diff --git a/packages/svelte/src/internal/server/dev.js b/packages/svelte/src/internal/server/dev.js
index 2e40822705..efc761d7c5 100644
--- a/packages/svelte/src/internal/server/dev.js
+++ b/packages/svelte/src/internal/server/dev.js
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import { HeadPayload, Payload } from './payload.js';
 let parent = null;
 
 /** @type {Set<string>} */
-export let seen;
+let seen;
 
 /**
  * @param {Payload} payload
diff --git a/packages/svelte/tests/runtime-legacy/shared.ts b/packages/svelte/tests/runtime-legacy/shared.ts
index d7a06385fc..b6720a0ae6 100644
--- a/packages/svelte/tests/runtime-legacy/shared.ts
+++ b/packages/svelte/tests/runtime-legacy/shared.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import { setup_html_equal } from '../html_equal.js';
 import { raf } from '../animation-helpers.js';
 import type { CompileOptions } from '#compiler';
 import { suite_with_variants, type BaseTest } from '../suite.js';
-import { seen } from '../../src/internal/server/dev.js';
 
 type Assert = typeof import('vitest').assert & {
 	htmlEqual(a: string, b: string, description?: string): void;
@@ -284,8 +283,6 @@ async function run_test_variant(
 
 		if (variant === 'hydrate' || variant === 'ssr') {
 			config.before_test?.();
-			// we need to clear the seen messages between tests
-			seen?.clear?.();
 			// ssr into target
 			const SsrSvelteComponent = (await import(`${cwd}/_output/server/main.svelte.js`)).default;
 			const { html, head } = render(SsrSvelteComponent, {