diff --git a/gcloud-java-core/src/main/java/com/google/gcloud/ServiceOptions.java b/gcloud-java-core/src/main/java/com/google/gcloud/ServiceOptions.java
index d91b3c35c8dd..c1c3463879f0 100644
--- a/gcloud-java-core/src/main/java/com/google/gcloud/ServiceOptions.java
+++ b/gcloud-java-core/src/main/java/com/google/gcloud/ServiceOptions.java
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ protected ServiceOptions(Class<? extends ServiceFactory<ServiceT, OptionsT>> ser
    *
    * @return true if a project ID is required to use the service, false if not.
    */
-  public boolean projectIdRequired() {
+  protected boolean projectIdRequired() {
     return true;
   }