diff --git a/update.py b/update.py
index ed504a0..343a6df 100644
--- a/update.py
+++ b/update.py
@@ -337,11 +337,6 @@ def main():
         update_code()
         deps()                  # ensure deps every explicit run (cheap if satisfied)
         ensure_tesseract(cfg)
-        for hb in glob.glob(os.path.join(HERE, ".hb_*")):   # re-announce heartbeats
-            try:
-                os.remove(hb)
-            except Exception:
-                pass
         start_watchers(cfg)
         ensure_logon_autostart()
         ensure_daily_task()