diff --git a/src/plugins/platforms/wayland/qwaylanddatadevice.cpp b/src/plugins/platforms/wayland/qwaylanddatadevice.cpp
index fe8e91235ff..3344d3806ed 100644
--- a/src/plugins/platforms/wayland/qwaylanddatadevice.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/platforms/wayland/qwaylanddatadevice.cpp
@@ -93,6 +93,12 @@ bool QWaylandDataDevice::startDrag(QMimeData *mimeData, Qt::DropActions supporte
         return false;
     }
 
+    // dragging data without mimetypes is a legal operation in Qt terms
+    // but Wayland uses a mimetype to determine if a drag is accepted or not
+    // In this rare case, insert a placeholder
+    if (mimeData->formats().isEmpty())
+        mimeData->setData("application/x-qt-avoid-empty-placeholder"_L1, QByteArray("1"));
+
     m_dragSource.reset(new QWaylandDataSource(m_display->dndSelectionHandler(), mimeData));
 
     if (version() >= 3)