diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/from_md/release-notes/rl-2205.section.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/from_md/release-notes/rl-2205.section.xml
index 68d46c30ac65..c93f2c97ae5c 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/from_md/release-notes/rl-2205.section.xml
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/from_md/release-notes/rl-2205.section.xml
@@ -237,6 +237,13 @@
           set <literal>autoSubUidGidRange = true</literal>.
         </para>
       </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+        <para>
+          <literal>services.thelounge.private</literal> was removed in
+          favor of <literal>services.thelounge.public</literal>, to
+          follow with upstream changes.
+        </para>
+      </listitem>
     </itemizedlist>
   </section>
   <section xml:id="sec-release-22.05-notable-changes">
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2205.section.md b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2205.section.md
index e29b1a936725..47406f0d502f 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2205.section.md
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2205.section.md
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ In addition to numerous new and upgraded packages, this release has the followin
 
 - Normal users (with `isNormalUser = true`) which have non-empty `subUidRanges` or `subGidRanges` set no longer have additional implicit ranges allocated. To enable automatic allocation back set `autoSubUidGidRange = true`.
 
+- `services.thelounge.private` was removed in favor of `services.thelounge.public`, to follow with upstream changes.
+
 ## Other Notable Changes {#sec-release-22.05-notable-changes}
 
 - The option [services.redis.servers](#opt-services.redis.servers) was added
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/networking/thelounge.nix b/nixos/modules/services/networking/thelounge.nix
index 9a366c97fcb6..a5118fd8b339 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/networking/thelounge.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/networking/thelounge.nix
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ let
   cfg = config.services.thelounge;
   dataDir = "/var/lib/thelounge";
   configJsData = "module.exports = " + builtins.toJSON (
-    { private = cfg.private; port = cfg.port; } // cfg.extraConfig
+    { inherit (cfg) public port; } // cfg.extraConfig
   );
   pluginManifest = {
     dependencies = builtins.listToAttrs (builtins.map (pkg: { name = getName pkg; value = getVersion pkg; }) cfg.plugins);
@@ -20,14 +20,17 @@ let
   '';
 in
 {
+  imports = [ (mkRemovedOptionModule [ "services" "thelounge" "private" ] "The option was renamed to `services.thelounge.public` to follow upstream changes.") ];
+
   options.services.thelounge = {
     enable = mkEnableOption "The Lounge web IRC client";
 
-    private = mkOption {
+    public = mkOption {
       type = types.bool;
       default = false;
       description = ''
-        Make your The Lounge instance private. You will need to configure user
+        Make your The Lounge instance public.
+        Setting this to <literal>false</literal> will require you to configure user
         accounts by using the (<command>thelounge</command>) command or by adding
         entries in <filename>${dataDir}/users</filename>. You might need to restart
         The Lounge after making changes to the state directory.
@@ -79,7 +82,9 @@ in
       group = "thelounge";
       isSystemUser = true;
     };
+
     users.groups.thelounge = { };
+
     systemd.services.thelounge = {
       description = "The Lounge web IRC client";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];