diff --git a/src/core/SkGlyph.h b/src/core/SkGlyph.h
index fe5787b852..2633d6738f 100644
--- a/src/core/SkGlyph.h
+++ b/src/core/SkGlyph.h
@@ -203,15 +203,13 @@ public:
     int16_t   fTop  = 0,
               fLeft = 0;
 
-    // Used by the GDI scaler to track state.
-    int8_t    fForceBW = 0;
-
     // This is a combination of SkMask::Format and SkGlyph state. The SkGlyph can be in one of two
     // states, just the advances have been calculated, and all the metrics are available. The
     // illegal mask format is used to signal that only the advances are available.
     uint8_t   fMaskFormat = MASK_FORMAT_UNKNOWN;
 
 private:
+    friend class SkScalerContext_DW;
 
     // Support horizontal and vertical skipping strike-through / underlines.
     // The caller walks the linked list looking for a match. For a horizontal underline,
@@ -230,6 +228,9 @@ private:
         bool       fHasPath{false};
     };
 
+    // Used by the DirectWrite scaler to track state.
+    int8_t    fForceBW = 0;
+
     // TODO(herb) remove friend statement after SkStrike cleanup.
     friend class SkStrike;
     SkPackedGlyphID fID;
diff --git a/src/core/SkRemoteGlyphCache.cpp b/src/core/SkRemoteGlyphCache.cpp
index c142bd0923..ec098f9c0f 100644
--- a/src/core/SkRemoteGlyphCache.cpp
+++ b/src/core/SkRemoteGlyphCache.cpp
@@ -458,6 +458,8 @@ void SkStrikeServer::SkGlyphCacheState::addGlyph(SkPackedGlyphID glyph, bool asP
     pending->push_back(glyph);
 }
 
+// No need to write fForceBW because it is a flag private to SkScalerContext_DW, which will never
+// be called on the GPU side.
 static void writeGlyph(SkGlyph* glyph, Serializer* serializer) {
     serializer->write<SkPackedGlyphID>(glyph->getPackedID());
     serializer->write<float>(glyph->fAdvanceX);
@@ -466,7 +468,6 @@ static void writeGlyph(SkGlyph* glyph, Serializer* serializer) {
     serializer->write<uint16_t>(glyph->fHeight);
     serializer->write<int16_t>(glyph->fTop);
     serializer->write<int16_t>(glyph->fLeft);
-    serializer->write<int8_t>(glyph->fForceBW);
     serializer->write<uint8_t>(glyph->fMaskFormat);
 }
 
@@ -703,6 +704,8 @@ SkStrikeClient::~SkStrikeClient() = default;
         return false;                                               \
     }
 
+// No need to read fForceBW because it is a flag private to SkScalerContext_DW, which will never
+// be called on the GPU side.
 static bool readGlyph(SkTLazy<SkGlyph>& glyph, Deserializer* deserializer) {
     SkPackedGlyphID glyphID;
     if (!deserializer->read<SkPackedGlyphID>(&glyphID)) return false;
@@ -713,7 +716,6 @@ static bool readGlyph(SkTLazy<SkGlyph>& glyph, Deserializer* deserializer) {
     if (!deserializer->read<uint16_t>(&glyph->fHeight)) return false;
     if (!deserializer->read<int16_t>(&glyph->fTop)) return false;
     if (!deserializer->read<int16_t>(&glyph->fLeft)) return false;
-    if (!deserializer->read<int8_t>(&glyph->fForceBW)) return false;
     if (!deserializer->read<uint8_t>(&glyph->fMaskFormat)) return false;
     if (!SkMask::IsValidFormat(glyph->fMaskFormat)) return false;