diff --git a/auth.php b/auth.php
index d63db01..eb0f40c 100644
--- a/auth.php
+++ b/auth.php
@@ -38,15 +38,9 @@ function authenticate() {
  * @return bool True if development mode
  */
 function isDevelopmentMode() {
-    // Require DEV_MODE env var to be explicitly set for localhost bypass
+    // DEV_MODE env var explicitly bypasses auth (set in Apache/env config)
     $dev_mode = getenv('DEV_MODE');
-    if ($dev_mode !== 'true' && $dev_mode !== '1') {
-        return false;
-    }
-    $host = $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] ?? $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] ?? 'unknown';
-    // Match localhost or 127.0.0.1 on any port
-    $hostname = explode(':', $host)[0];
-    return in_array($hostname, ['localhost', '127.0.0.1']);
+    return ($dev_mode === 'true' || $dev_mode === '1');
 }
 
 /**