diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index a30a7795c2..cda776186c 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -605,9 +605,9 @@ export enum FeatureFlag {
 }
 ```
 
-`superset/config.py` contains `FEATURE_FLAGS` with their default values which will be
-overwritten by
-those specified under FEATURE_FLAGS in `superset_config.py`.
+`superset/config.py` contains `DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS` which will be overwritten by
+those specified under FEATURE_FLAGS in `superset_config.py`. For example, `DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS = { 'FOO': True, 'BAR': False }` in `superset/config.py` and `FEATURE_FLAGS = { 'BAR': True, 'BAZ': True }` in `superset_config.py` will result
+in combined feature flags of `{ 'FOO': True, 'BAR': True, 'BAZ': True }`.
 
 The current status of the usability of each flag (stable vs testing, etc) can be found in `RESOURCES/FEATURE_FLAGS.md`.
 
diff --git a/superset/cli.py b/superset/cli.py
index 663d2bcfe3..15a8ce9e14 100755
--- a/superset/cli.py
+++ b/superset/cli.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ from superset.utils.urls import get_url_path
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-feature_flags = config.FEATURE_FLAGS.copy()
+feature_flags = config.DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS.copy()
 feature_flags.update(config.FEATURE_FLAGS)
 feature_flags_func = config.GET_FEATURE_FLAGS_FUNC
 if feature_flags_func:
diff --git a/superset/config.py b/superset/config.py
index c769330c5e..ff73edd94e 100644
--- a/superset/config.py
+++ b/superset/config.py
@@ -310,8 +310,12 @@ LANGUAGES = {}
 # ---------------------------------------------------
 # Feature flags
 # ---------------------------------------------------
-# Feature flags that are set by default go here.
-FEATURE_FLAGS: Dict[str, bool] = {
+# Feature flags that are set by default go here. Their values can be
+# overwritten by those specified under FEATURE_FLAGS in superset_config.py
+# For example, DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS = { 'FOO': True, 'BAR': False } here
+# and FEATURE_FLAGS = { 'BAR': True, 'BAZ': True } in superset_config.py
+# will result in combined feature flags of { 'FOO': True, 'BAR': True, 'BAZ': True }
+DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS: Dict[str, bool] = {
     # allow dashboard to use sub-domains to send chart request
     # you also need ENABLE_CORS and
     # SUPERSET_WEBSERVER_DOMAINS for list of domains
@@ -390,7 +394,7 @@ FEATURE_FLAGS: Dict[str, bool] = {
 }
 
 # Feature flags may also be set via 'SUPERSET_FEATURE_' prefixed environment vars.
-FEATURE_FLAGS.update(
+DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS.update(
     {
         k[len("SUPERSET_FEATURE_") :]: parse_boolean_string(v)
         for k, v in os.environ.items()
@@ -398,7 +402,11 @@ FEATURE_FLAGS.update(
     }
 )
 
+# This is merely a default.
+FEATURE_FLAGS: Dict[str, bool] = {}
+
 # A function that receives a dict of all feature flags
+# (DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS merged with FEATURE_FLAGS)
 # can alter it, and returns a similar dict. Note the dict of feature
 # flags passed to the function is a deepcopy of the dict in the config,
 # and can therefore be mutated without side-effect
diff --git a/superset/utils/feature_flag_manager.py b/superset/utils/feature_flag_manager.py
index fc42a398ab..88f19c2f46 100644
--- a/superset/utils/feature_flag_manager.py
+++ b/superset/utils/feature_flag_manager.py
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ class FeatureFlagManager:
 
     def init_app(self, app: Flask) -> None:
         self._get_feature_flags_func = app.config["GET_FEATURE_FLAGS_FUNC"]
-        self._feature_flags = app.config["FEATURE_FLAGS"].copy()
+        self._feature_flags = app.config["DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS"]
+        self._feature_flags.update(app.config["FEATURE_FLAGS"])
 
     def get_feature_flags(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         if self._get_feature_flags_func:
diff --git a/tests/cli_tests.py b/tests/cli_tests.py
index 911a9f348b..7ea4b9350b 100644
--- a/tests/cli_tests.py
+++ b/tests/cli_tests.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ def test_export_datasources_original(app_context, fs):
 
 @pytest.mark.usefixtures("load_birth_names_dashboard_with_slices")
 @mock.patch.dict(
-    "superset.config.FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
+    "superset.config.DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
 )
 def test_export_dashboards_versioned_export(app_context, fs):
     """
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ def test_export_dashboards_versioned_export(app_context, fs):
 
 @pytest.mark.usefixtures("load_birth_names_dashboard_with_slices")
 @mock.patch.dict(
-    "superset.config.FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
+    "superset.config.DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
 )
 def test_export_datasources_versioned_export(app_context, fs):
     """
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ def test_export_datasources_versioned_export(app_context, fs):
 
 
 @mock.patch.dict(
-    "superset.config.FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
+    "superset.config.DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
 )
 @mock.patch("superset.dashboards.commands.importers.dispatcher.ImportDashboardsCommand")
 def test_import_dashboards_versioned_export(import_dashboards_command, app_context, fs):
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ def test_import_dashboards_versioned_export(import_dashboards_command, app_conte
 
 
 @mock.patch.dict(
-    "superset.config.FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
+    "superset.config.DEFAULT_FEATURE_FLAGS", {"VERSIONED_EXPORT": True}, clear=True
 )
 @mock.patch("superset.datasets.commands.importers.dispatcher.ImportDatasetsCommand")
 def test_import_datasets_versioned_export(import_datasets_command, app_context, fs):