diff --git a/src/hb-private.hh b/src/hb-private.hh
index dc0178ddc..6430ba8e3 100644
--- a/src/hb-private.hh
+++ b/src/hb-private.hh
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ extern "C" void  hb_free_impl(void *ptr);
 #endif
 
 #ifndef HB_INTERNAL
-# if !defined(HB_NO_VISIBILITY) && !defined(__MINGW32__) && !defined(__CYGWIN__) && !defined(__SUNPRO_CC)
+# if !defined(HB_NO_VISIBILITY) && !defined(__MINGW32__) && !defined(__CYGWIN__) && !defined(_MSC_VER) && !defined(__SUNPRO_CC)
 #  define HB_INTERNAL __attribute__((__visibility__("hidden")))
 # else
 #  define HB_INTERNAL