Which directive is appropriate for gating privileged UI elements in Alpine.js?

When designing a user interface that includes privileged sections—such as an administrative dashboard or user-specific settings—developers must choose between x-show and x-if to control visibility based on the current user's permissions.

The x-show directive toggles the display: none CSS property, keeping the element and its children in the DOM. Conversely, x-if removes the element from the DOM entirely when the expression is false, requiring a single root element for the template.

Because Alpine.js is a client-side framework, there is uncertainty regarding the impact of these directives on the perceived security of the UI. If the server has already delivered the HTML markup to the browser, the choice of directive may only affect the DOM structure rather than the actual accessibility of the data.

Technical Constraints

• x-show preserves the state of child elements (e.g., unsaved form input).
• x-if re-initializes the subtree upon re-insertion, resetting transient state.
• Both directives rely on state already present in the client's browser.

Does x-if provide any meaningful advantage over x-show for preventing unauthorized users from inspecting privileged markup via browser developer tools? Which directive is recommended for gating UI when the goal is to minimize the footprint of sensitive elements in the DOM?