diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 1f3ecc87..e3a6a2b7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0
       - run: sudo apt-get update
       - run: sudo apt-get remove libunwind-14-dev
-      - run: sudo apt-get install -y build-essential gettext cmake valac libgee-0.8-dev libsqlite3-dev libgtk-4-dev libnotify-dev libgpgme-dev libsoup2.4-dev libgcrypt20-dev libqrencode-dev libnice-dev libgstreamer1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev libsrtp2-dev libwebrtc-audio-processing-dev libadwaita-1-dev
+      - run: sudo apt-get install -y build-essential gettext cmake valac libgee-0.8-dev libsqlite3-dev libgtk-4-dev libnotify-dev libgpgme-dev libsoup2.4-dev libgcrypt20-dev libqrencode-dev libnice-dev libgstreamer1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev libsrtp2-dev libwebrtc-audio-processing-dev libadwaita-1-dev libsignal-protocol-c-dev
       - run: ./configure --with-tests --with-libsignal-in-tree
       - run: make
       - run: build/xmpp-vala-test
diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
deleted file mode 100644
index b5480660..00000000
--- a/.gitmodules
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-[submodule "libsignal-protocol-c"]
-	path = plugins/signal-protocol/libsignal-protocol-c
-	url = https://github.com/WhisperSystems/libsignal-protocol-c.git
-	branch = v2.3.3
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 30b0bed5..b404fb17 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
 OPTS=`getopt -o "h" --long \
-help,fetch-only,no-debug,disable-fast-vapi,with-tests,release,with-libsignal-in-tree,with-libsoup3,\
+help,fetch-only,no-debug,disable-fast-vapi,with-tests,release,with-libsoup3,\
 enable-plugin:,disable-plugin:,\
 prefix:,program-prefix:,exec-prefix:,lib-suffix:,\
 bindir:,libdir:,includedir:,datadir:,\
@@ -15,13 +15,11 @@ eval set -- "$OPTS"
 PREFIX=${PREFIX:-/usr/local}
 ENABLED_PLUGINS=
 DISABLED_PLUGINS=
-BUILD_LIBSIGNAL_IN_TREE=
 BUILD_TESTS=
 BUILD_TYPE=Debug
 DISABLE_FAST_VAPI=
 LIB_SUFFIX=
 NO_DEBUG=
-FETCH_ONLY=
 USE_SOUP3=
 
 EXEC_PREFIX=
@@ -55,8 +53,6 @@ Configuration:
                              without network access later and exit.
   --no-debug                 Build without debug symbols
   --release                  Configure to build an optimized release version
-  --with-libsignal-in-tree   Build libsignal-protocol-c in tree and link it
-                             statically.
   --with-libsoup3            Build with libsoup-3.0
   --with-tests               Also build tests.
 
@@ -112,11 +108,9 @@ while true; do
         --valac ) VALA_EXECUTABLE="$2"; shift; shift ;;
         --valac-flags ) VALAC_FLAGS="$2"; shift; shift ;;
         --lib-suffix ) LIB_SUFFIX="$2"; shift; shift ;;
-        --with-libsignal-in-tree ) BUILD_LIBSIGNAL_IN_TREE=yes; shift ;;
         --with-libsoup3 ) USE_SOUP3=yes; shift ;;
         --disable-fast-vapi ) DISABLE_FAST_VAPI=yes; shift ;;
         --no-debug ) NO_DEBUG=yes; shift ;;
-        --fetch-only ) FETCH_ONLY=yes; shift ;;
         --release ) BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo; shift ;;
         --with-tests ) BUILD_TESTS=yes; shift ;;
         # Autotools paths
@@ -141,50 +135,6 @@ while true; do
     esac
 done
 
-if [ "$BUILD_LIBSIGNAL_IN_TREE" = "yes" ] || [ "$FETCH_ONLY" = "yes" ]; then
-    if [ -d ".git" ]; then
-        git submodule update --init 2>/dev/null
-    else
-        tmp=0
-        for i in $(cat .gitmodules | grep -n submodule | awk -F ':' '{print $1}') $(wc -l .gitmodules | awk '{print $1}'); do
-            if ! [ $tmp -eq 0 ]; then
-                name=$(cat .gitmodules | head -n $tmp | tail -n 1 | awk -F '"' '{print $2}')
-                def=$(cat .gitmodules | head -n $i | tail -n $(expr "$i" - "$tmp") | awk -F ' ' '{print $1 $2 $3}')
-                path=$(echo "$def" | grep '^path=' | awk -F '=' '{print $2}')
-                url=$(echo "$def" | grep '^url=' | awk -F '=' '{print $2}')
-                branch=$(echo "$def" | grep '^branch=' | awk -F '=' '{print $2}')
-
-                if ! ls "$path"/* >/dev/null 2>/dev/null; then
-                    git=$(which git)
-                    if ! [ $? -eq 0 ] || ! [ -x $git ]; then
-                        echo "Failed retrieving missing files"
-                        exit 5
-                    fi
-                    res=$(git clone "$url" "$path" 2>&1)
-                    if ! [ $? -eq 0 ] || ! [ -d $path ]; then
-                        echo "Failed retrieving missing files: $res"
-                        exit 5
-                    fi
-                    if [ -n "$branch" ]; then
-                        olddir="$(pwd)"
-                        cd "$path"
-                        res=$(git checkout "$branch" 2>&1)
-                        if ! [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
-                            echo "Failed retrieving missing files: $res"
-                            exit 5
-                        fi
-                        cd "$olddir"
-                    fi
-                    echo "Submodule path '$path': checked out '$branch' (via git clone)"
-                fi
-            fi
-            tmp=$i
-        done
-    fi
-fi
-
-if [ "$FETCH_ONLY" = "yes" ]; then exit 0; fi
-
 if [ ! -x "$(which cmake 2>/dev/null)" ]
 then
     echo "-!- CMake required."
@@ -258,7 +208,6 @@ cmake -G "$cmake_type" \
     -DENABLED_PLUGINS="$ENABLED_PLUGINS" \
     -DDISABLED_PLUGINS="$DISABLED_PLUGINS" \
     -DBUILD_TESTS="$BUILD_TESTS" \
-    -DBUILD_LIBSIGNAL_IN_TREE="$BUILD_LIBSIGNAL_IN_TREE" \
     -DUSE_SOUP3="$USE_SOUP3" \
     -DVALA_EXECUTABLE="$VALAC" \
     -DCMAKE_VALA_FLAGS="$VALACFLAGS" \
diff --git a/plugins/signal-protocol/CMakeLists.txt b/plugins/signal-protocol/CMakeLists.txt
index ea7dc9bb..b3cfae9d 100644
--- a/plugins/signal-protocol/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/plugins/signal-protocol/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -28,54 +28,10 @@ GENERATE_HEADER
 set(C_HEADERS_SRC "")
 set(C_HEADERS_TARGET "")
 
-if(NOT BUILD_LIBSIGNAL_IN_TREE)
-    # libsignal-protocol-c has a history of breaking compatibility on the patch level
-    # we'll have to check compatibility for every new release
-    # distro maintainers may update this dependency after compatibility tests
-    find_package(SignalProtocol 2.3.2 REQUIRED)
-else()
-    add_subdirectory(libsignal-protocol-c EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL)
-    set_property(TARGET curve25519 PROPERTY POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
-    set_property(TARGET protobuf-c PROPERTY POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
-    set_property(TARGET signal-protocol-c PROPERTY POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
-
-    set(SIGNAL_PROTOCOL_C_HEADERS
-        signal_protocol.h
-        signal_protocol_types.h
-        curve.h
-        hkdf.h
-        ratchet.h
-        protocol.h
-        session_state.h
-        session_record.h
-        session_pre_key.h
-        session_builder.h
-        session_cipher.h
-        key_helper.h
-        sender_key.h
-        sender_key_state.h
-        sender_key_record.h
-        group_session_builder.h
-        group_cipher.h
-        fingerprint.h
-        device_consistency.h
-    )
-
-    file(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/exports/signal")
-
-    foreach(f ${SIGNAL_PROTOCOL_C_HEADERS})
-        list(APPEND C_HEADERS_SRC "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/libsignal-protocol-c/src/${f}")
-        list(APPEND C_HEADERS_TARGET "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/exports/signal/${f}")
-        add_custom_command(OUTPUT "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/exports/signal/${f}"
-        COMMAND
-            cp "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/libsignal-protocol-c/src/${f}" "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/exports/signal/${f}"
-        DEPENDS
-            "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/libsignal-protocol-c/src/${f}"
-        COMMENT
-            Copy header file signal/${f}
-        )
-    endforeach(f)
-endif()
+# libsignal-protocol-c has a history of breaking compatibility on the patch level
+# we'll have to check compatibility for every new release
+# distro maintainers may update this dependency after compatibility tests
+find_package(SignalProtocol 2.3.2 REQUIRED)
 
 list(APPEND C_HEADERS_SRC "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/signal_helper.h")
 list(APPEND C_HEADERS_TARGET "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/exports/signal_helper.h")
diff --git a/plugins/signal-protocol/libsignal-protocol-c b/plugins/signal-protocol/libsignal-protocol-c
deleted file mode 160000
index 3a83a4f4..00000000
--- a/plugins/signal-protocol/libsignal-protocol-c
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Subproject commit 3a83a4f4ed2302ff6e68ab569c88793b50c22d28