diff --git a/src/constants.ts b/src/constants.ts
index 34da64b1..3414f640 100644
--- a/src/constants.ts
+++ b/src/constants.ts
@@ -792,9 +792,9 @@ export const DEFAULT_SETTINGS: CopilotSettings = {
   reasoningEffort: DEFAULT_MODEL_SETTING.REASONING_EFFORT,
   verbosity: DEFAULT_MODEL_SETTING.VERBOSITY,
   memoryFolderName: DEFAULT_MEMORY_FOLDER,
-  enableRecentConversations: false,
+  enableRecentConversations: true,
   maxRecentConversations: 30,
-  enableSavedMemory: false,
+  enableSavedMemory: true,
   enableInlineCitations: true,
 };
 
diff --git a/src/settings/model.ts b/src/settings/model.ts
index b454c12b..654b1890 100644
--- a/src/settings/model.ts
+++ b/src/settings/model.ts
@@ -380,12 +380,18 @@ export function sanitizeSettings(settings: CopilotSettings): CopilotSettings {
   }
 
   // Ensure enableRecentConversations has a default value
-  if (typeof sanitizedSettings.enableRecentConversations !== "boolean") {
+  if (
+    !sanitizedSettings.enableRecentConversations ||
+    typeof sanitizedSettings.enableRecentConversations !== "boolean"
+  ) {
     sanitizedSettings.enableRecentConversations = DEFAULT_SETTINGS.enableRecentConversations;
   }
 
   // Ensure enableSavedMemory has a default value
-  if (typeof sanitizedSettings.enableSavedMemory !== "boolean") {
+  if (
+    !sanitizedSettings.enableSavedMemory ||
+    typeof sanitizedSettings.enableSavedMemory !== "boolean"
+  ) {
     sanitizedSettings.enableSavedMemory = DEFAULT_SETTINGS.enableSavedMemory;
   }