diff --git a/config/checkstyle/checkstyle.xml b/config/checkstyle/checkstyle.xml
index c9f04d7aa..c39a8650e 100644
--- a/config/checkstyle/checkstyle.xml
+++ b/config/checkstyle/checkstyle.xml
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
 		</module>
 		<module name="JavadocMethod">
 			<!-- TODO stricten those checks -->
-			<property name="scope" value="public"/>
+			<property name="scope" value="protected"/>
 			<property name="allowMissingJavadoc" value="true"/>
 			<property name="suppressLoadErrors" value="true"/>
 		</module>