From f3717206ea14ae142bff136bff72c24ddb925dd5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Alexander Dinauer <alexander.dinauer@sentry.io>
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:13:20 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] explain sampling

---
 .../java/common/opentelemetry/setup/otlp.mdx         | 12 +++++++++++-
 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/docs/platforms/java/common/opentelemetry/setup/otlp.mdx b/docs/platforms/java/common/opentelemetry/setup/otlp.mdx
index eeabeb045e614..82452dcc4fb13 100644
--- a/docs/platforms/java/common/opentelemetry/setup/otlp.mdx
+++ b/docs/platforms/java/common/opentelemetry/setup/otlp.mdx
@@ -120,4 +120,14 @@ public class SentryConfig {
 }
 ```
 
-</PlatformSection>
\ No newline at end of file
+</PlatformSection>
+
+## Sampling
+
+The Sentry propagator inherits the sampling decision from the incoming `sentry-trace` header. When no sampling flag is present (deferred decision), it defaults to sampled.
+
+<Alert level="warning" title="Deferred Sampling">
+
+If you need to control sampling for deferred traces, you have to implement a custom OpenTelemetry `Sampler`.
+
+</Alert>
\ No newline at end of file