diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 99f96cb..fe5f6f6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+## [2.6.1](https://github.com/Automattic/republication-tracker-tool/compare/v2.6.0...v2.6.1) (2025-09-11)
+
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+* remove license statement from widget ([15aa1be](https://github.com/Automattic/republication-tracker-tool/commit/15aa1bed79a80e4122f94cda7a5f448c04c4321f))
+
 # [2.6.0](https://github.com/Automattic/republication-tracker-tool/compare/v2.5.2...v2.6.0) (2025-09-08)
 
 
diff --git a/includes/class-widget.php b/includes/class-widget.php
index 91742f3..e833146 100644
--- a/includes/class-widget.php
+++ b/includes/class-widget.php
@@ -45,8 +45,6 @@ public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
 
 		$using_license = isset( REPUBLICATION_TRACKER_TOOL_LICENSES[ $license_key ] );
 
-		$license_statement = get_option( 'republication_tracker_tool_policy' );
-
 		// our post `republication-tracker-tool-hide-widget` meta is our default filter value
 		$hide_republication_widget_on_post = apply_filters( 'hide_republication_widget', get_post_meta( $post->ID, 'republication-tracker-tool-hide-widget', true ), $post );
 
@@ -96,8 +94,6 @@ public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
 			);
 		}
 
-		echo "<div class=\"message\">$license_statement</div>";
-
 		echo '</div>';
 
 		echo sprintf(
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index ce2efbc..04ce886 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
 	"name": "republication-tracker-tool",
-	"version": "2.6.0",
+	"version": "2.6.1",
 	"lockfileVersion": 3,
 	"requires": true,
 	"packages": {
 		"": {
 			"name": "republication-tracker-tool",
-			"version": "2.6.0",
+			"version": "2.6.1",
 			"license": "GPL-2.0-or-later",
 			"devDependencies": {
 				"grunt": "~1.6.1",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f80df8b..7cbb467 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "republication-tracker-tool",
-	"version": "2.6.0",
+	"version": "2.6.1",
 	"main": "Gruntfile.js",
 	"author": "Automattic",
 	"scripts": {
diff --git a/republication-tracker-tool.php b/republication-tracker-tool.php
index 668bdc3..b830b64 100644
--- a/republication-tracker-tool.php
+++ b/republication-tracker-tool.php
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
  * Author URI:      https://labs.inn.org
  * Text Domain:     republication-tracker-tool
  * Domain Path:     /languages
- * Version:         2.6.0
+ * Version:         2.6.1
  *
  * @package         Republication_Tracker_Tool
  */