diff --git a/umap/settings/base.py b/umap/settings/base.py
index 0b86b55b..9992b011 100644
--- a/umap/settings/base.py
+++ b/umap/settings/base.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ env = environ.Env()
 # =============================================================================
 
 
-INTERNAL_IPS = env.list('INTERNAL_IPS', default='127.0.0.1')
+INTERNAL_IPS = env.list('INTERNAL_IPS', default=['127.0.0.1'])
 ALLOWED_HOSTS = env.list('ALLOWED_HOSTS', default=['*'])
 ADMINS = tuple(parseaddr(email) for email in env.list('ADMINS', default=[]))