diff --git a/etc/couchdb/default.ini.tpl.in b/etc/couchdb/default.ini.tpl.in
index ef5e4fbaecf..b14c574248c 100644
--- a/etc/couchdb/default.ini.tpl.in
+++ b/etc/couchdb/default.ini.tpl.in
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ include_sasl = true
 authentication_db = _users
 authentication_redirect = /_utils/session.html
 require_valid_user = false
-timeout = 43200 ; (default to 12 hours) number of seconds before automatic logout
+timeout = 600 ; number of seconds before automatic logout
 auth_cache_size = 50 ; size is number of cache entries
 
 [query_servers]