diff --git a/tensorboard/backend/application.py b/tensorboard/backend/application.py
index 32384e12a0..97c8244e23 100644
--- a/tensorboard/backend/application.py
+++ b/tensorboard/backend/application.py
@@ -165,10 +165,9 @@ def standard_tensorboard_wsgi(flags, plugin_loaders, assets_zip_provider):
             max_reload_threads=flags.max_reload_threads,
             event_file_active_filter=_get_event_file_active_filter(flags),
         )
-        if flags.generic_data != "false":
-            data_provider = event_data_provider.MultiplexerDataProvider(
-                multiplexer, flags.logdir or flags.logdir_spec
-            )
+        data_provider = event_data_provider.MultiplexerDataProvider(
+            multiplexer, flags.logdir or flags.logdir_spec
+        )
 
     if reload_interval >= 0:
         # We either reload the multiplexer once when TensorBoard starts up, or we
diff --git a/tensorboard/plugins/core/core_plugin.py b/tensorboard/plugins/core/core_plugin.py
index 76a3b38f8d..8cea04c3e3 100644
--- a/tensorboard/plugins/core/core_plugin.py
+++ b/tensorboard/plugins/core/core_plugin.py
@@ -589,9 +589,12 @@ def define_flags(self, parser):
             default="auto",
             choices=["false", "auto", "true"],
             help="""\
-[experimental] Whether to use generic data provider infrastructure. The
-"auto" option enables this only for dashboards that are considered
-stable under the new codepaths. (default: %(default)s)\
+[experimental] Hints whether plugins should read from generic data
+provider infrastructure. For plugins that support only the legacy
+multiplexer APIs or only the generic data APIs, this option has no
+effect. The "auto" option enables this only for plugins that are
+considered to have stable support for generic data providers. (default:
+%(default)s)\
 """,
         )