diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d45d7f36..33d1981b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -126,7 +126,6 @@ Usage:
 
 Flags:
       --chown string           chown the ouput directory to match the specified UID:GID
-      --tls-verify             require HTTPS and verify certificates when contacting registries (default true)
       --type string            image type to build [qcow2, ami] (default "qcow2")
       --target-arch string     architecture to build image for (default is the native architecture)
 ```
@@ -137,7 +136,6 @@ Flags:
 |-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:-------------:|
 | **--chown**       | chown the output directory to match the specified UID:GID                                                 |       ❌      |
 | **--rootfs**      | Root filesystem type. Overrides the default from the source container. Supported values: ext4, xfs, btrfs |       ❌      |
-| **--tls-verify**  | Require HTTPS and verify certificates when contacting registries                                          |    `true`     |
 | **--type**        | [Image type](#-image-types) to build                                                                      |    `qcow2`    |
 | **--target-arch** | [Target arch](#-target-architecture) to build                                                             |       ❌      |
 
diff --git a/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/image.go b/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/image.go
index e7fcdcb5..183d575f 100644
--- a/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/image.go
+++ b/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/image.go
@@ -47,9 +47,6 @@ type ManifestConfig struct {
 	// CPU architecture of the image
 	Architecture arch.Arch
 
-	// TLSVerify specifies whether HTTPS and a valid TLS certificate are required
-	TLSVerify bool
-
 	// The minimum size required for the root fs in order to fit the container
 	// contents
 	RootfsMinsize uint64
@@ -235,10 +232,9 @@ func manifestForDiskImage(c *ManifestConfig, rng *rand.Rand) (*manifest.Manifest
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("pipeline: no base image defined")
 	}
 	containerSource := container.SourceSpec{
-		Source:    c.Imgref,
-		Name:      c.Imgref,
-		TLSVerify: &c.TLSVerify,
-		Local:     true,
+		Source: c.Imgref,
+		Name:   c.Imgref,
+		Local:  true,
 	}
 
 	var customizations *blueprint.Customizations
@@ -351,10 +347,9 @@ func manifestForISO(c *ManifestConfig, rng *rand.Rand) (*manifest.Manifest, erro
 	}
 
 	containerSource := container.SourceSpec{
-		Source:    c.Imgref,
-		Name:      c.Imgref,
-		TLSVerify: &c.TLSVerify,
-		Local:     true,
+		Source: c.Imgref,
+		Name:   c.Imgref,
+		Local:  true,
 	}
 
 	// The ref is not needed and will be removed from the ctor later
diff --git a/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/main.go b/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/main.go
index cc2aa6dd..2750f0c8 100644
--- a/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/main.go
+++ b/bib/cmd/bootc-image-builder/main.go
@@ -186,7 +186,6 @@ func manifestFromCobra(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) ([]byte, *mTLSConfig,
 	imgTypes, _ := cmd.Flags().GetStringArray("type")
 	rpmCacheRoot, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString("rpmmd")
 	targetArch, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString("target-arch")
-	tlsVerify, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("tls-verify")
 	rootFs, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString("rootfs")
 
 	// If --local was given, warn in the case of --local or --local=true (true is the default), error in the case of --local=false
@@ -289,7 +288,6 @@ func manifestFromCobra(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) ([]byte, *mTLSConfig,
 		Config:           config,
 		ImageTypes:       imageTypes,
 		Imgref:           imgref,
-		TLSVerify:        tlsVerify,
 		RootfsMinsize:    cntSize * containerSizeToDiskSizeMultiplier,
 		DistroDefPaths:   distroDefPaths,
 		SourceInfo:       sourceinfo,
@@ -578,7 +576,10 @@ func buildCobraCmdline() (*cobra.Command, error) {
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(versionCmd)
 
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(manifestCmd)
-	manifestCmd.Flags().Bool("tls-verify", true, "require HTTPS and verify certificates when contacting registries")
+	manifestCmd.Flags().Bool("tls-verify", false, "DEPRECATED: require HTTPS and verify certificates when contacting registries")
+	if err := manifestCmd.Flags().MarkHidden("tls-verify"); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot hide 'tls-verify' :%w", err)
+	}
 	manifestCmd.Flags().String("rpmmd", "/rpmmd", "rpm metadata cache directory")
 	manifestCmd.Flags().String("target-arch", "", "build for the given target architecture (experimental)")
 	manifestCmd.Flags().StringArray("type", []string{"qcow2"}, fmt.Sprintf("image types to build [%s]", imagetypes.Available()))
diff --git a/test/test_opts.py b/test/test_opts.py
index 68b5cf8b..57f059b8 100644
--- a/test/test_opts.py
+++ b/test/test_opts.py
@@ -76,33 +76,6 @@ def test_opts_arch_is_same_arch_is_fine(tmp_path, build_fake_container, target_a
         assert expected_err in res.stderr
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("tls_opt,expected_cmdline", [
-    ([], "--tls-verify=true"),
-    (["--tls-verify"], "--tls-verify=true"),
-    (["--tls-verify=true"], "--tls-verify=true"),
-    (["--tls-verify=false"], "--tls-verify=false"),
-    (["--tls-verify=0"], "--tls-verify=false"),
-])
-def test_bib_tls_opts(tmp_path, container_storage, build_fake_container, tls_opt, expected_cmdline):
-    output_path = tmp_path / "output"
-    output_path.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
-
-    container_ref = "quay.io/centos-bootc/centos-bootc:stream9"
-    testutil.pull_container(container_ref)
-
-    subprocess.check_call([
-        "podman", "run", "--rm",
-        "--privileged",
-        "--security-opt", "label=type:unconfined_t",
-        "-v", f"{container_storage}:/var/lib/containers/storage",
-        "-v", f"{output_path}:/output",
-        build_fake_container,
-        container_ref,
-    ] + tls_opt)
-    podman_log = output_path / "podman.log"
-    assert expected_cmdline in podman_log.read_text()
-
-
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("with_debug", [False, True])
 def test_bib_log_level_smoke(tmp_path, container_storage, build_fake_container, with_debug):
     output_path = tmp_path / "output"