diff --git a/cmd/kosli/createFlow.go b/cmd/kosli/createFlow.go
index 174647b0d..6581a8c4a 100644
--- a/cmd/kosli/createFlow.go
+++ b/cmd/kosli/createFlow.go
@@ -47,11 +47,10 @@ type createFlowOptions struct {
 type FlowPayload struct {
 	Name        string `json:"name"`
 	Description string `json:"description"`
-	// TODO: Visibility is deprecated and ignored by recent Kosli servers, but older
-	// instances still reject the payload without it. Keep sending
-	// "private" until the minimum supported server version no longer requires
-	// this field, then remove the field and the assignment in run().
-	Visibility string   `json:"visibility"`
+	// Visibility is deprecated. It is only sent when the user explicitly passes
+	// the deprecated --visibility flag, so that older instances that still
+	// require the field keep working.
+	Visibility string   `json:"visibility,omitempty"`
 	Template   []string `json:"template,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -87,11 +86,17 @@ func newCreateFlowCmd(out io.Writer) *cobra.Command {
 	}
 
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.payload.Description, "description", "", flowDescriptionFlag)
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.payload.Visibility, "visibility", "", visibilityFlag)
 	cmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&o.payload.Template, "template", "t", []string{}, templateFlag)
 	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&o.TemplateFile, "template-file", "f", "", templateFileFlag)
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&o.UseEmptyTemplate, "use-empty-template", false, useEmptyTemplateFlag)
 	addDryRunFlag(cmd)
 
+	err := cmd.Flags().MarkDeprecated("visibility", "this flag is deprecated and will be removed in a future version.")
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Error("failed to mark visibility as deprecated: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	return cmd
 }
 
@@ -100,7 +105,6 @@ func (o *createFlowOptions) run(args []string) error {
 	var url string
 	var err error
 	o.payload.Name = args[0]
-	o.payload.Visibility = "private"
 
 	if o.TemplateFile != "" || o.UseEmptyTemplate {
 		url, err = neturl.JoinPath(global.Host, "api/v2/flows", global.Org, "template_file")
diff --git a/cmd/kosli/createFlow_test.go b/cmd/kosli/createFlow_test.go
index 73c964e2b..cab0ef81c 100644
--- a/cmd/kosli/createFlow_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kosli/createFlow_test.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ func (suite *CreateFlowCommandTestSuite) SetupTest() {
 
 func (suite *CreateFlowCommandTestSuite) TestCreateFlowCmd() {
 	deprecationWarning := "[warning] creating a flow without --template-file or --use-empty-template uses a deprecated API endpoint and will stop working in a future release; please provide a template\n"
+	visibilityDeprecationNotice := "Flag --visibility has been deprecated, this flag is deprecated and will be removed in a future version.\n"
 	tests := []cmdTestCase{
 		{
 			wantError: true,
@@ -73,6 +74,11 @@ func (suite *CreateFlowCommandTestSuite) TestCreateFlowCmd() {
 			cmd:       "create flow newFlow --description \"my new flow\" --template foo --template-file testdata/valid_template.yml" + suite.defaultKosliArguments,
 			golden:    "Error: only one of --template, --template-file is allowed\n",
 		},
+		{
+			name:   "deprecated --visibility flag is accepted (no longer illegal) and warns",
+			cmd:    "create flow newFlowWithVisibility --visibility public --use-empty-template --description \"my new flow\" " + suite.defaultKosliArguments,
+			golden: visibilityDeprecationNotice + "flow 'newFlowWithVisibility' was created\n",
+		},
 		// flows v2
 		{
 			name:   "can create a flow with a valid template",
diff --git a/cmd/kosli/root.go b/cmd/kosli/root.go
index 1ff9cef0d..7c3dd2602 100644
--- a/cmd/kosli/root.go
+++ b/cmd/kosli/root.go
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ The ^.kosli_ignore^ will be treated as part of the artifact like any other file,
 	envDescriptionFlag              = "[optional] The environment description."
 	flowDescriptionFlag             = "[optional] The Kosli flow description."
 	trailDescriptionFlag            = "[optional] The Kosli trail description."
+	visibilityFlag                  = "[deprecated] The visibility of the Kosli flow. This flag is deprecated and will be removed in a future version."
 	templateFlag                    = "[defaulted] The comma-separated list of required compliance controls names."
 	templateFileFlag                = "[optional] The path to a yaml template file. Cannot be used together with --use-empty-template"
 	templateFileSimpleFlag          = "[optional] The path to a yaml template file."