diff --git a/web/src/pages/Explore.tsx b/web/src/pages/Explore.tsx
index 9cb97ae2a..09e576551 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/Explore.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/Explore.tsx
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ import { useDocDomain } from "@/hooks/use-doc-domain";
 
 const API_LIMIT = 25;
 
+// always parse these as string arrays
+const SEARCH_FILTER_ARRAY_KEYS = [
+  "cameras",
+  "labels",
+  "sub_labels",
+  "recognized_license_plate",
+  "zones",
+];
+
 export default function Explore() {
   // search field handler
 
@@ -58,13 +67,7 @@ export default function Explore() {
   const [search, setSearch] = useState("");
 
   const [searchFilter, setSearchFilter, searchSearchParams] =
-    useApiFilterArgs<SearchFilter>([
-      "cameras",
-      "labels",
-      "sub_labels",
-      "recognized_license_plate",
-      "zones",
-    ]);
+    useApiFilterArgs<SearchFilter>(SEARCH_FILTER_ARRAY_KEYS);
 
   const searchTerm = useMemo(
     () => searchSearchParams?.["query"] || "",