diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 43208e4..40a3443 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ FROM gcr.io/distroless/nodejs20-debian12:nonroot AS production
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
+# making sure the production server does not use mock auth
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
+ENV USE_MOCK_AUTH=false
 
 COPY --from=builder /app/public/* /app/public/
 # this file is required for the pdfjs-dist package