diff --git a/client/index.html b/client/index.html
index 7790e62d..ab388f55 100644
--- a/client/index.html
+++ b/client/index.html
@@ -209,6 +209,7 @@
 									Enable colored nicknames
 								</label>
 							</div>
+							<% if (typeof prefetch === "undefined" || prefetch !== false) { %>
 							<div class="col-sm-12">
 								<h2>Links and URLs</h2>
 							</div>
@@ -224,6 +225,7 @@
 									Auto-expand links
 								</label>
 							</div>
+							<% } %>
 							<div class="col-sm-12">
 								<h2>Notifications</h2>
 							</div>
diff --git a/config.js b/config.js
index 4e41abb6..4f1abb47 100644
--- a/config.js
+++ b/config.js
@@ -44,6 +44,17 @@ module.exports = {
 	// @default  true
 	//
 	autoload: true,
+	
+	//
+	// Prefetch URLs
+	//
+	// If enabled, Shout will try to load thumbnails and site descriptions from
+	// URLs posted in channels.
+	//
+	// @type     boolean
+	// @default  true
+	//
+	prefetch: true,
 
 	//
 	// Log settings
diff --git a/src/plugins/irc-events/link.js b/src/plugins/irc-events/link.js
index 282c128e..8540281e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/irc-events/link.js
+++ b/src/plugins/irc-events/link.js
@@ -2,10 +2,16 @@ var _ = require("lodash");
 var cheerio = require("cheerio");
 var Msg = require("../../models/msg");
 var request = require("superagent");
+var Helper = require("../../helper");
 
 module.exports = function(irc, network) {
 	var client = this;
 	irc.on("message", function(data) {
+		var config = Helper.getConfig();
+		if (!config.prefetch) {
+			return;
+		}
+		
 		var links = [];
 		var split = data.message.split(" ");
 		_.each(split, function(w) {