diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/worker/Worker.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/worker/Worker.scala
index 134624c35a57e4f63302753e903dca4768db1679..fb9cc116cd08b5b8051c1f1947e830e001d54759 100755
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/worker/Worker.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/worker/Worker.scala
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ private[spark] class Worker(
   val REGISTRATION_TIMEOUT = 20.seconds
   val REGISTRATION_RETRIES = 3
 
-  val CLEANUP_ENABLED = conf.getBoolean("spark.worker.cleanup.enabled", true)
+  val CLEANUP_ENABLED = conf.getBoolean("spark.worker.cleanup.enabled", false)
   // How often worker will clean up old app folders
   val CLEANUP_INTERVAL_MILLIS = conf.getLong("spark.worker.cleanup.interval", 60 * 30) * 1000
   // TTL for app folders/data;  after TTL expires it will be cleaned up
diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index 2eed96f704a4fbf7dcd9c033919368c3f3b95de0..f89040d714773abd9b5125ad8b5d941bdbe49ea9 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -390,10 +390,11 @@ Apart from these, the following properties are also available, and may be useful
 </tr>
 <tr>
   <td>spark.worker.cleanup.enabled</td>
-  <td>true</td>
+  <td>false</td>
   <td>
     Enable periodic cleanup of worker / application directories.  Note that this only affects standalone
-    mode, as YARN works differently.
+    mode, as YARN works differently. Applications directories are cleaned up regardless of whether
+    the application is still running.
   </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>