diff --git a/docs/installation/docker.md b/docs/installation/docker.md
index 500f39dda..639cf536a 100644
--- a/docs/installation/docker.md
+++ b/docs/installation/docker.md
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - /path/to/config:/app/config # Make sure your local config directory exists
       - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro # (optional) For docker integrations
-    environment:
-      HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS: gethomepage.dev # required, may need port. See gethomepage.dev/installation/#homepage_allowed_hosts
 ```
 
 ### Running as non-root
@@ -38,7 +36,6 @@ services:
       - /path/to/config:/app/config # Make sure your local config directory exists
       - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro # (optional) For docker integrations, see alternative methods
     environment:
-      HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS: gethomepage.dev # required, may need port. See gethomepage.dev/installation/#homepage_allowed_hosts
       PUID: $PUID
       PGID: $PGID
 ```
@@ -46,7 +43,7 @@ services:
 ### With Docker Run
 
 ```bash
-docker run -p 3000:3000 -e HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS=gethomepage.dev -v /path/to/config:/app/config -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock ghcr.io/gethomepage/homepage:latest
+docker run -p 3000:3000 -v /path/to/config:/app/config -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock ghcr.io/gethomepage/homepage:latest
 ```
 
 ### Using Environment Secrets
diff --git a/docs/installation/index.md b/docs/installation/index.md
index 02245faeb..996b9a23d 100644
--- a/docs/installation/index.md
+++ b/docs/installation/index.md
@@ -27,21 +27,9 @@ You have a few options for deploying homepage, depending on your needs. We offer
 
 </div>
 
-### `HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS`
+### Authentication
 
-As of v1.0 there is one required environment variable to access homepage via a URL other than `localhost`, <code>HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS</code>. The setting helps prevent certain kinds of attacks when retrieving data from the homepage API proxy.
-
-The value is a comma-separated (no spaces) list of allowed hosts (sometimes with the port) that can host your homepage install. See the [docker](docker.md), [kubernetes](k8s.md) and [source](source.md) installation pages for more information about where / how to set the variable.
-
-`localhost:3000` and `127.0.0.1:3000` are always included, but you can add a domain or IP address to this list to allow that host such as `HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS=gethomepage.dev,192.168.1.2:1234`, etc.
-
-If you are seeing errors about host validation, check the homepage logs and ensure that the host exactly as output in the logs is in the `HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS` list.
-
-This can be disabled by setting `HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS` to `*` but this is not recommended. Public deployments must rely on a reverse proxy (and/or VPN) that enforces authentication, TLS, and blocks direct-IP access and unexpected Host headers; the built-in host check is a best-effort guard for local setups and is not a substitute for edge protections.
-
-### Built-in OIDC authentication (optional, opt-in)
-
-Homepage now supports a minimal OIDC login flow (no per-user roles or personalization) so you can deploy without a reverse proxy handling auth. Enable it with:
+Public deployments of Homepage should be secured via a reverse proxy, VPN, or similar. As of version 2.0, Homepage supports a simple OIDC login flow for built-in authorization. Enable it with the following environment variables:
 
 - `HOMEPAGE_AUTH_ENABLED=true`
 - `HOMEPAGE_OIDC_ISSUER` (OIDC issuer URL, e.g., `https://auth.example.com/realms/homepage`)
diff --git a/docs/installation/k8s.md b/docs/installation/k8s.md
index 172b9b295..a8cdc8d67 100644
--- a/docs/installation/k8s.md
+++ b/docs/installation/k8s.md
@@ -223,9 +223,6 @@ spec:
         - name: homepage
           image: "ghcr.io/gethomepage/homepage:latest"
           imagePullPolicy: Always
-          env:
-            - name: HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS
-              value: gethomepage.dev # required, may need port. See gethomepage.dev/installation/#homepage_allowed_hosts
           ports:
             - name: http
               containerPort: 3000
diff --git a/docs/installation/source.md b/docs/installation/source.md
index fd0275a75..a4d1d57a8 100644
--- a/docs/installation/source.md
+++ b/docs/installation/source.md
@@ -27,9 +27,7 @@ If this is your first time starting, copy the `src/skeleton` directory to `confi
 Finally, run the server:
 
 ```bash
-HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS=gethomepage.dev:1234 pnpm start
+pnpm start
 ```
 
 When updating homepage versions you will need to re-build the static files i.e. repeat the process above.
-
-See [HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS](index.md#homepage_allowed_hosts) for more information on this environment variable.
diff --git a/src/middleware.js b/src/middleware.js
index 704af9c25..b4b0bfcf4 100644
--- a/src/middleware.js
+++ b/src/middleware.js
@@ -1,23 +1,17 @@
 import { getToken } from "next-auth/jwt";
 import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
 
-const authEnabled = process.env.HOMEPAGE_AUTH_ENABLED === "true";
+const authEnabled = Boolean(process.env.HOMEPAGE_AUTH_ENABLED);
 const authSecret = process.env.NEXTAUTH_SECRET || process.env.HOMEPAGE_AUTH_SECRET;
+let warnedAllowedHosts = false;
 
 export async function middleware(req) {
-  // Host validation (status quo)
-  const host = req.headers.get("host");
-  const port = process.env.PORT || 3000;
-  let allowedHosts = [`localhost:${port}`, `127.0.0.1:${port}`, `[::1]:${port}`];
-  const allowAll = process.env.HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS === "*";
-  if (process.env.HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS) {
-    allowedHosts = allowedHosts.concat(process.env.HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS.split(","));
-  }
-  if (!allowAll && (!host || !allowedHosts.includes(host))) {
-    console.error(
-      `Host validation failed for: ${host}. Hint: Set the HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS environment variable to allow requests from this host / port.`,
+  if (!warnedAllowedHosts && process.env.HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS) {
+    warnedAllowedHosts = true;
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+    console.warn(
+      "HOMEPAGE_ALLOWED_HOSTS is deprecated. To secure a publicly accessible homepage, configure authentication instead.",
     );
-    return NextResponse.json({ error: "Host validation failed. See logs for more details." }, { status: 400 });
   }
 
   if (authEnabled) {
diff --git a/src/pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].js b/src/pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].js
index bfb6be510..7d4325090 100644
--- a/src/pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].js
+++ b/src/pages/api/auth/[...nextauth].js
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 import NextAuth from "next-auth";
 
-const authEnabled = process.env.HOMEPAGE_AUTH_ENABLED === "true";
+const authEnabled = Boolean(process.env.HOMEPAGE_AUTH_ENABLED);
 const issuer = process.env.HOMEPAGE_OIDC_ISSUER;
 const clientId = process.env.HOMEPAGE_OIDC_CLIENT_ID;
 const clientSecret = process.env.HOMEPAGE_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET;
 const homepageAuthSecret = process.env.HOMEPAGE_AUTH_SECRET;
 const homepageExternalUrl = process.env.HOMEPAGE_EXTERNAL_URL;
 
-// Map HOMEPAGE_* envs to what NextAuth expects so users don’t need NEXTAUTH_* explicitly.
+// Map HOMEPAGE_* envs to what NextAuth expects
 if (!process.env.NEXTAUTH_SECRET && homepageAuthSecret) {
   process.env.NEXTAUTH_SECRET = homepageAuthSecret;
 }
@@ -22,9 +22,7 @@ if (
   authEnabled &&
   (!issuer || !clientId || !clientSecret || !process.env.NEXTAUTH_SECRET || !process.env.NEXTAUTH_URL)
 ) {
-  throw new Error(
-    "OIDC auth is enabled but required settings are missing. Please set HOMEPAGE_OIDC_ISSUER, HOMEPAGE_OIDC_CLIENT_ID, HOMEPAGE_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET, HOMEPAGE_AUTH_SECRET, and HOMEPAGE_EXTERNAL_URL.",
-  );
+  throw new Error("OIDC auth is enabled but required settings are missing.");
 }
 
 let providers = [];