diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index 6aafa124a..b8151e7ed 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ class User < ApplicationRecord
   end
 
   def setting_default_privacy
-    settings.default_privacy || 'public'
+    settings.default_privacy || 'local'
   end
 
   def allows_digest_emails?