diff --git a/cli/application.cpp b/cli/application.cpp
index bbc538a..4ef4f9b 100644
--- a/cli/application.cpp
+++ b/cli/application.cpp
@@ -227,6 +227,11 @@ int Application::loadConfig()
         return res;
     }
 
+    // disable polling for information which is not used by any CLI operation so far
+    m_settings.trafficPollInterval = 0;
+    m_settings.devStatsPollInterval = 0;
+    m_settings.errorsPollInterval = 0;
+
     return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/connector/syncthingconnection.cpp b/connector/syncthingconnection.cpp
index 2872c76..3a2661c 100644
--- a/connector/syncthingconnection.cpp
+++ b/connector/syncthingconnection.cpp
@@ -102,19 +102,20 @@ SyncthingConnection::SyncthingConnection(const QString &syncthingUrl, const QByt
     , m_hasDiskEvents(false)
     , m_lastFileDeleted(false)
 {
-    m_trafficPollTimer.setInterval(2000);
+    m_trafficPollTimer.setInterval(SyncthingConnectionSettings::defaultTrafficPollInterval);
     m_trafficPollTimer.setTimerType(Qt::VeryCoarseTimer);
     m_trafficPollTimer.setSingleShot(true);
     QObject::connect(&m_trafficPollTimer, &QTimer::timeout, this, &SyncthingConnection::requestConnections);
-    m_devStatsPollTimer.setInterval(60000);
+    m_devStatsPollTimer.setInterval(SyncthingConnectionSettings::defaultDevStatusPollInterval);
     m_devStatsPollTimer.setTimerType(Qt::VeryCoarseTimer);
     m_devStatsPollTimer.setSingleShot(true);
     QObject::connect(&m_devStatsPollTimer, &QTimer::timeout, this, &SyncthingConnection::requestDeviceStatistics);
-    m_errorsPollTimer.setInterval(30000);
+    m_errorsPollTimer.setInterval(SyncthingConnectionSettings::defaultErrorsPollInterval);
     m_errorsPollTimer.setTimerType(Qt::VeryCoarseTimer);
     m_errorsPollTimer.setSingleShot(true);
     QObject::connect(&m_errorsPollTimer, &QTimer::timeout, this, &SyncthingConnection::requestErrors);
     m_autoReconnectTimer.setTimerType(Qt::VeryCoarseTimer);
+    m_autoReconnectTimer.setInterval(SyncthingConnectionSettings::defaultReconnectInterval);
     QObject::connect(&m_autoReconnectTimer, &QTimer::timeout, this, &SyncthingConnection::autoReconnect);
 #ifdef LIB_SYNCTHING_CONNECTOR_CONNECTION_MOCKED
     setupTestData();
@@ -176,6 +177,17 @@ bool SyncthingConnection::hasOutOfSyncDirs() const
     return false;
 }
 
+/*!
+ * \brief Sets all polling intervals (traffic, device statistics, errors) to 0 so polling is disabled.
+ * \remarks Does not affect the auto-reconnect and does not affect the *long* polling for the event API.
+ */
+void SyncthingConnection::disablePolling()
+{
+    setTrafficPollInterval(0);
+    setDevStatsPollInterval(0);
+    setErrorsPollInterval(0);
+}
+
 /*!
  * \brief Connects asynchronously to Syncthing. Does nothing if already connected.
  */
diff --git a/connector/syncthingconnection.h b/connector/syncthingconnection.h
index 8eb08f7..9cea97d 100644
--- a/connector/syncthingconnection.h
+++ b/connector/syncthingconnection.h
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ public:
     int autoReconnectInterval() const;
     unsigned int autoReconnectTries() const;
     void setAutoReconnectInterval(int interval);
+    void disablePolling();
 
     // getter for information retrieved from Syncthing
     const QString &configDir() const;
@@ -491,8 +492,8 @@ inline void SyncthingConnection::considerAllNotificationsRead()
 }
 
 /*!
- * \brief Returns the interval for polling traffic status (which currently can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 2000 milliseconds.
+ * \brief Returns the interval for polling traffic status (which can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. Zero means polling is disabled.
  */
 inline int SyncthingConnection::trafficPollInterval() const
 {
@@ -500,8 +501,8 @@ inline int SyncthingConnection::trafficPollInterval() const
 }
 
 /*!
- * \brief Sets the interval for polling traffic status (which currently can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 2000 milliseconds.
+ * \brief Sets the interval for polling traffic status (which can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. Zero means polling is disabled.
  */
 inline void SyncthingConnection::setTrafficPollInterval(int trafficPollInterval)
 {
@@ -512,8 +513,8 @@ inline void SyncthingConnection::setTrafficPollInterval(int trafficPollInterval)
 }
 
 /*!
- * \brief Returns the interval for polling device statistics (which currently can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 60000 milliseconds.
+ * \brief Returns the interval for polling device statistics (which can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. Zero means polling is disabled.
  */
 inline int SyncthingConnection::devStatsPollInterval() const
 {
@@ -521,8 +522,8 @@ inline int SyncthingConnection::devStatsPollInterval() const
 }
 
 /*!
- * \brief Sets the interval for polling device statistics (which currently can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 60000 milliseconds.
+ * \brief Sets the interval for polling device statistics (which can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. Zero means polling is disabled.
  */
 inline void SyncthingConnection::setDevStatsPollInterval(int devStatsPollInterval)
 {
@@ -533,8 +534,8 @@ inline void SyncthingConnection::setDevStatsPollInterval(int devStatsPollInterva
 }
 
 /*!
- * \brief Returns the interval for polling Syncthing errors (which currently can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 30000 milliseconds.
+ * \brief Returns the interval for polling Syncthing errors (which can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. Zero means polling is disabled.
  */
 inline int SyncthingConnection::errorsPollInterval() const
 {
@@ -542,8 +543,8 @@ inline int SyncthingConnection::errorsPollInterval() const
 }
 
 /*!
- * \brief Sets the interval for polling Syncthing errors (which currently can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 30000 milliseconds.
+ * \brief Sets the interval for polling Syncthing errors (which can not be received via event API) in milliseconds.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. Zero means polling is disabled.
  */
 inline void SyncthingConnection::setErrorsPollInterval(int errorPollInterval)
 {
@@ -555,7 +556,7 @@ inline void SyncthingConnection::setErrorsPollInterval(int errorPollInterval)
 
 /*!
  * \brief Returns the reconnect interval in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 0 which indicates disabled auto-reconnect.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. A value of 0 indicates that auto-reconnect is disabled.
  */
 inline int SyncthingConnection::autoReconnectInterval() const
 {
@@ -572,7 +573,7 @@ inline unsigned int SyncthingConnection::autoReconnectTries() const
 
 /*!
  * \brief Sets the reconnect interval in milliseconds.
- * \remarks Default value is 0 which indicates disabled auto-reconnect.
+ * \remarks For default value see SyncthingConnectionSettings. A value of 0 indicates that auto-reconnect is disabled.
  */
 inline void SyncthingConnection::setAutoReconnectInterval(int interval)
 {
diff --git a/connector/syncthingconnectionsettings.h b/connector/syncthingconnectionsettings.h
index 4b6988d..22d5c96 100644
--- a/connector/syncthingconnectionsettings.h
+++ b/connector/syncthingconnectionsettings.h
@@ -16,13 +16,18 @@ struct LIB_SYNCTHING_CONNECTOR_EXPORT SyncthingConnectionSettings {
     QString userName;
     QString password;
     QByteArray apiKey;
-    int trafficPollInterval = 2000;
-    int devStatsPollInterval = 60000;
-    int errorsPollInterval = 30000;
-    int reconnectInterval = 30000;
+    int trafficPollInterval = defaultTrafficPollInterval;
+    int devStatsPollInterval = defaultDevStatusPollInterval;
+    int errorsPollInterval = defaultErrorsPollInterval;
+    int reconnectInterval = defaultReconnectInterval;
     QString httpsCertPath;
     QList<QSslError> expectedSslErrors;
     bool loadHttpsCert();
+
+    static constexpr int defaultTrafficPollInterval = 5000;
+    static constexpr int defaultDevStatusPollInterval = 60000;
+    static constexpr int defaultErrorsPollInterval = 30000;
+    static constexpr int defaultReconnectInterval = 0;
 };
 } // namespace Data