diff --git a/.changeset/great-birds-work.md b/.changeset/great-birds-work.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b72d78585
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/great-birds-work.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@livekit/protocol": patch
+---
+
+add local protojson with permissive defaults
diff --git a/.golangci.yml b/.golangci.yml
index 8fc7a14e7..118a9463b 100644
--- a/.golangci.yml
+++ b/.golangci.yml
@@ -2,8 +2,18 @@ version: "2"
 linters:
   default: none
   enable:
+    - depguard
     - staticcheck
   settings:
+    depguard:
+      rules:
+        protojson:
+          files:
+            - "$all"
+            - "!**/utils/protojson/**"
+          deny:
+            - pkg: google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson
+              desc: use github.com/livekit/protocol/utils/protojson instead — it sets DiscardUnknown by default to avoid schema-drift footguns
     staticcheck:
       checks:
         - "all"
@@ -14,3 +24,5 @@ linters:
         - "-ST1022"
         - "-SA1019"
         - "-QF1008"
+  exclusions:
+    generated: strict
diff --git a/auth/grants.go b/auth/grants.go
index 8fc0bf00a..69719f7b9 100644
--- a/auth/grants.go
+++ b/auth/grants.go
@@ -22,25 +22,15 @@ import (
 	"go.uber.org/zap"
 	"go.uber.org/zap/zapcore"
 	"golang.org/x/exp/slices"
-	"google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson"
 
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/livekit"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/logger"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils"
+	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils/protojson"
 )
 
 type RoomConfiguration livekit.RoomConfiguration
 
-var tokenMarshaler = protojson.MarshalOptions{
-	EmitDefaultValues: false,
-}
-
-// tokenUnmarshaler discards unknown fields so that older servers can accept
-// tokens issued by newer clients that include fields the server does not yet know about.
-var tokenUnmarshaler = protojson.UnmarshalOptions{
-	DiscardUnknown: true,
-}
-
 var ErrSensitiveCredentials = errors.New("room configuration should not contain sensitive credentials")
 
 func (c *RoomConfiguration) Clone() *RoomConfiguration {
@@ -51,11 +41,11 @@ func (c *RoomConfiguration) Clone() *RoomConfiguration {
 }
 
 func (c *RoomConfiguration) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
-	return tokenMarshaler.Marshal((*livekit.RoomConfiguration)(c))
+	return protojson.Marshal((*livekit.RoomConfiguration)(c))
 }
 
 func (c *RoomConfiguration) UnmarshalJSON(data []byte) error {
-	return tokenUnmarshaler.Unmarshal(data, (*livekit.RoomConfiguration)(c))
+	return protojson.Unmarshal(data, (*livekit.RoomConfiguration)(c))
 }
 
 // CheckCredentials checks if the room configuration contains sensitive credentials
diff --git a/observability/egressobs/egress.go b/observability/egressobs/egress.go
index a95abef49..3a1b5872f 100644
--- a/observability/egressobs/egress.go
+++ b/observability/egressobs/egress.go
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ package egressobs
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 
-	"google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson"
+	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils/protojson"
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
diff --git a/utils/interceptors/curl.go b/utils/interceptors/curl.go
index d64adf2cb..4169dcf27 100644
--- a/utils/interceptors/curl.go
+++ b/utils/interceptors/curl.go
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@ import (
 	"sort"
 
 	"github.com/twitchtv/twirp"
-	"google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
+
+	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils/protojson"
 )
 
 // NewCurlPrinter creates a Twirp interceptor that prints a curl commands for each request made.
diff --git a/utils/protojson/protojson.go b/utils/protojson/protojson.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a4496bb2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/protojson/protojson.go
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+// Copyright 2019 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package protojson
+
+import (
+	"google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson"
+	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
+)
+
+type MarshalOptions = protojson.MarshalOptions
+type UnmarshalOptions = protojson.UnmarshalOptions
+
+// Format formats the message as a multiline string.
+// This function is only intended for human consumption and ignores errors.
+// Do not depend on the output being stable. Its output will change across
+// different builds of your program, even when using the same version of the
+// protobuf module.
+func Format(m proto.Message) string {
+	return MarshalOptions{
+		Multiline:    true,
+		AllowPartial: true,
+	}.Format(m)
+}
+
+// Marshal writes the given [proto.Message] in JSON format using permissive
+// options that avoid errors due to schema drift. Do not depend on the output
+// being stable. Its output will change across different builds of your program,
+// even when using the same version of the protobuf module.
+func Marshal(m proto.Message) ([]byte, error) {
+	return MarshalOptions{
+		AllowPartial: true,
+	}.Marshal(m)
+}
+
+// Unmarshal reads the given []byte into the given [proto.Message] using
+// permissive options that avoid errors due to schema drift. The provided
+// message must be mutable (e.g., a non-nil pointer to a message).
+func Unmarshal(b []byte, m proto.Message) error {
+	return UnmarshalOptions{
+		AllowPartial:   true,
+		DiscardUnknown: true,
+	}.Unmarshal(b, m)
+}
diff --git a/webhook/resource_url_notifier.go b/webhook/resource_url_notifier.go
index 8b88b38fc..895f9ed76 100644
--- a/webhook/resource_url_notifier.go
+++ b/webhook/resource_url_notifier.go
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/frostbyte73/core"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-retryablehttp"
-	"google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson"
 
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/auth"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/livekit"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/logger"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils"
+	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils/protojson"
 )
 
 const (
diff --git a/webhook/url_notifier.go b/webhook/url_notifier.go
index 9317878e1..ee96c376f 100644
--- a/webhook/url_notifier.go
+++ b/webhook/url_notifier.go
@@ -28,11 +28,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/frostbyte73/core"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-retryablehttp"
 	"go.uber.org/atomic"
-	"google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson"
 
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/auth"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/livekit"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/logger"
+	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils/protojson"
 )
 
 type URLNotifierConfig struct {
diff --git a/webhook/verifier.go b/webhook/verifier.go
index 69eda2111..45c24297f 100644
--- a/webhook/verifier.go
+++ b/webhook/verifier.go
@@ -21,10 +21,9 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 
-	"google.golang.org/protobuf/encoding/protojson"
-
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/auth"
 	"github.com/livekit/protocol/livekit"
+	"github.com/livekit/protocol/utils/protojson"
 )
 
 // Receive reads and verifies incoming webhook is signed with key/secret pair