diff --git a/config/autoload/url-shortener.global.php b/config/autoload/url-shortener.global.php
index 58bc3faa..5cf4f86f 100644
--- a/config/autoload/url-shortener.global.php
+++ b/config/autoload/url-shortener.global.php
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ return [
             'schema' => 'https',
             'hostname' => '',
         ],
-        'validate_url' => true,
+        'validate_url' => false,
         'visits_webhooks' => [],
     ],
 
diff --git a/config/test/test_config.global.php b/config/test/test_config.global.php
index 0aeaea6d..a3b297b7 100644
--- a/config/test/test_config.global.php
+++ b/config/test/test_config.global.php
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ return [
             'schema' => 'http',
             'hostname' => 'doma.in',
         ],
+        'validate_url' => true,
     ],
 
     'zend-expressive-swoole' => [
diff --git a/docker/README.md b/docker/README.md
index 584e4e99..423ba8f8 100644
--- a/docker/README.md
+++ b/docker/README.md
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ This is the complete list of supported env vars:
         * **postgres** -> `5432`
 * `DISABLE_TRACK_PARAM`: The name of a query param that can be used to visit short URLs avoiding the visit to be tracked. This feature won't be available if not value is provided.
 * `DELETE_SHORT_URL_THRESHOLD`: The amount of visits on short URLs which will not allow them to be deleted. Defaults to `15`.
-* `VALIDATE_URLS`: Boolean which tells if shlink should validate a status 20x (after following redirects) is returned when trying to shorten a URL. Defaults to `true`.
+* `VALIDATE_URLS`: Boolean which tells if shlink should validate a status 20x is returned (after following redirects) when trying to shorten a URL. Defaults to `false`.
 * `INVALID_SHORT_URL_REDIRECT_TO`: If a URL is provided here, when a user tries to access an invalid short URL, he/she will be redirected to this value. If this env var is not provided, the user will see a generic `404 - not found` page.
 * `REGULAR_404_REDIRECT_TO`: If a URL is provided here, when a user tries to access a URL not matching any one supported by the router, he/she will be redirected to this value. If this env var is not provided, the user will see a generic `404 - not found` page.
 * `BASE_URL_REDIRECT_TO`: If a URL is provided here, when a user tries to access Shlink's base URL, he/she will be redirected to this value. If this env var is not provided, the user will see a generic `404 - not found` page.
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ docker run \
     -e DB_PORT=3306 \
     -e DISABLE_TRACK_PARAM="no-track" \
     -e DELETE_SHORT_URL_THRESHOLD=30 \
-    -e VALIDATE_URLS=false \
+    -e VALIDATE_URLS=true \
     -e "INVALID_SHORT_URL_REDIRECT_TO=https://my-landing-page.com" \
     -e "REGULAR_404_REDIRECT_TO=https://my-landing-page.com" \
     -e "BASE_URL_REDIRECT_TO=https://my-landing-page.com" \
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ The whole configuration should have this format, but it can be split into multip
     "delete_short_url_threshold": 30,
     "short_domain_schema": "https",
     "short_domain_host": "doma.in",
-    "validate_url": false,
+    "validate_url": true,
     "invalid_short_url_redirect_to": "https://my-landing-page.com",
     "regular_404_redirect_to": "https://my-landing-page.com",
     "base_url_redirect_to": "https://my-landing-page.com",
diff --git a/docker/config/shlink_in_docker.local.php b/docker/config/shlink_in_docker.local.php
index 5b4db1e1..5b9d5547 100644
--- a/docker/config/shlink_in_docker.local.php
+++ b/docker/config/shlink_in_docker.local.php
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ return [
             'schema' => env('SHORT_DOMAIN_SCHEMA', 'http'),
             'hostname' => env('SHORT_DOMAIN_HOST', ''),
         ],
-        'validate_url' => (bool) env('VALIDATE_URLS', true),
+        'validate_url' => (bool) env('VALIDATE_URLS', false),
         'visits_webhooks' => $helper->getVisitsWebhooks(),
     ],
 
diff --git a/module/Core/test/Config/SimplifiedConfigParserTest.php b/module/Core/test/Config/SimplifiedConfigParserTest.php
index d1b27302..c608a44f 100644
--- a/module/Core/test/Config/SimplifiedConfigParserTest.php
+++ b/module/Core/test/Config/SimplifiedConfigParserTest.php
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ class SimplifiedConfigParserTest extends TestCase
             'disable_track_param' => 'bar',
             'short_domain_schema' => 'https',
             'short_domain_host' => 'doma.in',
-            'validate_url' => false,
+            'validate_url' => true,
             'delete_short_url_threshold' => 50,
             'invalid_short_url_redirect_to' => 'foobar.com',
             'redis_servers' => [
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ class SimplifiedConfigParserTest extends TestCase
                     'schema' => 'https',
                     'hostname' => 'doma.in',
                 ],
-                'validate_url' => false,
+                'validate_url' => true,
                 'visits_webhooks' => [
                     'http://my-api.com/api/v2.3/notify',
                     'https://third-party.io/foo',