diff --git a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/settings/SettingsFragment.java b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/settings/SettingsFragment.java
index fcc6dc3dd..b0e02cb7b 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/settings/SettingsFragment.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/fr/free/nrw/commons/settings/SettingsFragment.java
@@ -229,7 +229,10 @@ public class SettingsFragment extends PreferenceFragmentCompat {
     /**
      * Changing the default app language with selected one and save it to SharedPreferences
      */
-    public void setLocale(final Activity activity, final String userSelectedValue) {
+    public void setLocale(final Activity activity, String userSelectedValue) {
+        if (userSelectedValue.equals("")) {
+            userSelectedValue = Locale.getDefault().getLanguage();
+        }
         final Locale locale = new Locale(userSelectedValue);
         Locale.setDefault(locale);
         final Configuration configuration = new Configuration();