diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/update-check.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/update-check.yaml
index 0408c95..fa12328 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/update-check.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/update-check.yaml
@@ -85,13 +85,11 @@ jobs:
           echo "Latest Flutter stable: $LATEST"
           echo "new_version=$LATEST" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-          # Check if a release with this tag already exists (use -sS, not -f, so 404 doesn't fail)
-          EXISTING=$(curl -sS \
-            -H "Authorization: token ${{ secrets.GITEA_TOKEN }}" \
-            "${{ github.server_url }}/api/v1/repos/${{ github.repository }}/releases/tags/v${LATEST}" \
-            | jq -r '.tag_name // empty')
+          # Check if a release with this tag already exists (unauthenticated, HTTP status only)
+          STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
+            "${{ github.server_url }}/api/v1/repos/${{ github.repository }}/releases/tags/v${LATEST}")
 
-          if [ -n "$EXISTING" ]; then
+          if [ "$STATUS" = "200" ]; then
             echo "Release v${LATEST} already exists, skipping"
             echo "has_new=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           else