diff --git a/.github/chainguard/self.issue-labeler.sts.yaml b/.github/chainguard/self.issue-labeler.sts.yaml
index 3ccb92d951..88b0ea24a6 100644
--- a/.github/chainguard/self.issue-labeler.sts.yaml
+++ b/.github/chainguard/self.issue-labeler.sts.yaml
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ subject: repo:DataDog/datadog-ci:ref:refs/heads/master
 claim_pattern:
   event_name: issues
   ref: refs/heads/master
-  ref_protected: "true"
   job_workflow_ref: DataDog/datadog-ci/\.github/workflows/issue-labeler\.yml@refs/heads/master
 
 # https://docs.github.com/en/rest/issues/labels?apiVersion=2022-11-28#add-labels-to-an-issue