diff --git a/backend/open_webui/config.py b/backend/open_webui/config.py
index b10dee5b63..43c864ef22 100644
--- a/backend/open_webui/config.py
+++ b/backend/open_webui/config.py
@@ -871,7 +871,7 @@ CACHE_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 ENABLE_DIRECT_CONNECTIONS = PersistentConfig(
     "ENABLE_DIRECT_CONNECTIONS",
     "direct.enable",
-    os.environ.get("ENABLE_DIRECT_CONNECTIONS", "True").lower() == "true",
+    os.environ.get("ENABLE_DIRECT_CONNECTIONS", "False").lower() == "true",
 )
 
 ####################################