diff --git a/internal/models/api.go b/internal/models/api.go
index f270adeef..a6c3f69d1 100644
--- a/internal/models/api.go
+++ b/internal/models/api.go
@@ -161,7 +161,6 @@ func (ag *APIAlertGroup) DedupSharedMaps() {
 // Settings is used to export unsee configuration that is used by UI
 type Settings struct {
 	StaticColorLabels []string `json:"staticColorLabels"`
-	DefaultFilters    []string `json:"defaultFilters"`
 }
 
 // AlertsResponse is the structure of JSON response UI will use to get alert data
diff --git a/ui/package-lock.json b/ui/package-lock.json
index 21822dfd7..f219ef869 100644
--- a/ui/package-lock.json
+++ b/ui/package-lock.json
@@ -9487,6 +9487,11 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/range-parser/-/range-parser-1.2.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha1-9JvmtIeJTdxA3MlKMi9hEJLgDV4="
     },
+    "raven-js": {
+      "version": "3.26.3",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/raven-js/-/raven-js-3.26.3.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-VPAsPfK73A9VPcJx5X/kt0GxOqUGpGDM8vdzsYNQXMhYemyZGiW1JX1AI+f4jxm37Apijj6VVtCyJcYFz3ocSQ=="
+    },
     "raw-body": {
       "version": "2.3.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/raw-body/-/raw-body-2.3.2.tgz",
diff --git a/ui/package.json b/ui/package.json
index 718cbc772..6368df1ea 100644
--- a/ui/package.json
+++ b/ui/package.json
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
     "moment": "^2.22.2",
     "prop-types": "^15.6.2",
     "qs": "^6.5.2",
+    "raven-js": "^3.26.3",
     "react": "^16.4.1",
     "react-autosuggest": "^9.3.4",
     "react-dom": "^16.4.1",
diff --git a/ui/public/index.html b/ui/public/index.html
index 848a1ff36..50684982e 100644
--- a/ui/public/index.html
+++ b/ui/public/index.html
@@ -16,6 +16,15 @@
     <noscript>
       You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
     </noscript>
+    <!--
+      Settings span is used to pass config keys that needs to be accessible
+      early, before the UI app is started.
+    -->
+    <span id="settings"
+          data-raven-dsn="{{ .SentryDSN }}"
+          data-version="{{ .Version }}"
+          data-default-filters-base64="{{ .DefaultFilter }}">
+    </span>
     <div id="root"></div>
     <!--
       This HTML file is a template.
diff --git a/ui/src/App.js b/ui/src/App.js
index bf4d5adb2..b746372b2 100644
--- a/ui/src/App.js
+++ b/ui/src/App.js
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import React, { Component } from "react";
+import PropTypes from "prop-types";
 
 import { Provider } from "mobx-react";
 
@@ -10,12 +11,30 @@ import { Fetcher } from "Components/Fetcher";
 import "./App.css";
 
 class App extends Component {
+  static propTypes = {
+    defaultFilters: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.string).isRequired
+  };
+
   constructor(props) {
     super(props);
 
-    const params = DecodeLocationSearch();
+    const { defaultFilters } = this.props;
 
-    this.alertStore = new AlertStore(params.q);
+    let filters;
+
+    // parse and decode request query args
+    const p = DecodeLocationSearch();
+
+    // p.defaultsUsed means that unsee URI didn't have ?q=foo query args
+    if (p.defaultsUsed) {
+      // no ?q=foo set, use defaults from backend config
+      filters = defaultFilters;
+    } else {
+      // user passed ?q=foo, use it as initial filters
+      filters = p.params.q;
+    }
+
+    this.alertStore = new AlertStore(filters);
   }
 
   render() {
diff --git a/ui/src/Stores/AlertStore.js b/ui/src/Stores/AlertStore.js
index 32d55788d..edcaf1fde 100644
--- a/ui/src/Stores/AlertStore.js
+++ b/ui/src/Stores/AlertStore.js
@@ -8,10 +8,13 @@ import qs from "qs";
 
 // generate URL for the UI with a set of filters
 function FormatAPIFilterQuery(filters) {
-  return qs.stringify(Object.assign(DecodeLocationSearch(), { q: filters }), {
-    encodeValuesOnly: true, // don't encode q[]
-    indices: false // go-gin doesn't support parsing q[0]=foo&q[1]=bar
-  });
+  return qs.stringify(
+    Object.assign(DecodeLocationSearch().params, { q: filters }),
+    {
+      encodeValuesOnly: true, // don't encode q[]
+      indices: false // go-gin doesn't support parsing q[0]=foo&q[1]=bar
+    }
+  );
 }
 
 // format URI for react UI -> Go backend requests
@@ -21,18 +24,26 @@ function FormatUnseeBackendURI(path) {
 }
 
 function DecodeLocationSearch() {
+  let defaultsUsed = true;
   let params = { q: [] };
 
   if (window.location.search !== "") {
     const parsed = qs.parse(window.location.search.split("?")[1]);
-    if (Array.isArray(parsed.q)) {
-      params.q = parsed.q;
-    } else {
-      params.q = [parsed.q];
+    params = Object.assign(params, parsed);
+
+    if (parsed.q !== undefined) {
+      defaultsUsed = false;
+      if (parsed.q === "") {
+        params.q = [];
+      } else if (Array.isArray(parsed.q)) {
+        params.q = parsed.q;
+      } else {
+        params.q = [parsed.q];
+      }
     }
   }
 
-  return params;
+  return { params: params, defaultsUsed: defaultsUsed };
 }
 
 function UpdateLocationSearch(newParams) {
diff --git a/ui/src/index.js b/ui/src/index.js
index c1947da45..6344b1396 100644
--- a/ui/src/index.js
+++ b/ui/src/index.js
@@ -1,10 +1,56 @@
 import React from "react";
 import ReactDOM from "react-dom";
 
+import Raven from "raven-js";
+
 import Moment from "react-moment";
 
 import { App } from "./App";
 
+let defaultFilters = [];
+
+// check if we have early settings
+const settings = document.getElementById("settings");
+if (settings !== null) {
+  // sentry setup if sentry dsn is set
+  if (
+    settings.dataset.ravenDsn &&
+    settings.dataset.ravenDsn !== "{{ .SentryDSN }}"
+  ) {
+    let version = "unknown";
+    if (
+      settings.dataset.version &&
+      settings.dataset.version !== "{{ .Version }}"
+    ) {
+      version = settings.dataset.version;
+    }
+
+    try {
+      Raven.config(settings.dataset.ravenDsn, { release: version }).install();
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error("Raven config failed: " + err);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // default filters, JSON blob encoded with base64
+  if (
+    settings.dataset.defaultFiltersBase64 &&
+    settings.dataset.defaultFiltersBase64 !== "{{ .DefaultFilter }}"
+  ) {
+    // decode from base64 to a string
+    const decoded = Buffer.from(
+      settings.dataset.defaultFiltersBase64,
+      "base64"
+    ).toString("ascii");
+    // parse decoded string as JSON
+    const json = JSON.parse(decoded);
+    // if we got an array then use it as default filters
+    if (Array.isArray(json)) {
+      defaultFilters = json;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 // enable console warnings, but only for dev
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "development") {
   const { whyDidYouUpdate } = require("why-did-you-update");
@@ -18,4 +64,7 @@ if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "development") {
 // https://www.npmjs.com/package/react-moment#pooled-timer
 Moment.startPooledTimer();
 
-ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById("root"));
+ReactDOM.render(
+  <App defaultFilters={defaultFilters} />,
+  document.getElementById("root")
+);