diff --git a/core/Controller/UnifiedSearchController.php b/core/Controller/UnifiedSearchController.php
index 3290307dc23fb..62fbc5dcccf96 100644
--- a/core/Controller/UnifiedSearchController.php
+++ b/core/Controller/UnifiedSearchController.php
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ public function search(string $providerId,
 						   ?int $limit = null,
 						   $cursor = null,
 						   string $from = ''): DataResponse {
-		if (empty(trim($term))) {
+		if (trim($term) === "") {
 			return new DataResponse(null, Http::STATUS_BAD_REQUEST);
 		}
 		[$route, $routeParameters] = $this->getRouteInformation($from);