diff --git a/docker/federation/docker-compose.yml b/docker/federation/docker-compose.yml
index 3f986a8149d..4379eb386c6 100644
--- a/docker/federation/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker/federation/docker-compose.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ services:
       - LEMMY_FRONT_END_DIR=/app/dist
       - LEMMY_FEDERATION__ENABLED=true
       - LEMMY_FEDERATION__TLS_ENABLED=false
-      - LEMMY_FEDERATION__INSTANCE_WHITELIST=lemmy_beta,lemmy_gamma
+      - LEMMY_FEDERATION__ALLOWED_INSTANCES=lemmy_beta,lemmy_gamma
       - LEMMY_PORT=8540
       - LEMMY_SETUP__ADMIN_USERNAME=lemmy_alpha
       - LEMMY_SETUP__ADMIN_PASSWORD=lemmy
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ services:
       - LEMMY_FRONT_END_DIR=/app/dist
       - LEMMY_FEDERATION__ENABLED=true
       - LEMMY_FEDERATION__TLS_ENABLED=false
-      - LEMMY_FEDERATION__INSTANCE_WHITELIST=lemmy_alpha,lemmy_gamma
+      - LEMMY_FEDERATION__ALLOWED_INSTANCES=lemmy_alpha,lemmy_gamma
       - LEMMY_PORT=8550
       - LEMMY_SETUP__ADMIN_USERNAME=lemmy_beta
       - LEMMY_SETUP__ADMIN_PASSWORD=lemmy
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ services:
       - LEMMY_FRONT_END_DIR=/app/dist
       - LEMMY_FEDERATION__ENABLED=true
       - LEMMY_FEDERATION__TLS_ENABLED=false
-      - LEMMY_FEDERATION__INSTANCE_WHITELIST=lemmy_alpha,lemmy_beta
+      - LEMMY_FEDERATION__ALLOWED_INSTANCES=lemmy_alpha,lemmy_beta
       - LEMMY_PORT=8560
       - LEMMY_SETUP__ADMIN_USERNAME=lemmy_gamma
       - LEMMY_SETUP__ADMIN_PASSWORD=lemmy
diff --git a/docs/src/contributing_federation_development.md b/docs/src/contributing_federation_development.md
index 80567e60f0d..520a61275ff 100644
--- a/docs/src/contributing_federation_development.md
+++ b/docs/src/contributing_federation_development.md
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ Follow the normal installation instructions, either with [Ansible](administratio
 ```
     federation: {
         enabled: true
-        instance_whitelist: example.com
+        allowed_instances: example.com
     }
 ```
 
diff --git a/server/config/defaults.hjson b/server/config/defaults.hjson
index 09db4c020a7..61951321e06 100644
--- a/server/config/defaults.hjson
+++ b/server/config/defaults.hjson
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
     # whether tls is required for activitypub. only disable this for debugging, never for producion.
     tls_enabled: true
     # comma seperated list of instances with which federation is allowed
-    instance_whitelist: ""
+    allowed_instances: ""
   }
 #  # email sending configuration
 #  email: {
diff --git a/server/src/apub/mod.rs b/server/src/apub/mod.rs
index 93f50754fd8..6a2d6cffb38 100644
--- a/server/src/apub/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/apub/mod.rs
@@ -99,20 +99,20 @@ pub fn get_apub_protocol_string() -> &'static str {
   }
 }
 
-// Checks if the ID has a valid format, correct scheme, and is in the whitelist.
+// Checks if the ID has a valid format, correct scheme, and is in the allowed instance list.
 fn is_apub_id_valid(apub_id: &Url) -> bool {
   if apub_id.scheme() != get_apub_protocol_string() {
     return false;
   }
 
-  let whitelist: Vec<String> = Settings::get()
+  let allowed_instances: Vec<String> = Settings::get()
     .federation
-    .instance_whitelist
+    .allowed_instances
     .split(',')
     .map(|d| d.to_string())
     .collect();
   match apub_id.domain() {
-    Some(d) => whitelist.contains(&d.to_owned()),
+    Some(d) => allowed_instances.contains(&d.to_owned()),
     None => false,
   }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/settings.rs b/server/src/settings.rs
index e1ac759c555..b3173457f21 100644
--- a/server/src/settings.rs
+++ b/server/src/settings.rs
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ pub struct Database {
 pub struct Federation {
   pub enabled: bool,
   pub tls_enabled: bool,
-  pub instance_whitelist: String,
+  pub allowed_instances: String,
 }
 
 lazy_static! {