diff --git a/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init.go b/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init.go
index 42d5e128147..f2223326ed9 100644
--- a/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init.go
+++ b/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init.go
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ var (
 	initShard          = flag.String("init_shard", "", "(init parameter) shard to use for this tablet")
 	initTabletType     = flag.String("init_tablet_type", "", "(init parameter) the tablet type to use for this tablet.")
 	initDbNameOverride = flag.String("init_db_name_override", "", "(init parameter) override the name of the db used by vttablet. Without this flag, the db name defaults to vt_<keyspacename>")
-	skipBuildInfoTags  = flag.String("vttablet_skip_buildinfo_tags", "", "comma-separated list of buildinfo tags to skip from merging with -init_tags. each tag is either an exact match or a regular expression of the form '/regexp/'.")
+	skipBuildInfoTags  = flag.String("vttablet_skip_buildinfo_tags", "/.*/", "comma-separated list of buildinfo tags to skip from merging with -init_tags. each tag is either an exact match or a regular expression of the form '/regexp/'.")
 	initTags           flagutil.StringMapValue
 
 	initPopulateMetadata = flag.Bool("init_populate_metadata", false, "(init parameter) populate metadata tables even if restore_from_backup is disabled. If restore_from_backup is enabled, metadata tables are always populated regardless of this flag.")
diff --git a/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init_test.go b/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init_test.go
index 753bcdee27f..74ffea70c37 100644
--- a/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init_test.go
+++ b/go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/tm_init_test.go
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func TestStartBuildTabletFromInput(t *testing.T) {
 		Shard:          "0",
 		KeyRange:       nil,
 		Type:           topodatapb.TabletType_REPLICA,
-		Tags:           servenv.AppVersion.ToStringMap(),
+		Tags:           map[string]string{},
 		DbNameOverride: "aa",
 	}
 
@@ -121,6 +121,42 @@ func TestStartBuildTabletFromInput(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "invalid init_tablet_type PRIMARY")
 }
 
+func TestBuildTabletFromInputWithBuildTags(t *testing.T) {
+	alias := &topodatapb.TabletAlias{
+		Cell: "cell",
+		Uid:  1,
+	}
+	port := int32(12)
+	grpcport := int32(34)
+
+	// Hostname should be used as is.
+	*tabletHostname = "foo"
+	*initKeyspace = "test_keyspace"
+	*initShard = "0"
+	*initTabletType = "replica"
+	*initDbNameOverride = "aa"
+	*skipBuildInfoTags = ""
+	defer func() { *skipBuildInfoTags = "/.*/" }()
+	wantTablet := &topodatapb.Tablet{
+		Alias:    alias,
+		Hostname: "foo",
+		PortMap: map[string]int32{
+			"vt":   port,
+			"grpc": grpcport,
+		},
+		Keyspace:       "test_keyspace",
+		Shard:          "0",
+		KeyRange:       nil,
+		Type:           topodatapb.TabletType_REPLICA,
+		Tags:           servenv.AppVersion.ToStringMap(),
+		DbNameOverride: "aa",
+	}
+
+	gotTablet, err := BuildTabletFromInput(alias, port, grpcport)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, wantTablet, gotTablet)
+}
+
 func TestStartCreateKeyspaceShard(t *testing.T) {
 	defer func(saved time.Duration) { rebuildKeyspaceRetryInterval = saved }(rebuildKeyspaceRetryInterval)
 	rebuildKeyspaceRetryInterval = 10 * time.Millisecond