diff --git a/interface/src/avatar/MyAvatar.cpp b/interface/src/avatar/MyAvatar.cpp
index d4815b35c6..120e626b9a 100644
--- a/interface/src/avatar/MyAvatar.cpp
+++ b/interface/src/avatar/MyAvatar.cpp
@@ -931,6 +931,10 @@ void MyAvatar::loadData() {
         updateAvatarEntity(entityID, properties);
     }
     settings.endArray();
+    if (avatarEntityCount == 0) {
+        // HACK: manually remove empty 'avatarEntityData' else legacy data may persist in settings file
+        settings.remove("avatarEntityData");
+    }
     setAvatarEntityDataChanged(true);
 
     setDisplayName(settings.value("displayName").toString());