diff --git a/packages/metro-config/src/defaults/index.js b/packages/metro-config/src/defaults/index.js
index 2d7df87df2..681b8f317b 100644
--- a/packages/metro-config/src/defaults/index.js
+++ b/packages/metro-config/src/defaults/index.js
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ const getDefaultValues = (projectRoot: ?string): ConfigT => ({
     optimizationSizeLimit: 150 * 1024, // 150 KiB.
     transformVariants: {default: {}},
     publicPath: '/assets',
-    allowOptionalDependencies: false,
+    allowOptionalDependencies: true,
     unstable_allowRequireContext: false,
     unstable_dependencyMapReservedName: null,
     unstable_disableModuleWrapping: false,