diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b036c7c..6a0bd73 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ transbeam is configured with the following environment variables:
   (default: `./static`)
 - `TRANSBEAM_PORT`: port to listen on localhost for http requests
   (default: 8080)
+- `TRANSBEAM_REVERSE_PROXY`: whether transbeam is running behind a
+  reverse proxy (recommended), or directly exposed to the internet. If
+  true, transbeam will only bind to localhost, and will use the
+  `Forwarded` or `X-Forwarded-For` headers to determine client IP
+  addresses for logs. If false, transbeam will bind on all interfaces,
+  and will always log the peer IP address. (default: true)
 - `TRANSBEAM_MAX_LIFETIME`: maximum number of days files can be kept
   for (default: 30)
 - `TRANSBEAM_MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE`: maximum size of a fileset being
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 61533a0..97b4876 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ async fn main() -> std::io::Result<()> {
     let storage_dir: PathBuf = env_or_else("TRANSBEAM_STORAGE_DIR", || PathBuf::from("storage"));
     let port: u16 = env_or("TRANSBEAM_PORT", 8080);
     let mnemonic_codes: bool = env_or("TRANSBEAM_MNEMONIC_CODES", true);
-    let reverse_proxy: bool = env_or("TRANSBEAM_REVERSE_PROXY", false);
+    let reverse_proxy: bool = env_or("TRANSBEAM_REVERSE_PROXY", true);
     let max_lifetime: u16 = env_or("TRANSBEAM_MAX_LIFETIME", 30);
     let max_upload_size: u64 =
         env_or::<ByteSize>("TRANSBEAM_MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE", ByteSize(16 * bytesize::GB)).as_u64();