diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index a8034216..c6361300 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ ENV VPNSP=pia \
     UNBLOCK= \
     DNS_UPDATE_PERIOD=24h \
     # Firewall
+    FIREWALL=on \
     EXTRA_SUBNETS= \
     # Tinyproxy
     TINYPROXY=off \
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a7a48cf6..6121a2e2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -204,6 +204,7 @@ That one is important if you want to connect to the container from your LAN for
 
 | Variable | Default | Choices | Description |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| `FIREWALL` | `on` | `on` or `off` | Turn on or off the container built-in firewall. You should use it for **debugging purposes** only. |
 | `EXTRA_SUBNETS` | | i.e. `192.168.1.0/24,192.168.10.121,10.0.0.5/28` | Comma separated subnets allowed in the container firewall |
 
 ### Shadowsocks
diff --git a/cmd/gluetun/main.go b/cmd/gluetun/main.go
index c72ddb61..76ca6861 100644
--- a/cmd/gluetun/main.go
+++ b/cmd/gluetun/main.go
@@ -94,6 +94,10 @@ func _main(background context.Context, args []string) int {
 	fatalOnError(err)
 	logger.Info(allSettings.String())
 
+	if !allSettings.Firewall.Enabled {
+		firewallConf.Disable()
+	}
+
 	err = alpineConf.CreateUser("nonrootuser", allSettings.System.UID)
 	fatalOnError(err)
 	err = fileManager.SetOwnership("/etc/unbound", allSettings.System.UID, allSettings.System.GID)
diff --git a/internal/firewall/firewall.go b/internal/firewall/firewall.go
index 1f85f0a4..326d52f2 100644
--- a/internal/firewall/firewall.go
+++ b/internal/firewall/firewall.go
@@ -22,11 +22,13 @@ type Configurator interface {
 	AllowInputTrafficOnPort(ctx context.Context, device models.VPNDevice, port uint16) error
 	AllowAnyIncomingOnPort(ctx context.Context, port uint16) error
 	RunUserPostRules(ctx context.Context, fileManager files.FileManager, filepath string) error
+	Disable()
 }
 
 type configurator struct {
 	commander command.Commander
 	logger    logging.Logger
+	disabled  bool
 }
 
 // NewConfigurator creates a new Configurator instance
@@ -36,3 +38,7 @@ func NewConfigurator(logger logging.Logger) Configurator {
 		logger:    logger.WithPrefix("firewall configurator: "),
 	}
 }
+
+func (c *configurator) Disable() {
+	c.disabled = true
+}
diff --git a/internal/firewall/iptables.go b/internal/firewall/iptables.go
index 4b420dca..78e92afb 100644
--- a/internal/firewall/iptables.go
+++ b/internal/firewall/iptables.go
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ func (c *configurator) runIptablesInstruction(ctx context.Context, instruction s
 }
 
 func (c *configurator) Clear(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	c.logger.Info("clearing all rules")
 	return c.runIptablesInstructions(ctx, []string{
 		"--flush",
@@ -51,6 +54,9 @@ func (c *configurator) Clear(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 func (c *configurator) AcceptAll(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	c.logger.Info("accepting all traffic")
 	return c.runIptablesInstructions(ctx, []string{
 		"-P INPUT ACCEPT",
@@ -60,6 +66,9 @@ func (c *configurator) AcceptAll(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 func (c *configurator) BlockAll(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	c.logger.Info("blocking all traffic")
 	return c.runIptablesInstructions(ctx, []string{
 		"-P INPUT DROP",
@@ -70,6 +79,9 @@ func (c *configurator) BlockAll(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 func (c *configurator) CreateGeneralRules(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	c.logger.Info("creating general rules")
 	return c.runIptablesInstructions(ctx, []string{
 		"-A OUTPUT -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT",
@@ -80,6 +92,9 @@ func (c *configurator) CreateGeneralRules(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 func (c *configurator) CreateVPNRules(ctx context.Context, dev models.VPNDevice, defaultInterface string, connections []models.OpenVPNConnection) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	for _, connection := range connections {
 		c.logger.Info("allowing output traffic to VPN server %s through %s on port %s %d",
 			connection.IP, defaultInterface, connection.Protocol, connection.Port)
@@ -96,6 +111,9 @@ func (c *configurator) CreateVPNRules(ctx context.Context, dev models.VPNDevice,
 }
 
 func (c *configurator) CreateLocalSubnetsRules(ctx context.Context, subnet net.IPNet, extraSubnets []net.IPNet, defaultInterface string) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	subnetStr := subnet.String()
 	c.logger.Info("accepting input and output traffic for %s", subnetStr)
 	if err := c.runIptablesInstructions(ctx, []string{
@@ -123,6 +141,9 @@ func (c *configurator) CreateLocalSubnetsRules(ctx context.Context, subnet net.I
 
 // Used for port forwarding
 func (c *configurator) AllowInputTrafficOnPort(ctx context.Context, device models.VPNDevice, port uint16) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	c.logger.Info("accepting input traffic through %s on port %d", device, port)
 	return c.runIptablesInstructions(ctx, []string{
 		fmt.Sprintf("-A INPUT -i %s -p tcp --dport %d -j ACCEPT", device, port),
@@ -131,6 +152,9 @@ func (c *configurator) AllowInputTrafficOnPort(ctx context.Context, device model
 }
 
 func (c *configurator) AllowAnyIncomingOnPort(ctx context.Context, port uint16) error {
+	if c.disabled {
+		return nil
+	}
 	c.logger.Info("accepting any input traffic on port %d", port)
 	return c.runIptablesInstructions(ctx, []string{
 		fmt.Sprintf("-A INPUT -p tcp --dport %d -j ACCEPT", port),
diff --git a/internal/params/firewall.go b/internal/params/firewall.go
index 984bef3b..30684a76 100644
--- a/internal/params/firewall.go
+++ b/internal/params/firewall.go
@@ -4,8 +4,15 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"strings"
+
+	libparams "github.com/qdm12/golibs/params"
 )
 
+// GetFirewall obtains if the firewall should be enabled from the environment variable FIREWALL
+func (r *reader) GetFirewall() (enabled bool, err error) {
+	return r.envParams.GetOnOff("FIREWALL", libparams.Default("on"))
+}
+
 // GetExtraSubnets obtains the CIDR subnets from the comma separated list of the
 // environment variable EXTRA_SUBNETS
 func (r *reader) GetExtraSubnets() (extraSubnets []net.IPNet, err error) {
diff --git a/internal/params/params.go b/internal/params/params.go
index d75c030b..a4b10514 100644
--- a/internal/params/params.go
+++ b/internal/params/params.go
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ type Reader interface {
 	GetIPStatusFilepath() (filepath models.Filepath, err error)
 
 	// Firewall getters
+	GetFirewall() (enabled bool, err error)
 	GetExtraSubnets() (extraSubnets []net.IPNet, err error)
 
 	// VPN getters
diff --git a/internal/settings/firewall.go b/internal/settings/firewall.go
index 5ea25d83..f44b7412 100644
--- a/internal/settings/firewall.go
+++ b/internal/settings/firewall.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 // Firewall contains settings to customize the firewall operation
 type Firewall struct {
 	AllowedSubnets []net.IPNet
+	Enabled        bool
 }
 
 func (f *Firewall) String() string {
@@ -17,6 +18,9 @@ func (f *Firewall) String() string {
 	for i := range f.AllowedSubnets {
 		allowedSubnets[i] = f.AllowedSubnets[i].String()
 	}
+	if !f.Enabled {
+		return "Firewall settings: disabled"
+	}
 	settingsList := []string{
 		"Firewall settings:",
 		"Allowed subnets: " + strings.Join(allowedSubnets, ", "),
@@ -30,5 +34,9 @@ func GetFirewallSettings(paramsReader params.Reader) (settings Firewall, err err
 	if err != nil {
 		return settings, err
 	}
+	settings.Enabled, err = paramsReader.GetFirewall()
+	if err != nil {
+		return settings, err
+	}
 	return settings, nil
 }