diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6309d2d6439c1..f1fa49263ae72 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,25 @@
 
 - [filesystem] added the menu item `Upload Files...` to easily upload files into a workspace
 
+Breaking changes:
+- [editor] turn off autoSave by default to align with VS Code [#4777](https://github.com/theia-ide/theia/pull/4777)
+  - default settings can be overriden in application package.json:
+  ```json
+  {
+    "private": true,
+    "name": "myapp",
+    "theia": {
+      "frontend": {
+        "config": {
+          "preferences": {
+            "editor.autoSave": "on"
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  ```
+
 ## v0.5.0
 
 - Added `scope` to task configurations to differentiate 3 things: task type, task source, and where to run tasks
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/browser/editor-preferences.ts b/packages/editor/src/browser/editor-preferences.ts
index 55b1fd69b5a9d..8cf52bd11cd52 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/browser/editor-preferences.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/browser/editor-preferences.ts
@@ -96,8 +96,8 @@ export const editorPreferenceSchema: PreferenceSchema = {
                 'on',
                 'off'
             ],
-            'default': 'on',
-            'description': 'Configure whether the editor should be auto saved.',
+            'default': 'off',
+            'description': 'Controls auto save of dirty files.',
             overridable: false
         },
         'editor.autoSaveDelay': {