diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index e437f26..16dcb56 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 FROM alpine:3.19.0
 ENV FTP_USER=foo \
 	FTP_PASS=bar \
+	CHOWN_FILES_ON_STARTUP=1 \
 	GID=1000 \
 	UID=1000
 
diff --git a/src/docker-entrypoint.sh b/src/docker-entrypoint.sh
index 43ae0b3..8f4de8a 100755
--- a/src/docker-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/src/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,12 @@ adduser \
 	$FTP_USER
 
 mkdir -p /home/$FTP_USER
-chown -R $FTP_USER:$FTP_USER /home/$FTP_USER
+if [ -n "$CHOWN_FILES_ON_STARTUP" ]; then
+	echo "Fixing file ownership..."
+	chown -R $FTP_USER:$FTP_USER /home/$FTP_USER
+else
+	echo "Not changing file ownership."
+fi
 echo "$FTP_USER:$FTP_PASS" | /usr/sbin/chpasswd
 
 touch /var/log/vsftpd.log