diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/gateway/PrimaryShardAllocator.java b/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/gateway/PrimaryShardAllocator.java
index 37fdee2e4e8c5..ef9999df03a4f 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/gateway/PrimaryShardAllocator.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/opensearch/gateway/PrimaryShardAllocator.java
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ protected NodeShardsResult buildNodeShardsResult(
         return new NodeShardsResult(nodeShardStates, numberOfAllocationsFound);
     }
 
-    protected static Comparator<NodeShardState> createActiveShardComparator(boolean matchAnyShard, Set<String> inSyncAllocationIds) {
+    private static Comparator<NodeShardState> createActiveShardComparator(boolean matchAnyShard, Set<String> inSyncAllocationIds) {
         /**
          * Orders the active shards copies based on below comparators
          * 1. No store exception i.e. shard copy is readable