diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 158e5c871b..52a080713a 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -279,10 +279,8 @@ endforeach
 if get_option('default_library') != 'static'
   if host_machine.system() == 'windows'
     cdata.set('DLL_EXPORT', true)
-    if cc.get_id() == 'msvc'
-      cdata.set('_GDK_EXTERN', '__declspec(dllexport) extern')
-    else
-      cdata.set('_GDK_EXTERN', '__attribute__((visibility("default"))) __declspec(dllexport) extern')
+    cdata.set('_GDK_EXTERN', '__declspec(dllexport) extern')
+    if cc.get_id() != 'msvc'
       common_cflags += ['-fvisibility=hidden']
     endif
   else