diff --git a/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-photos/default.nix b/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-photos/default.nix
index 0a33a3bff55..9d08cc24aad 100644
--- a/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-photos/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-photos/default.nix
@@ -34,10 +34,6 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     dbus
   ];
 
-  mesonFlags = [
-    "--buildtype=plain" # don't do any git commands
-  ];
-
   postPatch = ''
     chmod +x meson_post_install.py
     patchShebangs meson_post_install.py