diff --git a/lisp/browse-url.el b/lisp/browse-url.el
index e719ecab3d2..a5c09d58fcf 100644
--- a/lisp/browse-url.el
+++ b/lisp/browse-url.el
@@ -426,8 +426,7 @@ These might set the port, for instance."
   :type '(repeat (string :tag "Argument"))
   :group 'browse-url)
 
-(defcustom browse-url-temp-dir
-  (or (getenv "TMPDIR") "/tmp")
+(defcustom browse-url-temp-dir system-tmp-directory
   "The name of a directory for browse-url's temporary files.
 Such files are generated by functions like `browse-url-of-region'.
 You might want to set this to somewhere with restricted read permissions