diff --git a/apps/server/src/api-data/settings/settings.validation.ts b/apps/server/src/api-data/settings/settings.validation.ts
index 1ac5d1178..8eb471700 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/api-data/settings/settings.validation.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/api-data/settings/settings.validation.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { body, checkExact } from 'express-validator';
+import { body } from 'express-validator';
 import { requestValidationFunction } from '../validation-utils/validationFunction.js';
 
 /**
@@ -8,11 +8,10 @@ export const validateWelcomeDialog = [body('show').isBoolean(), requestValidatio
 
 const pinValidator = (key: string) => {
   return body(key)
-    .isString()
-    .trim()
+    .optional()
     .isLength({ min: 0, max: 4 })
     .customSanitizer((input) => {
-      if (input.length === 0) {
+      if (input === null || input.length === 0) {
         return null;
       }
       return input;
@@ -28,8 +27,6 @@ export const validateSettings = [
   body('timeFormat').isString().isIn(['12', '24']).withMessage('Time format can only be "12" or "24"'),
   body('language').isString().trim().notEmpty(),
   body('serverPort').isPort().withMessage('Invalid value found for server port').toInt(),
-  checkExact(),
 
   requestValidationFunction,
 ];
-// TODO: dont allow other keys