diff --git a/src/users.js b/src/users.js
index a21e45019..e29b65b13 100644
--- a/src/users.js
+++ b/src/users.js
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ async function setGhost(user, password, expiresAt) {
     assert.strictEqual(typeof password, 'string');
     assert.strictEqual(typeof expiresAt, 'number');
 
-    expiresAt = expiresAt || DEFAULT_GHOST_LIFETIME;
+    expiresAt = expiresAt || (Date.now() + DEFAULT_GHOST_LIFETIME);
 
     debug(`setGhost: ${user.username} expiresAt ${expiresAt}`);