diff --git a/.github/workflows/backflow-reusable.yml b/.github/workflows/backflow-reusable.yml
index e991562..bcadd2e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/backflow-reusable.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/backflow-reusable.yml
@@ -308,12 +308,12 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
-          gh label create "backflow:merge-commit" --repo "$REPO" --color 0e8a16 \
-            --description "Backflow PR: merge commit only (never squash)" \
-            2>/dev/null || true
-          gh pr edit "$prnum" --repo "$REPO" --add-label "backflow:merge-commit" \
-            2>/tmp/label-err.txt \
-            || echo "::warning::Could not add backflow:merge-commit to #$prnum ($(cat /tmp/label-err.txt))"
+          # Do not apply backflow:merge-commit. That label is a human acknowledgment
+          # ("I will merge with a merge commit, not squash"). The App stamping it
+          # would forge the ack. The caller's merge-method guard passes this PR
+          # when the author is revfleet-backflow[bot] and the head is
+          # chore/backflow-main-into-test. Hand-rolled backflows still need the
+          # label. Ancestry mode still fails a squash after the fact.
 
           # Enable auto-merge with MERGE only (never squash/rebase).
           # Requires repo allow_auto_merge=true. Failure is a warning; body still documents --merge.