diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index db0a3be8d..53badff3f 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -14,16 +14,17 @@ import (
 var Config *config
 
 type config struct {
-	IPFS            ipfs            `yaml:"ipfs"`
-	PublicHLSPath   string          `yaml:"publicHLSPath"`
-	PrivateHLSPath  string          `yaml:"privateHLSPath"`
-	VideoSettings   videoSettings   `yaml:"videoSettings"`
-	Files           files           `yaml:"files"`
-	FFMpegPath      string          `yaml:"ffmpegPath"`
-	WebServerPort   int             `yaml:"webServerPort"`
-	S3              s3              `yaml:"s3"`
-	InstanceDetails InstanceDetails `yaml:"instanceDetails"`
-	VersionInfo     string          `yaml:"-"`
+	IPFS               ipfs            `yaml:"ipfs"`
+	PublicHLSPath      string          `yaml:"publicHLSPath"`
+	PrivateHLSPath     string          `yaml:"privateHLSPath"`
+	VideoSettings      videoSettings   `yaml:"videoSettings"`
+	Files              files           `yaml:"files"`
+	FFMpegPath         string          `yaml:"ffmpegPath"`
+	WebServerPort      int             `yaml:"webServerPort"`
+	S3                 s3              `yaml:"s3"`
+	InstanceDetails    InstanceDetails `yaml:"instanceDetails"`
+	VersionInfo        string          `yaml:"-"`
+	DisableWebFeatures bool            `yaml:"disableWebFeatures"`
 }
 
 // InstanceDetails defines the user-visible information about this particular instance.
diff --git a/controllers/index.go b/controllers/index.go
index e42c2f4a2..932e242d7 100644
--- a/controllers/index.go
+++ b/controllers/index.go
@@ -29,9 +29,18 @@ type MetadataPage struct {
 func IndexHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	middleware.EnableCors(&w)
 
+	isIndexRequest := r.URL.Path == "/" || r.URL.Path == "/index.html"
+
+	// Reject requests for the web UI if it's disabled.
+	if isIndexRequest && config.Config.DisableWebFeatures {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		w.Write([]byte("404 - y u ask 4 this?  If this is an error let us know: https://github.com/gabek/owncast/issues"))
+		return
+	}
+
 	ua := user_agent.New(r.UserAgent())
 
-	if ua != nil && ua.Bot() && (r.URL.Path == "/" || r.URL.Path == "/index.html") {
+	if ua != nil && ua.Bot() && isIndexRequest {
 		handleScraperMetadataPage(w, r)
 		return
 	}
diff --git a/router/router.go b/router/router.go
index ac5821c2e..b310bf19c 100644
--- a/router/router.go
+++ b/router/router.go
@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ import (
 
 //Start starts the router for the http, ws, and rtmp
 func Start() error {
-	// websocket chat server
-	go chat.Start()
-
 	// start the rtmp server
 	go rtmp.Start()
 
@@ -26,11 +23,16 @@ func Start() error {
 	// status of the system
 	http.HandleFunc("/status", controllers.GetStatus)
 
-	// chat rest api
-	http.HandleFunc("/chat", controllers.GetChatMessages)
+	if !config.Config.DisableWebFeatures {
+		// websocket chat server
+		go chat.Start()
 
-	// web config api
-	http.HandleFunc("/config", controllers.GetWebConfig)
+		// chat rest api
+		http.HandleFunc("/chat", controllers.GetChatMessages)
+
+		// web config api
+		http.HandleFunc("/config", controllers.GetWebConfig)
+	}
 
 	port := config.Config.WebServerPort