diff --git a/internal/updater/channels.go b/internal/updater/channels.go
index 0583ed43..ff787063 100644
--- a/internal/updater/channels.go
+++ b/internal/updater/channels.go
@@ -27,3 +27,7 @@ const (
 	// EarlyChannel is the channel users subscribe to when they enable "Early Access".
 	EarlyChannel UpdateChannel = "early"
 )
+
+// DefaultUpdateChannel is the default update channel to subscribe to.
+// It is set to the stable channel by default, unless overridden at build time.
+var DefaultUpdateChannel = StableChannel // nolint[gochecknoglobals]
diff --git a/internal/updater/updater.go b/internal/updater/updater.go
index 58769458..65297c22 100644
--- a/internal/updater/updater.go
+++ b/internal/updater/updater.go
@@ -66,10 +66,10 @@ func New(
 	curVer *semver.Version,
 	updateURLName, platform string,
 ) *Updater {
-	// If there's some unexpected value in the preferences, we force it back onto the stable channel.
+	// If there's some unexpected value in the preferences, we force it back onto the default channel.
 	// This prevents users from screwing up silent updates by modifying their prefs.json file.
 	if channel := UpdateChannel(s.Get(settings.UpdateChannelKey)); !(channel == StableChannel || channel == EarlyChannel) {
-		s.Set(settings.UpdateChannelKey, string(StableChannel))
+		s.Set(settings.UpdateChannelKey, string(DefaultUpdateChannel))
 	}
 
 	return &Updater{