diff --git a/app/static/js/nopaque.callbacks.js b/app/static/js/nopaque.callbacks.js
index acb0a674..43999647 100644
--- a/app/static/js/nopaque.callbacks.js
+++ b/app/static/js/nopaque.callbacks.js
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ function queryRenderResults(payload) {
     activateInspect();
   }
   // inital expert mode check and activation
-  if (expertModeSwitchElement) {
+  if (expertModeSwitchElement.checked) {
     let initialTokenElements = document.getElementsByClassName("token");
     expertModeOn(initialTokenElements, resultsJSON);
   }