diff --git a/.env b/.env
index cf5ed56e744..651ae3b1ba8 100644
--- a/.env
+++ b/.env
@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ PUBLIC_APP_DATA_SHARING=#set to 1 to enable options & text regarding data sharin
 PUBLIC_APP_DISCLAIMER=#set to 1 to show a disclaimer on login page
 LLM_SUMMERIZATION=true
 
+ENABLE_PDF_CHAT=false #set to true to enable PDF-chat feature
+
 # PUBLIC_APP_NAME=HuggingChat
 # PUBLIC_APP_ASSETS=huggingchat
 # PUBLIC_APP_COLOR=yellow
diff --git a/src/lib/components/UploadBtn.svelte b/src/lib/components/UploadBtn.svelte
index 62b87316cee..2c8005b9a0c 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/UploadBtn.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/UploadBtn.svelte
@@ -6,10 +6,13 @@
 
 	export let classNames = "";
 	export let multimodal = false;
+	export let pdfChat = false;
 	export let files: File[];
 	export let pdfUpload: PdfUpload | undefined = undefined;
-	const accept = multimodal ? "image/*,.pdf" : ".pdf";
-	const label = multimodal ? "Upload image or PDF" : "Upload PDF";
+
+	const accept = (multimodal && pdfChat) ? "image/*,.pdf" : multimodal ? "image/*" : ".pdf";
+	const label = (multimodal && pdfChat) ? "Upload image or PDF" :  multimodal ? "Upload image" : "Upload PDF";
+	
 	let fileInput: HTMLInputElement;
 	let interval: ReturnType<typeof setInterval>;
 
@@ -35,7 +38,7 @@
 		}
 
 		const file = fileInput.files?.[0];
-		if (file?.type === "application/pdf") {
+		if (pdfChat && file?.type === "application/pdf") {
 			// pdf upload
 			dispatch("uploadpdf", file);
 		} else if (multimodal && file?.type.startsWith("image")) {
diff --git a/src/lib/components/chat/ChatWindow.svelte b/src/lib/components/chat/ChatWindow.svelte
index 673d67465a1..31001e4db49 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/chat/ChatWindow.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/chat/ChatWindow.svelte
@@ -178,10 +178,12 @@
 					/>
 				{/if}
 				<div class="ml-auto flex items-center gap-x-3">
-					{#if pdfUpload?.name}
+					{#if $page.data.enablePdfChat && pdfUpload?.name}
 						<UploadedPdfStatus on:deletepdf {pdfUpload} />
 					{/if}
-					<UploadBtn bind:files on:uploadpdf multimodal={currentModel.multimodal} {pdfUpload} />
+					{#if currentModel.multimodal || $page.data.enablePdfChat}
+						 <UploadBtn bind:files on:uploadpdf multimodal={currentModel.multimodal} pdfChat={$page.data.enablePdfChat} {pdfUpload} />
+					{/if}
 				</div>
 			</div>
 			<form
diff --git a/src/routes/+layout.server.ts b/src/routes/+layout.server.ts
index 9ce2c126a44..d482f031e3e 100644
--- a/src/routes/+layout.server.ts
+++ b/src/routes/+layout.server.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
 	MESSAGES_BEFORE_LOGIN,
 	YDC_API_KEY,
 	USE_LOCAL_WEBSEARCH,
+	ENABLE_PDF_CHAT,
 } from "$env/static/private";
 
 export const load: LayoutServerLoad = async ({ locals, depends }) => {
@@ -59,6 +60,8 @@ export const load: LayoutServerLoad = async ({ locals, depends }) => {
 
 	const loginRequired = requiresUser && !locals.user && userHasExceededMessages;
 
+	const enablePdfChat = ENABLE_PDF_CHAT === "true";
+
 	return {
 		conversations: await conversations
 			.find(authCondition(locals))
@@ -127,5 +130,6 @@ export const load: LayoutServerLoad = async ({ locals, depends }) => {
 		loginRequired,
 		loginEnabled: requiresUser,
 		guestMode: requiresUser && messagesBeforeLogin > 0,
+		enablePdfChat,
 	};
 };