diff --git a/glib/gfileutils.c b/glib/gfileutils.c
index a62db6696..94083a22b 100644
--- a/glib/gfileutils.c
+++ b/glib/gfileutils.c
@@ -1362,9 +1362,13 @@ g_file_set_contents_full (const gchar            *filename,
       GError *rename_error = NULL;
       gboolean retval;
       int fd;
-      gboolean do_fsync;
+      gboolean do_fsync, maintain_perms;
       GStatBuf old_stat;
 
+      maintain_perms = !g_stat (filename, &old_stat);
+      if (maintain_perms)
+        mode = 0600;
+
       tmp_filename = g_strdup_printf ("%s.XXXXXX", filename);
 
       errno = 0;
@@ -1382,7 +1386,7 @@ g_file_set_contents_full (const gchar            *filename,
         }
 
       /* Maintain the permissions of the file if it exists */
-      if (!g_stat (filename, &old_stat))
+      if (maintain_perms)
         {
 #ifndef G_OS_WIN32
           if (fchmod (fd, old_stat.st_mode))