diff --git a/onionshare_gui/onionshare_gui.py b/onionshare_gui/onionshare_gui.py
index 4f34039f..de1b5c6f 100644
--- a/onionshare_gui/onionshare_gui.py
+++ b/onionshare_gui/onionshare_gui.py
@@ -221,9 +221,7 @@ class OnionShareGui(QtWidgets.QMainWindow):
 
             # start onionshare http service in new thread
             # First, load settings and configure
-            settings = Settings()
-            settings.load()
-            self.app.stay_open = not settings.get('close_after_first_download')
+            self.app.stay_open = not self.settings.get('close_after_first_download')
             common.log('OnionShareGUI', 'stay_open', 'stay_open={}'.format(self.app.stay_open))
             t = threading.Thread(target=web.start, args=(self.app.port, self.app.stay_open))
             t.daemon = True