diff --git a/src/file/fileindexerconfig.cpp b/src/file/fileindexerconfig.cpp
--- a/src/file/fileindexerconfig.cpp
+++ b/src/file/fileindexerconfig.cpp
@@ -302,7 +302,11 @@
 {
     KConfigGroup group = m_config.group("General");
     QStringList includeFoldersPlain = group.readPathEntry("folders", QStringList() << QDir::homePath());
-    QStringList excludeFoldersPlain = group.readPathEntry("exclude folders", QStringList());
+    QStringList excludeFoldersPlain = group.readPathEntry("exclude folders", 
+        // exclude Vaults by default until a better way is found
+        // TODO: Find a clean way to exclude vaults from indexing
+        QStringList() << QStringLiteral("%1/Vaults").arg(QDir::homePath())
+    );
 
     // Add all removable media and network shares as ignored unless they have
     // been explicitly added in the include list