diff --git a/src/anonymization.test.ts b/src/anonymization.test.ts
index 7b286cd..0fec26c 100644
--- a/src/anonymization.test.ts
+++ b/src/anonymization.test.ts
@@ -365,3 +365,61 @@ describe('non-schema-aware mode', () => {
     expect(result.note).toBe('[REDACTED]');
   });
 });
+
+describe('message entity from/to names', () => {
+  const message = {
+    _id: 'm1',
+    _schema: 'message',
+    from: { name: 'Max Mustermann', address: 'max@example.com' },
+    to: [
+      { name: 'Erika Musterfrau', address: 'erika@example.com' },
+      { name: 'Hans Beispiel', address: 'hans@example.com' },
+    ],
+  };
+
+  it('pseudonymizes from.name and every to[].name without a schema', () => {
+    const out = anonymizer.anonymizeEntity({ entity: message, schema: null }) as any;
+    expect(out.from.name).not.toBe('Max Mustermann');
+    expect(out.to[0].name).not.toBe('Erika Musterfrau');
+    expect(out.to[1].name).not.toBe('Hans Beispiel');
+    expect(JSON.stringify(out)).not.toMatch(/example\.com/);
+    expect(out._id).toBe('m1');
+  });
+
+  it('is deterministic', () => {
+    const a = anonymizer.anonymizeEntity({ entity: message, schema: null }) as any;
+    const b = anonymizer.anonymizeEntity({ entity: message, schema: null }) as any;
+    expect(a.from.name).toBe(b.from.name);
+  });
+
+  it('cannot be opted out via data_classification public or keep overrides', () => {
+    const schema: Schema = {
+      slug: 'message',
+      attributes: [
+        { name: 'from', type: 'string', data_classification: 'public' },
+        { name: 'to', type: 'string', data_classification: 'public' },
+      ],
+    };
+    const custom = createAnonymizer({ orgId: '123', secret: 'test-secret', overrides: { 'message:to': 'keep' } });
+    const out = custom.anonymizeEntity({ entity: message, schema }) as any;
+    expect(out.from.name).not.toBe('Max Mustermann');
+    expect(out.to[0].name).not.toBe('Erika Musterfrau');
+  });
+
+  it('handles single-object to, bare strings, empty and null values', () => {
+    const out = anonymizer.anonymizeEntity({
+      entity: { _schema: 'message', from: 'Max Mustermann', to: { name: 'Erika Musterfrau' } },
+      schema: null,
+    }) as any;
+    expect(out.from).not.toBe('Max Mustermann');
+    expect(out.to.name).not.toBe('Erika Musterfrau');
+    const edge = anonymizer.anonymizeEntity({ entity: { _schema: 'message', from: null, to: [] }, schema: null }) as any;
+    expect(edge.from).toBeNull();
+    expect(edge.to).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('does not affect from/to on other schemas', () => {
+    const out = anonymizer.anonymizeEntity({ entity: { _schema: 'ticket', from: { name: 'Berlin' } }, schema: null }) as any;
+    expect(out.from.name).toBe('Berlin');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/entity.ts b/src/entity.ts
index 8dacd71..579ada2 100644
--- a/src/entity.ts
+++ b/src/entity.ts
@@ -90,6 +90,13 @@ export const anonymizeEntity = <T extends EntityLike>(params: {
       continue;
     }
 
+    // message sender/recipient names are always pseudonymized, regardless of schema
+    // classification or overrides (not even `data_classification: 'public'` opts them out)
+    if (slug === 'message' && MESSAGE_PARTY_KEYS.includes(key)) {
+      result[key] = anonymizeMessageParty(value, pseudonymizer);
+      continue;
+    }
+
     const attribute = key === '_title' ? undefined : attributesByName.get(key);
     // _title is computed from attributes and can carry PII (e.g. contact names)
     const strategy = getAttributeStrategy({ slug, attributeName: key, attribute, overrides });
@@ -113,6 +120,39 @@ export const anonymizeEntity = <T extends EntityLike>(params: {
   return result as T;
 };
 
+/** message entity attributes holding sender (`from`) / recipient (`to`) parties */
+const MESSAGE_PARTY_KEYS = ['from', 'to'];
+
+/**
+ * Anonymize a message party (`{ name, address }`, a single object or an array of them).
+ * `name` is always pseudonymized; any other string (e.g. the email `address`) is scrubbed of
+ * embedded identifiers. A bare string is pseudonymized as an identifier or a person name.
+ */
+const anonymizeMessageParty = (value: unknown, pseudonymizer: Pseudonymizer): unknown => {
+  if (typeof value === 'string') {
+    return value.includes('@') ? pseudonymizer.scrubText(value) : value ? pseudonymizer.person(value) : value;
+  }
+
+  if (Array.isArray(value)) {
+    return value.map((item) => anonymizeMessageParty(item, pseudonymizer));
+  }
+
+  if (!isPlainObject(value)) {
+    return value;
+  }
+
+  return mapEntries(value, (val, key) => {
+    if (SYSTEM_KEEP_KEYS.includes(key)) {
+      return val;
+    }
+    if (key.toLowerCase() === 'name') {
+      return mapStringLeaves(val, (str) => pseudonymizer.person(str));
+    }
+
+    return mapStringLeaves(val, (str) => pseudonymizer.scrubText(str));
+  });
+};
+
 /** true when the org deliberately opted a field out of anonymization (never re-scrub it) */
 const isExplicitlyKept = (params: {
   slug: string;