diff --git a/include/sway/server.h b/include/sway/server.h
index 3d59ca562..4cce17cc4 100644
--- a/include/sway/server.h
+++ b/include/sway/server.h
@@ -148,8 +148,6 @@ struct sway_debug {
 
 extern struct sway_debug debug;
 
-/* Prepares an unprivileged server_init by performing all privileged operations in advance */
-bool server_privileged_prepare(struct sway_server *server);
 bool server_init(struct sway_server *server);
 void server_fini(struct sway_server *server);
 bool server_start(struct sway_server *server);
diff --git a/sway/main.c b/sway/main.c
index a0033c45c..a46e5231d 100644
--- a/sway/main.c
+++ b/sway/main.c
@@ -150,27 +150,17 @@ static void log_kernel(void) {
 	pclose(f);
 }
 
-
-static bool drop_permissions(void) {
-	if (getuid() != geteuid() || getgid() != getegid()) {
-		sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "!!! DEPRECATION WARNING: "
-			"SUID privilege drop will be removed in a future release, please migrate to seatd-launch");
-
-		// Set the gid and uid in the correct order.
-		if (setgid(getgid()) != 0) {
-			sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "Unable to drop root group, refusing to start");
-			return false;
-		}
-		if (setuid(getuid()) != 0) {
-			sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "Unable to drop root user, refusing to start");
-			return false;
-		}
-	}
-	if (setgid(0) != -1 || setuid(0) != -1) {
-		sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "Unable to drop root (we shouldn't be able to "
-			"restore it after setuid), refusing to start");
+static bool detect_suid(void) {
+	if (geteuid() != 0 && getegid() != 0) {
 		return false;
 	}
+
+	if (getuid() == geteuid() && getgid() == getegid()) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "SUID operation is no longer supported, refusing to start. "
+			"This check will be removed in a future release.");
 	return true;
 }
 
@@ -319,6 +309,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// SUID operation is deprecated, so block it for now.
+	if (detect_suid()) {
+		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+	}
+
 	// Since wayland requires XDG_RUNTIME_DIR to be set, abort with just the
 	// clear error message (when not running as an IPC client).
 	if (!getenv("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR") && optind == argc) {
@@ -357,9 +352,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 					"`sway -d 2>sway.log`.");
 			exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 		}
-		if (!drop_permissions()) {
-			exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
-		}
 		char *socket_path = getenv("SWAYSOCK");
 		if (!socket_path) {
 			sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "Unable to retrieve socket path");
@@ -372,16 +364,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 	}
 
 	detect_proprietary(allow_unsupported_gpu);
-
-	if (!server_privileged_prepare(&server)) {
-		return 1;
-	}
-
-	if (!drop_permissions()) {
-		server_fini(&server);
-		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
-	}
-
 	increase_nofile_limit();
 
 	// handle SIGTERM signals
diff --git a/sway/server.c b/sway/server.c
index 627d80d66..be74b3b3d 100644
--- a/sway/server.c
+++ b/sway/server.c
@@ -47,19 +47,6 @@
 #include "sway/xwayland.h"
 #endif
 
-bool server_privileged_prepare(struct sway_server *server) {
-	sway_log(SWAY_DEBUG, "Preparing Wayland server initialization");
-	server->wl_display = wl_display_create();
-	server->wl_event_loop = wl_display_get_event_loop(server->wl_display);
-	server->backend = wlr_backend_autocreate(server->wl_display);
-
-	if (!server->backend) {
-		sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "Unable to create backend");
-		return false;
-	}
-	return true;
-}
-
 static void handle_drm_lease_request(struct wl_listener *listener, void *data) {
 	/* We only offer non-desktop outputs, but in the future we might want to do
 	 * more logic here. */
@@ -76,6 +63,14 @@ static void handle_drm_lease_request(struct wl_listener *listener, void *data) {
 
 bool server_init(struct sway_server *server) {
 	sway_log(SWAY_DEBUG, "Initializing Wayland server");
+	server->wl_display = wl_display_create();
+	server->wl_event_loop = wl_display_get_event_loop(server->wl_display);
+	server->backend = wlr_backend_autocreate(server->wl_display);
+
+	if (!server->backend) {
+		sway_log(SWAY_ERROR, "Unable to create backend");
+		return false;
+	}
 
 	server->renderer = wlr_renderer_autocreate(server->backend);
 	if (!server->renderer) {