diff --git a/src/ConnectionPool.jl b/src/ConnectionPool.jl
index 267d2d325..8eda44a81 100644
--- a/src/ConnectionPool.jl
+++ b/src/ConnectionPool.jl
@@ -414,8 +414,8 @@ function getconnection(::Type{TCPSocket},
                        # alive in the face of heavy workloads where Julia's task scheduler might take a while to
                        # keep up with midflight requests
                        keepalive::Bool=true,
-                       connect_timeout::Int=60,
-                       readtimeout::Int=60,
+                       connect_timeout::Int=10,
+                       readtimeout::Int=0,
                        kw...)::TCPSocket
 
     p::UInt = isempty(port) ? UInt(80) : parse(UInt, port)
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ end
 function sslupgrade(::Type{IOType}, c::Connection,
                     host::AbstractString;
                     require_ssl_verification::Bool=NetworkOptions.verify_host(host, "SSL"),
-                    readtimeout::Int=60,
+                    readtimeout::Int=0,
                     kw...)::Connection{IOType} where {IOType}
     # initiate the upgrade to SSL
     # if the upgrade fails, an error will be thrown and the original c will be closed
diff --git a/src/HTTP.jl b/src/HTTP.jl
index 48ca225fe..b42e12a55 100644
--- a/src/HTTP.jl
+++ b/src/HTTP.jl
@@ -117,10 +117,10 @@ Supported optional keyword arguments:
     will be written to this stream instead of returned as a `Vector{UInt8}`.
  - `verbose = 0`, set to `1` or `2` for increasingly verbose logging of the
     request and response process
- - `connect_timeout = 60`, close the connection after this many seconds if it
+ - `connect_timeout = 10`, close the connection after this many seconds if it
    is still attempting to connect. Use `connect_timeout = 0` to disable.
  - `connection_limit = 8`, number of concurrent connections allowed to each host:port.
- - `readtimeout = 60`, close the connection if no data is received for this many
+ - `readtimeout = 0`, close the connection if no data is received for this many
    seconds. Use `readtimeout = 0` to disable.
  - `status_exception = true`, throw `HTTP.StatusError` for response status >= 300.
  - Basic authentication is detected automatically from the provided url's `userinfo` (in the form `scheme://user:password@host`)
diff --git a/src/clientlayers/ConnectionRequest.jl b/src/clientlayers/ConnectionRequest.jl
index 140a2eb1d..539c72eca 100644
--- a/src/clientlayers/ConnectionRequest.jl
+++ b/src/clientlayers/ConnectionRequest.jl
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ Close the connection if the request throws an exception.
 Otherwise leave it open so that it can be reused.
 """
 function connectionlayer(handler)
-    return function(req; proxy=getproxy(req.url.scheme, req.url.host), socket_type::Type=TCPSocket, socket_type_tls::Type=SOCKET_TYPE_TLS[], readtimeout::Int=60, kw...)
+    return function(req; proxy=getproxy(req.url.scheme, req.url.host), socket_type::Type=TCPSocket, socket_type_tls::Type=SOCKET_TYPE_TLS[], readtimeout::Int=0, kw...)
         local io, stream
         if proxy !== nothing
             target_url = req.url
diff --git a/src/clientlayers/TimeoutRequest.jl b/src/clientlayers/TimeoutRequest.jl
index d767edec9..96b650007 100644
--- a/src/clientlayers/TimeoutRequest.jl
+++ b/src/clientlayers/TimeoutRequest.jl
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ export timeoutlayer
 Close the `HTTP.Stream` if no data has been received for `readtimeout` seconds.
 """
 function timeoutlayer(handler)
-    return function(stream::Stream; readtimeout::Int=60, kw...)
+    return function(stream::Stream; readtimeout::Int=0, kw...)
         if readtimeout <= 0
             # skip
             return handler(stream; kw...)