diff --git a/management/internals/modules/reverseproxy/accesslogs/manager/manager.go b/management/internals/modules/reverseproxy/accesslogs/manager/manager.go
index e8d0ce763..84f1eed7e 100644
--- a/management/internals/modules/reverseproxy/accesslogs/manager/manager.go
+++ b/management/internals/modules/reverseproxy/accesslogs/manager/manager.go
@@ -106,13 +106,23 @@ func (m *managerImpl) CleanupOldAccessLogs(ctx context.Context, retentionDays in
 
 // StartPeriodicCleanup starts a background goroutine that periodically cleans up old access logs
 func (m *managerImpl) StartPeriodicCleanup(ctx context.Context, retentionDays, cleanupIntervalHours int) {
-	if retentionDays <= 0 {
+	if retentionDays < 0 {
 		log.WithContext(ctx).Debug("periodic access log cleanup disabled: retention days is 0 or negative")
 		return
 	}
 
+	if retentionDays == 0 {
+		retentionDays = 7
+		log.WithContext(ctx).Debugf("no retention days specified for access log cleanup, defaulting to %d days", retentionDays)
+	} else {
+		log.WithContext(ctx).Debugf("access log retention period set to %d days", retentionDays)
+	}
+
 	if cleanupIntervalHours <= 0 {
 		cleanupIntervalHours = 24
+		log.WithContext(ctx).Debugf("no cleanup interval specified for access log cleanup, defaulting to %d hours", cleanupIntervalHours)
+	} else {
+		log.WithContext(ctx).Debugf("access log cleanup interval set to %d hours", cleanupIntervalHours)
 	}
 
 	cleanupCtx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
diff --git a/management/internals/server/config/config.go b/management/internals/server/config/config.go
index 0ba393263..fb9c842b7 100644
--- a/management/internals/server/config/config.go
+++ b/management/internals/server/config/config.go
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ type ReverseProxy struct {
 
 	// AccessLogRetentionDays specifies the number of days to retain access logs.
 	// Logs older than this duration will be automatically deleted during cleanup.
-	// A value of 0 or negative means logs are kept indefinitely (no cleanup).
+	// A value of 0 will default to 7 days. Negative means logs are kept indefinitely (no cleanup).
 	AccessLogRetentionDays int
 
 	// AccessLogCleanupIntervalHours specifies how often (in hours) to run the cleanup routine.