diff --git a/x-pack/libbeat/docs/aws-credentials-config.asciidoc b/x-pack/libbeat/docs/aws-credentials-config.asciidoc
index be536f433ab..db661dcc627 100644
--- a/x-pack/libbeat/docs/aws-credentials-config.asciidoc
+++ b/x-pack/libbeat/docs/aws-credentials-config.asciidoc
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ given, the default profile will be used.
 `shared_credential_file` is optional to specify the directory of your shared
 credentials file. If it's empty, the default directory will be used.
 In Windows, shared credentials file is at `C:\Users\<yourUserName>\.aws\credentials`.
-For Linux, macOS or Unix, the file is located at `~/.aws/credentials`. Please see
+For Linux, macOS or Unix, the file is located at `~/.aws/credentials`. When running as a service, 
+the home path depends on the user that manages the service, so the `shared_credential_file` parameter can be used to avoid ambiguity. Please see
 https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/DeveloperGuide/create-shared-credentials-file.html[Create Shared Credentials File]
 for more details.