diff --git a/packages/cli/utils/loadEnvVariables.js b/packages/cli/utils/loadEnvVariables.js
index b41e859cf6e..3dd47c439ce 100644
--- a/packages/cli/utils/loadEnvVariables.js
+++ b/packages/cli/utils/loadEnvVariables.js
@@ -44,3 +44,10 @@ if (project.config.featureFlags) {
     process.env.WEBINY_FEATURE_FLAGS = JSON.stringify(project.config.featureFlags);
     process.env.REACT_APP_WEBINY_FEATURE_FLAGS = JSON.stringify(project.config.featureFlags);
 }
+
+// With 5.38.0, we are hiding the `WEBINY_ELASTICSEARCH_INDEX_LOCALE` env variable and always setting it to `true`.
+// This is because this variable is not something users should be concerned with, nor should they be able to change it.
+// In order to ensure backwards compatibility, we first check if the variable is set, and if it is, we don't override it.
+if (!"WEBINY_ELASTICSEARCH_INDEX_LOCALE" in process.env) {
+    process.env.WEBINY_ELASTICSEARCH_INDEX_LOCALE = "true";
+}
diff --git a/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.env b/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.env
index e7e30fd89d4..b994228d434 100644
--- a/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.env
+++ b/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.env
@@ -10,9 +10,4 @@ PULUMI_SECRETS_PROVIDER={PULUMI_SECRETS_PROVIDER}
 PULUMI_CONFIG_PASSPHRASE={PULUMI_CONFIG_PASSPHRASE}
 
 # Enable debugging mode.
-DEBUG=true
-
-# Feature flag to enable adding locale code into Elasticsearch index name
-# Enabled in 5.26.0
-# If users, which installed before 5.26.0, want to have different indexes per locale in PB, FB and FM please check docs on how to enable those
-WEBINY_ELASTICSEARCH_INDEX_LOCALE=true
\ No newline at end of file
+DEBUG=true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.keep.env b/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.keep.env
index e7e30fd89d4..b994228d434 100644
--- a/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.keep.env
+++ b/packages/cwp-template-aws/template/ddb-es/example.keep.env
@@ -10,9 +10,4 @@ PULUMI_SECRETS_PROVIDER={PULUMI_SECRETS_PROVIDER}
 PULUMI_CONFIG_PASSPHRASE={PULUMI_CONFIG_PASSPHRASE}
 
 # Enable debugging mode.
-DEBUG=true
-
-# Feature flag to enable adding locale code into Elasticsearch index name
-# Enabled in 5.26.0
-# If users, which installed before 5.26.0, want to have different indexes per locale in PB, FB and FM please check docs on how to enable those
-WEBINY_ELASTICSEARCH_INDEX_LOCALE=true
\ No newline at end of file
+DEBUG=true
\ No newline at end of file