diff --git a/src/contentmanager.cpp b/src/contentmanager.cpp
index 6f4f8e4..4a83d7c 100644
--- a/src/contentmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/contentmanager.cpp
@@ -630,8 +630,6 @@ void ContentManager::setCurrentLanguage(QStringList languageList)
           } catch (std::out_of_range&) {}
         }
     }
-    if (languageList.empty())
-        languageList.append("*");
     auto newLanguage = languageList.join(",");
     if (m_currentLanguage == newLanguage)
         return;
@@ -722,9 +720,9 @@ QStringList ContentManager::getBookIds()
     filter.acceptTags(acceptTags);
     filter.rejectTags(rejectTags);
     filter.query(m_searchQuery.toStdString());
-    if (m_currentLanguage != "*")
+    if (m_currentLanguage != "")
         filter.lang(m_currentLanguage.toStdString());
-    if (m_categoryFilter != "all")
+    if (m_categoryFilter != "")
         filter.category(m_categoryFilter.toStdString());
 
     if (m_local) {
diff --git a/src/contentmanagerside.cpp b/src/contentmanagerside.cpp
index 9c1f237..4666ebe 100644
--- a/src/contentmanagerside.cpp
+++ b/src/contentmanagerside.cpp
@@ -82,21 +82,14 @@ void ContentManagerSide::setContentManager(ContentManager *contentManager)
     const auto checkedButton = mp_ui->buttonGroup->button(isLocal == CatalogButtonId::LOCAL);
     checkedButton->setChecked(true);
     checkedButton->setStyleSheet("*{font-weight: bold}");
-    connect(mp_languages, &KiwixChoiceBox::choiceUpdated,
-            this, [=](QStringList values) {
-                if (values[0] == "all") {
-                    values = QStringList();
-                }
-                mp_contentManager->setCurrentLanguage(values);
+    connect(mp_languages, &KiwixChoiceBox::choiceUpdated, this, [=](QStringList values) {
+        mp_contentManager->setCurrentLanguage(values);
     });
     connect(mp_categories, &KiwixChoiceBox::choiceUpdated, this, [=](QStringList values) {
         mp_contentManager->setCurrentCategoryFilter(values);
     });
     connect(mp_contentType, &KiwixChoiceBox::choiceUpdated, this, [=](QStringList values) {
-       if (values[0] == "all") {
-           values = QStringList();
-       }
-       mp_contentManager->setCurrentContentTypeFilter(values);
+        mp_contentManager->setCurrentContentTypeFilter(values);
     });
 }
 
diff --git a/src/kiwixchoicebox.cpp b/src/kiwixchoicebox.cpp
index 15c1ae2..8f13cf8 100644
--- a/src/kiwixchoicebox.cpp
+++ b/src/kiwixchoicebox.cpp
@@ -272,8 +272,6 @@ void KiwixChoiceBox::setType(QString type)
 
 QStringList KiwixChoiceBox::getCurrentSelected()
 {
-    if (choiceSelector->selectedItems().isEmpty())
-        return {"all"};
     QStringList selections;
     for (auto &item : choiceSelector->selectedItems()) {
         selections.append(item->data(Qt::UserRole).toString());
diff --git a/src/opdsrequestmanager.cpp b/src/opdsrequestmanager.cpp
index afcc0f3..8a24302 100644
--- a/src/opdsrequestmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/opdsrequestmanager.cpp
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ void OpdsRequestManager::doUpdate(const QString& currentLanguage, const QString&
     QStringList excludeTags("_sw:yes");
 
     // Add filter by language (if necessary)
-    if (currentLanguage != "*") {
+    if (currentLanguage != "") {
         query.addQueryItem("lang", currentLanguage);
     }
 
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ void OpdsRequestManager::doUpdate(const QString& currentLanguage, const QString&
     query.addQueryItem("count", QString::number(-1));
 
     // Add filter by category (if necessary)
-    if (categoryFilter != "all") {
+    if (categoryFilter != "") {
         query.addQueryItem("category", categoryFilter);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/settingsmanager.cpp b/src/settingsmanager.cpp
index 1f4f1ad..4e5e564 100644
--- a/src/settingsmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/settingsmanager.cpp
@@ -128,6 +128,6 @@ void SettingsManager::initSettings()
     m_monitorDir = m_settings.value("monitor/dir", QString("")).toString();
     m_moveToTrash = m_settings.value("moveToTrash", true).toBool();
     m_langList = m_settings.value("language", QLocale::languageToString(QLocale().language())).toStringList();
-    m_categoryList = m_settings.value("category", {"all"}).toStringList();
+    m_categoryList = m_settings.value("category", {}).toStringList();
     m_contentTypeList = m_settings.value("contentType", {}).toStringList();
 }