diff --git a/custom/conf/app.example.ini b/custom/conf/app.example.ini
index fbaea9dc27367..f0b0cc298b6c1 100644
--- a/custom/conf/app.example.ini
+++ b/custom/conf/app.example.ini
@@ -1746,8 +1746,8 @@ LEVEL = Info
 ;; Session cookie name
 ;COOKIE_NAME = i_like_gitea
 ;;
-;; If you use session in https only, default is false
-;COOKIE_SECURE = false
+;; If you use session in https only: true or false. If not set, it defaults to `true` if the ROOT_URL is an HTTPS URL.
+;COOKIE_SECURE =
 ;;
 ;; Session GC time interval in seconds, default is 86400 (1 day)
 ;GC_INTERVAL_TIME = 86400
diff --git a/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md b/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
index 5e88426994fc2..acfb6ce77e653 100644
--- a/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
+++ b/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
@@ -777,7 +777,7 @@ and
 
 - `PROVIDER`: **memory**: Session engine provider \[memory, file, redis, redis-cluster, db, mysql, couchbase, memcache, postgres\]. Setting `db` will reuse the configuration in `[database]`
 - `PROVIDER_CONFIG`: **data/sessions**: For file, the root path; for db, empty (database config will be used); for others, the connection string. Relative paths will be made absolute against _`AppWorkPath`_.
-- `COOKIE_SECURE`: **false**: Enable this to force using HTTPS for all session access.
+- `COOKIE_SECURE`:**_empty_**: `true` or `false`. Enable this to force using HTTPS for all session access. If not set, it defaults to `true` if the ROOT_URL is an HTTPS URL.
 - `COOKIE_NAME`: **i\_like\_gitea**: The name of the cookie used for the session ID.
 - `GC_INTERVAL_TIME`: **86400**: GC interval in seconds.
 - `SESSION_LIFE_TIME`: **86400**: Session life time in seconds, default is 86400 (1 day)
diff --git a/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.zh-cn.md b/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.zh-cn.md
index defd31dc1c3ef..b3e7d1024a14c 100644
--- a/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.zh-cn.md
+++ b/docs/content/administration/config-cheat-sheet.zh-cn.md
@@ -742,7 +742,7 @@ Gitea 创建以下非唯一队列：
 
 - `PROVIDER`: **memory**：会话存储引擎 \[memory, file, redis, redis-cluster, db, mysql, couchbase, memcache, postgres\]。设置为 `db` 将会重用 `[database]` 的配置信息。
 - `PROVIDER_CONFIG`: **data/sessions**：对于文件，为根路径；对于 db，为空（将使用数据库配置）；对于其他引擎，为连接字符串。相对路径将根据 _`AppWorkPath`_ 绝对化。
-- `COOKIE_SECURE`: **false**：启用此选项以强制在所有会话访问中使用 HTTPS。
+- `COOKIE_SECURE`: **_empty_**：`true` 或 `false`。启用此选项以强制在所有会话访问中使用 HTTPS。如果没有设置，当 ROOT_URL 是 https 链接的时候默认设置为 true。
 - `COOKIE_NAME`: **i\_like\_gitea**：用于会话 ID 的 cookie 名称。
 - `GC_INTERVAL_TIME`: **86400**：GC 间隔时间，以秒为单位。
 - `SESSION_LIFE_TIME`: **86400**：会话生命周期，以秒为单位，默认为 86400（1 天）。
diff --git a/modules/setting/session.go b/modules/setting/session.go
index d0bc938973ac1..664c66f86957d 100644
--- a/modules/setting/session.go
+++ b/modules/setting/session.go
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ func loadSessionFrom(rootCfg ConfigProvider) {
 	}
 	SessionConfig.CookieName = sec.Key("COOKIE_NAME").MustString("i_like_gitea")
 	SessionConfig.CookiePath = AppSubURL + "/" // there was a bug, old code only set CookePath=AppSubURL, no trailing slash
-	SessionConfig.Secure = sec.Key("COOKIE_SECURE").MustBool(false)
+	SessionConfig.Secure = sec.Key("COOKIE_SECURE").MustBool(strings.HasPrefix(strings.ToLower(AppURL), "https://"))
 	SessionConfig.Gclifetime = sec.Key("GC_INTERVAL_TIME").MustInt64(86400)
 	SessionConfig.Maxlifetime = sec.Key("SESSION_LIFE_TIME").MustInt64(86400)
 	SessionConfig.Domain = sec.Key("DOMAIN").String()