diff --git a/src/useContentPair.ts b/src/useContentPair.ts
index 835bd48..9d683e4 100644
--- a/src/useContentPair.ts
+++ b/src/useContentPair.ts
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ type ContentPair = {
 /**
  * Creates Encoder / Decoder pair for a given contentTopic.
  * @param {string} contentTopic - topic to orient to
- * @param {boolean} ephemeral - optional, makes messages ephemeral
+ * @param {boolean} ephemeral - makes messages ephemeral, default to false
  * @returns {Object} Encoder / Decoder pair
  */
 export const useContentPair = (
   contentTopic: string,
-  ephemeral?: boolean,
+  ephemeral: boolean = false,
 ): ContentPair => {
   const [encoder, setEncoder] = React.useState<undefined | Encoder>();
   const [decoder, setDecoder] = React.useState<undefined | Decoder>();