diff --git a/screen_locker/_sync_records.py b/screen_locker/_sync_records.py
index 6051850..7c965f1 100644
--- a/screen_locker/_sync_records.py
+++ b/screen_locker/_sync_records.py
@@ -55,6 +55,27 @@ def _session_records(log_json: str) -> dict[str, tuple[dict, Hlc]]:
     return _records_matching(log_json, _is_session_payload)
 
 
+def _tombstoned_ids(log_json: str) -> set[str]:
+    """Return the ids this device log marks deleted.
+
+    Collected separately from :func:`_records_matching` because suppression has
+    to be applied across the whole device union, not per file: one device
+    tombstoning a record while another still holds it live must delete it, and
+    a per-file skip would just let the live copy win the merge.
+
+    Raises the same decode errors as :func:`_records_matching`.
+    """
+    raw = json.loads(log_json)
+    if not isinstance(raw, dict):
+        msg = f"top-level sync payload is not a JSON object: {raw!r}"
+        raise TypeError(msg)
+    return {
+        record.id
+        for record in (Record.from_dict(data) for data in raw.values())
+        if record.deleted
+    }
+
+
 def _records_matching(
     log_json: str, predicate: Callable[[object], bool]
 ) -> dict[str, tuple[dict, Hlc]]:
diff --git a/screen_locker/_workout_sync.py b/screen_locker/_workout_sync.py
index ddb89df..e26c47e 100644
--- a/screen_locker/_workout_sync.py
+++ b/screen_locker/_workout_sync.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ from screen_locker._sync_records import (
     _manual_records,
     _records_matching,
     _session_records,
+    _tombstoned_ids,
 )
 from screen_locker._sync_retry import with_sync_retry
 
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ def _merge_device_records(
         return {}
 
     merged: dict[str, tuple[dict, Hlc]] = {}
+    tombstoned: set[str] = set()
     for device in devices:
         path = f"{_DEVICES_PREFIX}/{device}/log.json"
         try:
@@ -132,6 +134,7 @@ def _merge_device_records(
             continue
         try:
             records = extract(text)
+            tombstoned |= _tombstoned_ids(text)
         except (ValueError, KeyError, TypeError) as exc:
             _logger.warning("Corrupt sync data at %s: %s", path, exc)
             continue
@@ -140,6 +143,19 @@ def _merge_device_records(
             if existing is None or existing[1] < hlc:
                 merged[rid] = (payload, hlc)
 
+    # Applied after the union, not per device: one device deleting a record
+    # while another still holds it live must delete it. crdt-sync's own merge
+    # makes deletion monotonic for exactly this reason, and this reader rolls
+    # its own merge, so it has to honour the same rule itself.
+    for rid in tombstoned & merged.keys():
+        _logger.info(
+            "Synced record %s is tombstoned on another device — dropping it, "
+            "so a deleted %s stops counting here too",
+            rid,
+            what,
+        )
+        del merged[rid]
+
     return merged
 
 
diff --git a/screen_locker/tests/test_workout_sync_part6.py b/screen_locker/tests/test_workout_sync_part6.py
index aa1a9ab..b70e16b 100644
--- a/screen_locker/tests/test_workout_sync_part6.py
+++ b/screen_locker/tests/test_workout_sync_part6.py
@@ -85,6 +85,36 @@ class TestPullAllManualRecords:
             result = _workout_sync.pull_all_manual_records()
         assert [rid for rid, _ in result] == ["manual:kept"]
 
+    def test_a_tombstone_on_one_device_beats_a_live_copy_on_another(self) -> None:
+        """Suppression must apply across the union, not per device log.
+
+        The per-file skip alone was not enough: the tombstone was merely
+        absent from one device's dict while the live copy won the merge from
+        the other, so the record was ingested exactly as before.
+        """
+        _workout_sync.SYNC_TOKEN_FILE.write_text("tok")
+        hlc = Hlc(wall_time_ms=1000, counter=0, node_id="phone")
+        tombstoned = Record(
+            id="manual:dup",
+            fields={"payload": (_manual_payload(), hlc)},
+            deleted=True,
+            deleted_hlc=hlc,
+        ).to_dict()
+        client = _multi_device_client(
+            {
+                "phone": json.dumps({"x": tombstoned}),
+                "pc": json.dumps(
+                    {
+                        "y": _manual_record_dict("manual:dup", _manual_payload()),
+                        "z": _manual_record_dict("manual:keep", _manual_payload()),
+                    }
+                ),
+            }
+        )
+        with patch.object(_sync_client, "GitHubSyncClient", return_value=client):
+            result = _workout_sync.pull_all_manual_records()
+        assert [rid for rid, _ in result] == ["manual:keep"]
+
     def test_skips_missing_and_corrupt_device_logs(self) -> None:
         """Skips missing and corrupt device logs."""
         _workout_sync.SYNC_TOKEN_FILE.write_text("tok")