diff --git a/backend/danswer/configs/app_configs.py b/backend/danswer/configs/app_configs.py
index 2dbe596b635..d44e2de78e0 100644
--- a/backend/danswer/configs/app_configs.py
+++ b/backend/danswer/configs/app_configs.py
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@
 # https://docs.celeryq.dev/en/stable/userguide/configuration.html#redis-backend-settings
 # should be one of "required", "optional", or "none"
 REDIS_SSL_CERT_REQS = os.getenv("REDIS_SSL_CERT_REQS", "none")
-REDIS_SSL_CA_CERTS = os.getenv("REDIS_SSL_CA_CERTS", "")
+REDIS_SSL_CA_CERTS = os.getenv("REDIS_SSL_CA_CERTS", None)
 
 CELERY_RESULT_EXPIRES = int(os.environ.get("CELERY_RESULT_EXPIRES", 86400))  # seconds
 
diff --git a/backend/danswer/redis/redis_pool.py b/backend/danswer/redis/redis_pool.py
index 25b932dbcd3..45ab39d8a02 100644
--- a/backend/danswer/redis/redis_pool.py
+++ b/backend/danswer/redis/redis_pool.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ def create_pool(
         db: int = REDIS_DB_NUMBER,
         password: str = REDIS_PASSWORD,
         max_connections: int = REDIS_POOL_MAX_CONNECTIONS,
-        ssl_ca_certs: str = REDIS_SSL_CA_CERTS,
+        ssl_ca_certs: str | None = REDIS_SSL_CA_CERTS,
         ssl_cert_reqs: str = REDIS_SSL_CERT_REQS,
         ssl: bool = False,
     ) -> redis.ConnectionPool: