diff --git a/api/typeDefs/user.js b/api/typeDefs/user.js
index 3b755e5f..082782bf 100644
--- a/api/typeDefs/user.js
+++ b/api/typeDefs/user.js
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ export default gql`
     hideIsContributor: Boolean!
     hideWalletBalance: Boolean!
     imgproxyOnly: Boolean!
+    showImagesAndVideos: Boolean!
     nostrCrossposting: Boolean!
     nostrPubkey: String
     nostrRelays: [String!]
@@ -155,6 +156,7 @@ export default gql`
     hideIsContributor: Boolean!
     hideWalletBalance: Boolean!
     imgproxyOnly: Boolean!
+    showImagesAndVideos: Boolean!
     nostrCrossposting: Boolean!
     nostrPubkey: String
     nostrRelays: [String!]
diff --git a/components/image.js b/components/image.js
index 05860cb0..493f70c5 100644
--- a/components/image.js
+++ b/components/image.js
@@ -19,13 +19,25 @@ export function decodeOriginalUrl (imgproxyUrl) {
   return originalUrl
 }
 
-function ImageOriginal ({ src, topLevel, rel, tab, children, onClick, ...props }) {
+function LinkRaw ({ href, children, src, rel, onClick, ...props }) {
+  const isRawURL = /^https?:\/\//.test(children?.[0])
+  return (
+    // eslint-disable-next-line
+    <a
+      target='_blank'
+      rel={rel ?? UNKNOWN_LINK_REL}
+      href={src}
+    >{isRawURL || !children ? src : children}
+    </a>
+  )
+}
+
+function ImageOriginal ({ src, topLevel, tab, onClick, ...props }) {
   const me = useMe()
   const [showImage, setShowImage] = useState(false)
   const [showVideo, setShowVideo] = useState(false)
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (me?.privates?.imgproxyOnly && tab !== 'preview') return
     // make sure it's not a false negative by trying to load URL as <img>
     const img = new window.Image()
     img.onload = () => setShowImage(true)
@@ -42,7 +54,9 @@ function ImageOriginal ({ src, topLevel, rel, tab, children, onClick, ...props }
     }
   }, [src, showImage])
 
-  if (showImage) {
+  const showMedia = (tab === 'preview' || (me?.privates?.showImagesAndVideos !== false && !me?.privates?.imgproxyOnly))
+
+  if (showImage && showMedia) {
     return (
       <img
         className={topLevel ? styles.topLevel : undefined}
@@ -51,23 +65,14 @@ function ImageOriginal ({ src, topLevel, rel, tab, children, onClick, ...props }
         onError={() => setShowImage(false)}
       />
     )
-  } else if (showVideo) {
+  } else if (showVideo && showMedia) {
     return <video src={src} controls />
   } else {
     // user is not okay with loading original url automatically or there was an error loading the image
 
     // If element parsed by markdown is a raw URL, we use src as the text to not mislead users.
     // This will not be the case if [text](url) format is used. Then we will show what was chosen as text.
-    const isRawURL = /^https?:\/\//.test(children?.[0])
-    return (
-      // eslint-disable-next-line
-      <a
-        target='_blank'
-        rel={rel ?? UNKNOWN_LINK_REL}
-        href={src}
-      >{isRawURL || !children ? src : children}
-      </a>
-    )
+    return <LinkRaw src={src} {...props} />
   }
 }
 
@@ -138,6 +143,7 @@ const Image = memo(({ className, src, srcSet, sizes, width, height, onClick, onE
 
 export default function ZoomableImage ({ src, srcSet, ...props }) {
   const showModal = useShowModal()
+  const me = useMe()
 
   // if `srcSet` is falsy, it means the image was not processed by worker yet
   const [trustedDomain, setTrustedDomain] = useState(!!srcSet || IMGPROXY_URL_REGEXP.test(src) || MEDIA_DOMAIN_REGEXP.test(src))
@@ -171,12 +177,16 @@ export default function ZoomableImage ({ src, srcSet, ...props }) {
   if (!src) return null
 
   if (trustedDomain) {
-    return (
-      <TrustedImage
-        src={src} srcSet={srcSet}
-        onClick={handleClick} onError={handleError} {...props}
-      />
-    )
+    if (props.tab === 'preview' || !me || me.privates.showImagesAndVideos) {
+      return (
+        <TrustedImage
+          src={src} srcSet={srcSet}
+          onClick={handleClick} onError={handleError} {...props}
+        />
+      )
+    } else {
+      return <LinkRaw src={src} onClick={handleClick} {...props} />
+    }
   }
 
   return <ImageOriginal src={originalUrl} onClick={handleClick} {...props} />
diff --git a/fragments/users.js b/fragments/users.js
index 154c8672..73cadf09 100644
--- a/fragments/users.js
+++ b/fragments/users.js
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ export const ME = gql`
         hideWalletBalance
         hideWelcomeBanner
         imgproxyOnly
+        showImagesAndVideos
         lastCheckedJobs
         nostrCrossposting
         noteAllDescendants
@@ -98,6 +99,7 @@ export const SETTINGS_FIELDS = gql`
       hideTwitter
       hideIsContributor
       imgproxyOnly
+      showImagesAndVideos
       hideWalletBalance
       diagnostics
       noReferralLinks
diff --git a/pages/settings/index.js b/pages/settings/index.js
index c599cb1a..05e2e415 100644
--- a/pages/settings/index.js
+++ b/pages/settings/index.js
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ export default function Settings ({ ssrData }) {
             tipRandomMin: settings?.tipRandomMin || 1,
             tipRandomMax: settings?.tipRandomMax || 10,
             turboTipping: settings?.turboTipping,
-            disableFreebies: settings?.disableFreebies,
+            disableFreebies: settings?.disableFreebies || undefined,
             zapUndos: settings?.zapUndos || (settings?.tipDefault ? 100 * settings.tipDefault : 2100),
             zapUndosEnabled: settings?.zapUndos !== null,
             fiatCurrency: settings?.fiatCurrency || 'USD',
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@ export default function Settings ({ ssrData }) {
             hideNostr: settings?.hideNostr,
             hideTwitter: settings?.hideTwitter,
             imgproxyOnly: settings?.imgproxyOnly,
+            showImagesAndVideos: settings?.showImagesAndVideos,
             wildWestMode: settings?.wildWestMode,
             satsFilter: settings?.satsFilter,
             nsfwMode: settings?.nsfwMode,
@@ -508,6 +509,17 @@ export default function Settings ({ ssrData }) {
             required
             append={<InputGroup.Text className='text-monospace'>sats</InputGroup.Text>}
           />
+          <Checkbox
+            label={
+              <div className='d-flex align-items-center'>show images and video
+                <Info>
+                  <p>disable to show images and videos as links instead of embedding them</p>
+                </Info>
+              </div>
+            }
+            name='showImagesAndVideos'
+            groupClassName='mb-0'
+          />
           <Checkbox
             label={
               <div className='d-flex align-items-center'>wild west mode
diff --git a/prisma/migrations/20240903235340_hide_images/migration.sql b/prisma/migrations/20240903235340_hide_images/migration.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f5f60153
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prisma/migrations/20240903235340_hide_images/migration.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+-- AlterTable
+ALTER TABLE "users" ADD COLUMN     "showImagesAndVideos" BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT true;
diff --git a/prisma/schema.prisma b/prisma/schema.prisma
index 6752baaa..65b4d0f2 100644
--- a/prisma/schema.prisma
+++ b/prisma/schema.prisma
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ model User {
   turboTipping              Boolean              @default(false)
   zapUndos                  Int?
   imgproxyOnly              Boolean              @default(false)
+  showImagesAndVideos       Boolean              @default(true)
   hideWalletBalance         Boolean              @default(false)
   disableFreebies           Boolean?
   referrerId                Int?