diff --git a/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml b/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml
index 408e75b6..f78c29f7 100644
--- a/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml
+++ b/quickshell/Common/SettingsData.qml
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ Singleton {
     property int dankLauncherV2BorderThickness: 2
     property string dankLauncherV2BorderColor: "primary"
     property bool dankLauncherV2ShowFooter: true
-    property bool dankLauncherV2UnloadOnClose: true
+    property bool dankLauncherV2UnloadOnClose: false
 
     property string _legacyWeatherLocation: "New York, NY"
     property string _legacyWeatherCoordinates: "40.7128,-74.0060"
diff --git a/quickshell/Common/settings/SettingsSpec.js b/quickshell/Common/settings/SettingsSpec.js
index a5ee2fdf..9feccf61 100644
--- a/quickshell/Common/settings/SettingsSpec.js
+++ b/quickshell/Common/settings/SettingsSpec.js
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ var SPEC = {
     dankLauncherV2BorderThickness: { def: 2 },
     dankLauncherV2BorderColor: { def: "primary" },
     dankLauncherV2ShowFooter: { def: true },
-    dankLauncherV2UnloadOnClose: { def: true },
+    dankLauncherV2UnloadOnClose: { def: false },
 
     useAutoLocation: { def: false },
     weatherEnabled: { def: true },