diff --git a/src/controllers/search.js b/src/controllers/search.js
index a89e87c5d5..178fe2dc6f 100644
--- a/src/controllers/search.js
+++ b/src/controllers/search.js
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ searchController.search = async function (req, res, next) {
 		'search:content': privileges.global.can('search:content', req.uid),
 		'search:tags': privileges.global.can('search:tags', req.uid),
 	});
-
+	req.query.in = req.query.in || 'posts';
 	const allowed = (req.query.in === 'users' && userPrivileges['search:users']) ||
 					(req.query.in === 'tags' && userPrivileges['search:tags']) ||
 					(['titles', 'titlesposts', 'posts'].includes(req.query.in) && userPrivileges['search:content']);
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ searchController.search = async function (req, res, next) {
 
 	const data = {
 		query: req.query.term,
-		searchIn: req.query.in || 'posts',
+		searchIn: req.query.in,
 		matchWords: req.query.matchWords || 'all',
 		postedBy: req.query.by,
 		categories: req.query.categories,