diff --git a/custom/conf/app.example.ini b/custom/conf/app.example.ini
index 586c924c4a..8d7946145f 100644
--- a/custom/conf/app.example.ini
+++ b/custom/conf/app.example.ini
@@ -1075,7 +1075,7 @@ PATH =
 ;SEARCH_REPO_DESCRIPTION = true
 ;;
 ;; Whether to enable a Service Worker to cache frontend assets
-;USE_SERVICE_WORKER = true
+;USE_SERVICE_WORKER = false
 
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
diff --git a/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md b/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
index 6cbc9b91f9..c4fbe3867f 100644
--- a/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
+++ b/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ The following configuration set `Content-Type: application/vnd.android.package-a
     add it to this config.
 - `DEFAULT_SHOW_FULL_NAME`: **false**: Whether the full name of the users should be shown where possible. If the full name isn't set, the username will be used.
 - `SEARCH_REPO_DESCRIPTION`: **true**: Whether to search within description at repository search on explore page.
-- `USE_SERVICE_WORKER`: **true**: Whether to enable a Service Worker to cache frontend assets.
+- `USE_SERVICE_WORKER`: **false**: Whether to enable a Service Worker to cache frontend assets.
 
 ### UI - Admin (`ui.admin`)
 
diff --git a/docs/content/doc/developers/hacking-on-gitea.en-us.md b/docs/content/doc/developers/hacking-on-gitea.en-us.md
index 5481a2f1fe..be04e6efc4 100644
--- a/docs/content/doc/developers/hacking-on-gitea.en-us.md
+++ b/docs/content/doc/developers/hacking-on-gitea.en-us.md
@@ -185,8 +185,6 @@ Before committing, make sure the linters pass:
 make lint-frontend
 ```
 
-Note: When working on frontend code, set `USE_SERVICE_WORKER` to `false` in `app.ini` to prevent undesirable caching of frontend assets.
-
 ### Building and adding SVGs
 
 SVG icons are built using the `make svg` target which compiles the icon sources defined in `build/generate-svg.js` into the output directory `public/img/svg`. Custom icons can be added in the `web_src/svg` directory.
diff --git a/modules/setting/setting.go b/modules/setting/setting.go
index 2701658f65..c9f180bd46 100644
--- a/modules/setting/setting.go
+++ b/modules/setting/setting.go
@@ -1010,7 +1010,7 @@ func loadFromConf(allowEmpty bool, extraConfig string) {
 	UI.ShowUserEmail = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("SHOW_USER_EMAIL").MustBool(true)
 	UI.DefaultShowFullName = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("DEFAULT_SHOW_FULL_NAME").MustBool(false)
 	UI.SearchRepoDescription = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("SEARCH_REPO_DESCRIPTION").MustBool(true)
-	UI.UseServiceWorker = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("USE_SERVICE_WORKER").MustBool(true)
+	UI.UseServiceWorker = Cfg.Section("ui").Key("USE_SERVICE_WORKER").MustBool(false)
 
 	HasRobotsTxt, err = util.IsFile(path.Join(CustomPath, "robots.txt"))
 	if err != nil {