diff --git a/pkg/tests/apis/helper.go b/pkg/tests/apis/helper.go
index 38d4ee9c602..324aa983338 100644
--- a/pkg/tests/apis/helper.go
+++ b/pkg/tests/apis/helper.go
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ type K8sTestHelper struct {
 
 func NewK8sTestHelper(t *testing.T, opts testinfra.GrafanaOpts) *K8sTestHelper {
 	t.Helper()
+	// Always enable `FlagAppPlatformGrpcClientAuth` for k8s integration tests, as this is the desired behavior.
+	// The flag only exists to support the transition from the old to the new behavior in dev/ops/prod.
+	opts.EnableFeatureToggles = append(opts.EnableFeatureToggles, featuremgmt.FlagAppPlatformGrpcClientAuth)
 	dir, path := testinfra.CreateGrafDir(t, opts)
 	_, env := testinfra.StartGrafanaEnv(t, dir, path)