 'protected event');
+  }
+
   if (event.kind !== 24133) {
     await policyFilter(event);
   }
@@ -103,6 +108,11 @@ async function existsInDB(event: DittoEvent): Promise<boolean> {
   return events.length > 0;
 }
 
+/** Check whether the event has a NIP-70 `-` tag. */
+function isProtectedEvent(event: NostrEvent): boolean {
+  return event.tags.some(([name]) => name === '-');
+}
+
 /** Hydrate the event with the user, if applicable. */
 async function hydrateEvent(event: DittoEvent, signal: AbortSignal): Promise<void> {
   await hydrateEvents({ events: [event], store: await Storages.db(), signal });
diff --git a/src/queries.ts b/src/queries.ts
index 9ee86a3..3ca805a 100644
--- a/src/queries.ts
+++ b/src/queries.ts
@@ -56,16 +56,16 @@ const getFollows = async (pubkey: string, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<NostrEv
 };
 
 /** Get pubkeys the user follows. */
-async function getFollowedPubkeys(pubkey: string, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<string[]> {
+async function getFollowedPubkeys(pubkey: string, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<Set<string>> {
   const event = await getFollows(pubkey, signal);
-  if (!event) return [];
-  return [...getTagSet(event.tags, 'p')];
+  if (!event) return new Set();
+  return getTagSet(event.tags, 'p');
 }
 
 /** Get pubkeys the user follows, including the user's own pubkey. */
-async function getFeedPubkeys(pubkey: string): Promise<string[]> {
+async function getFeedPubkeys(pubkey: string): Promise<Set<string>> {
   const authors = await getFollowedPubkeys(pubkey);
-  return [...authors, pubkey];
+  return authors.add(pubkey);
 }
 
 async function getAncestors(store: NStore, event: NostrEvent, result: NostrEvent[] = []): Promise<NostrEvent[]> {
diff --git a/src/storages.ts b/src/storages.ts
index cbafd5a..073b613 100644
--- a/src/storages.ts
+++ b/src/storages.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@ export class Storages {
   public static async database(): Promise<DittoDatabase> {
     if (!this._database) {
       this._database = (async () => {
-        const db = DittoDB.create(Conf.databaseUrl, { poolSize: Conf.pg.poolSize });
+        const db = DittoDB.create(Conf.databaseUrl, {
+          poolSize: Conf.pg.poolSize,
+          debug: Conf.pgliteDebug,
+        });
         await DittoDB.migrate(db.kysely);
         return db;
       })();