diff --git a/src/controllers/serverController.ts b/src/controllers/serverController.ts
index f4d2da8..3cf1cb4 100644
--- a/src/controllers/serverController.ts
+++ b/src/controllers/serverController.ts
@@ -156,11 +156,6 @@ export const createServer = async (req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> =
       return;
     }
 
-    // Set default keep-alive interval for SSE servers if not specified
-    if ((config.type === 'sse' || (!config.type && config.url)) && !config.keepAliveInterval) {
-      config.keepAliveInterval = 60000; // Default 60 seconds for SSE servers
-    }
-
     // Set owner property - use current user's username, default to 'admin'
     if (!config.owner) {
       const currentUser = (req as any).user;
@@ -299,11 +294,6 @@ export const updateServer = async (req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void> =
       return;
     }
 
-    // Set default keep-alive interval for SSE servers if not specified
-    if ((config.type === 'sse' || (!config.type && config.url)) && !config.keepAliveInterval) {
-      config.keepAliveInterval = 60000; // Default 60 seconds for SSE servers
-    }
-
     // Set owner property if not provided - use current user's username, default to 'admin'
     if (!config.owner) {
       const currentUser = (req as any).user;
diff --git a/src/services/mcpService.ts b/src/services/mcpService.ts
index 9f8bd65..a47c6fd 100644
--- a/src/services/mcpService.ts
+++ b/src/services/mcpService.ts
@@ -31,11 +31,17 @@ const servers: { [sessionId: string]: Server } = {};
 
 // Helper function to set up keep-alive ping for SSE connections
 const setupKeepAlive = (serverInfo: ServerInfo, serverConfig: ServerConfig): void => {
-  // Only set up keep-alive for SSE connections
+  // Only set up keep-alive for SSE connections when keepAlive is explicitly enabled
   if (!(serverInfo.transport instanceof SSEClientTransport)) {
     return;
   }
 
+  // Check if keepAlive is explicitly enabled (default is false to avoid excessive API calls)
+  if (serverConfig.keepAlive !== true) {
+    console.log(`Keep-alive ping disabled for server: ${serverInfo.name} (set keepAlive: true to enable)`);
+    return;
+  }
+
   // Clear any existing interval first
   if (serverInfo.keepAliveIntervalId) {
     clearInterval(serverInfo.keepAliveIntervalId);
diff --git a/src/types/index.ts b/src/types/index.ts
index 5df5602..60c79da 100644
--- a/src/types/index.ts
+++ b/src/types/index.ts
@@ -266,7 +266,8 @@ export interface ServerConfig {
   headers?: Record<string, string>; // HTTP headers for SSE/streamable-http/openapi servers
   enabled?: boolean; // Flag to enable/disable the server
   owner?: string; // Owner of the server, defaults to 'admin' user
-  keepAliveInterval?: number; // Keep-alive ping interval in milliseconds (default: 60000ms for SSE servers)
+  keepAlive?: boolean; // Enable keep-alive ping for SSE servers (default: false - disabled to avoid excessive API calls)
+  keepAliveInterval?: number; // Keep-alive ping interval in milliseconds (default: 60000ms when keepAlive is enabled)
   tools?: Record<string, { enabled: boolean; description?: string }>; // Tool-specific configurations with enable/disable state and custom descriptions
   prompts?: Record<string, { enabled: boolean; description?: string }>; // Prompt-specific configurations with enable/disable state and custom descriptions
   options?: Partial<Pick<RequestOptions, 'timeout' | 'resetTimeoutOnProgress' | 'maxTotalTimeout'>>; // MCP request options configuration
diff --git a/tests/utils/mockSettings.ts b/tests/utils/mockSettings.ts
index 187b6aa..c94ca9c 100644
--- a/tests/utils/mockSettings.ts
+++ b/tests/utils/mockSettings.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ export const createMockSettings = (overrides: Partial<McpSettings> = {}): McpSet
         args: ['-y', 'time-mcp'],
         env: {},
         enabled: true,
+        keepAlive: false,
         keepAliveInterval: 30000,
         type: 'stdio',
       } as ServerConfig,