diff --git a/tag_tracer.go b/tag_tracer.go
index 7d8756e..3b7e994 100644
--- a/tag_tracer.go
+++ b/tag_tracer.go
@@ -11,16 +11,6 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	// GossipSubConnTagValueDirectPeer is the connection manager tag value to
-	// apply to direct peers. This should be high, as we want to prioritize these
-	// connections above all others.
-	GossipSubConnTagValueDirectPeer = 1000
-
-	// GossipSubConnTagValueMeshPeer is the connection manager tag value to apply to
-	// peers in a topic mesh. If a peer is in the mesh for multiple topics, their
-	// connection will be tagged separately for each.
-	GossipSubConnTagValueMeshPeer = 20
-
 	// GossipSubConnTagBumpMessageDelivery is the amount to add to the connection manager
 	// tag that tracks message deliveries. Each time a peer is the first to deliver a
 	// message within a topic, we "bump" a tag by this amount, up to a maximum
@@ -96,18 +86,18 @@ func (t *tagTracer) tagPeerIfDirect(p peer.ID) {
 	// tag peer if it is a direct peer
 	_, direct := t.direct[p]
 	if direct {
-		t.cmgr.TagPeer(p, "pubsub:direct", GossipSubConnTagValueDirectPeer)
+		t.cmgr.Protect(p, "pubsub:<direct>")
 	}
 }
 
 func (t *tagTracer) tagMeshPeer(p peer.ID, topic string) {
 	tag := topicTag(topic)
-	t.cmgr.TagPeer(p, tag, GossipSubConnTagValueMeshPeer)
+	t.cmgr.Protect(p, tag)
 }
 
 func (t *tagTracer) untagMeshPeer(p peer.ID, topic string) {
 	tag := topicTag(topic)
-	t.cmgr.UntagPeer(p, tag)
+	t.cmgr.Unprotect(p, tag)
 }
 
 func topicTag(topic string) string {