diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index add8d5ba..adb0d59c 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -110,6 +110,8 @@ endif()
 
 option(ENABLE_FFMPEG "Enable ffmpeg A/V recording" ${FFMPEG_DEFAULT})
 
+option(ENABLE_ONLINEUPDATES "Enable online update checks" ON)
+
 set(LTO_DEFAULT ON)
 
 # lto produces buggy binaries for 64 bit win32
@@ -293,6 +295,10 @@ if(ENABLE_FFMPEG)
     endif()
 endif()
 
+if(NOT ENABLE_ONLINEUPDATES)
+  add_definitions(-DNO_ONLINEUPDATES)
+endif()
+
 if(NOT ENABLE_FFMPEG)
   add_definitions(-DNO_FFMPEG)
 endif()
@@ -444,7 +450,7 @@ if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX OR CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL Clang)
     if(X86_32 OR AMD64)
         set(MY_C_OPT_FLAGS ${MY_C_OPT_FLAGS} -mtune=generic)
     endif()
- 
+
     # common debug flags
     if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
         set(MY_C_DBG_FLAGS -ggdb3 -Og -fno-omit-frame-pointer)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fc138bbe..8576f95d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -166,6 +166,7 @@ Here is the complete list:
 | ENABLE_LINK           | Enable GBA linking functionality (requires SFML)                     | ON                    |
 | ENABLE_LIRC           | Enable LIRC support                                                  | OFF                   |
 | ENABLE_FFMPEG         | Enable ffmpeg A/V recording                                          | OFF                   |
+| ENABLE_ONLINEUPDATES  | Enable online update checks                                          | ON                    |
 | ENABLE_LTO            | Compile with Link Time Optimization (gcc and clang only)             | ON for release build  |
 | ENABLE_GBA_LOGGING    | Enable extended GBA logging                                          | ON                    |
 | ENABLE_DIRECT3D       | Direct3D rendering for wxWidgets (Windows, **NOT IMPLEMENTED!!!**)   | ON                    |
diff --git a/src/wx/guiinit.cpp b/src/wx/guiinit.cpp
index c9392db7..4030f718 100644
--- a/src/wx/guiinit.cpp
+++ b/src/wx/guiinit.cpp
@@ -3330,10 +3330,36 @@ bool MainFrame::BindControls()
         sc->SetValidator(wxUIntValidator(&o));    \
     } while (0)
         {
+#ifndef NO_ONLINEUPDATES
             // Online Auto Update check frequency
             getrbi("UpdateNever", gopts.onlineupdates, 0);
             getrbi("UpdateDaily", gopts.onlineupdates, 1);
             getrbi("UpdateWeekly", gopts.onlineupdates, 7);
+#else
+            wxWindowList &children = d->GetChildren();
+            std::vector<wxWindow*> forDeletion;
+            for (wxWindowList::Node *node = children.GetFirst(); node; node = node->GetNext())
+            {
+                wxWindow *current = (wxWindow *)node->GetData();
+                if (dynamic_cast<wxStaticText*>(current))
+                {
+                    if (((wxStaticText *)current)->GetName() == wxT("OnlineUpdates"))
+                        forDeletion.push_back(current);
+                }
+                else if (dynamic_cast<wxRadioButton*>(current))
+                {
+                    wxString tmp = ((wxRadioButton *)current)->GetName();
+                    if (tmp == wxT("UpdateNever") ||
+                        tmp == wxT("UpdateDaily") ||
+                        tmp == wxT("UpdateWeekly"))
+                        forDeletion.push_back(current);
+                }
+            }
+            for (unsigned i = 0; i < forDeletion.size(); ++i)
+            {
+                delete forDeletion[i];
+            }
+#endif // NO_ONLINEUPDATES
             getrbi("PNG", captureFormat, 0);
             getrbi("BMP", captureFormat, 1);
             getsc("RewindInterval", gopts.rewind_interval);
diff --git a/src/wx/opts.cpp b/src/wx/opts.cpp
index 400fa62c..abbe48da 100644
--- a/src/wx/opts.cpp
+++ b/src/wx/opts.cpp
@@ -225,7 +225,9 @@ opt_desc opts[] = {
     BOOLOPT("General/AutoLoadLastState", "", wxTRANSLATE("Automatically load last saved state"), gopts.autoload_state),
     STROPT("General/BatteryDir", "", wxTRANSLATE("Directory to store game save files (relative paths are relative to ROM; blank is config dir)"), gopts.battery_dir),
     BOOLOPT("General/FreezeRecent", "", wxTRANSLATE("Freeze recent load list"), gopts.recent_freeze),
+#ifndef NO_ONLINEUPDATES
     ENUMOPT("General/OnlineUpdates", "", wxTRANSLATE("Automatically check for online updates"), gopts.onlineupdates, wxTRANSLATE("never|daily|weekly")),
+#endif // NO_ONLINEUPDATES
     STROPT("General/RecordingDir", "", wxTRANSLATE("Directory to store A/V and game recordings (relative paths are relative to ROM)"), gopts.recording_dir),
     INTOPT("General/RewindInterval", "", wxTRANSLATE("Number of seconds between rewind snapshots (0 to disable)"), gopts.rewind_interval, 0, 600),
     STROPT("General/ScreenshotDir", "", wxTRANSLATE("Directory to store screenshots (relative paths are relative to ROM)"), gopts.scrshot_dir),
@@ -350,7 +352,9 @@ opts_t::opts_t()
     autofire_rate = 1;
     print_auto_page = true;
     autoPatch = true;
+#ifndef NO_ONLINEUPDATES
     onlineupdates = 1;
+#endif // NO_ONLINEUPDATES
     // quick fix for issues #48 and #445
     link_host = "127.0.0.1";
 }
diff --git a/src/wx/opts.h b/src/wx/opts.h
index a8b0b3f6..e24c525f 100644
--- a/src/wx/opts.h
+++ b/src/wx/opts.h
@@ -42,7 +42,9 @@ extern struct opts_t {
     /// General
     bool autoload_state, autoload_cheats;
     wxString battery_dir;
+#ifndef NO_ONLINEUPDATES
     int onlineupdates;
+#endif // NO_ONLINEUPDATES
     long last_update;
     wxString last_updated_filename;
     bool recent_freeze;
diff --git a/src/wx/xrc/GeneralConfig.xrc b/src/wx/xrc/GeneralConfig.xrc
index fc8a6cd6..bcd0433e 100644
--- a/src/wx/xrc/GeneralConfig.xrc
+++ b/src/wx/xrc/GeneralConfig.xrc
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
           <object class="sizeritem">
             <object class="wxBoxSizer">
               <object class="sizeritem">
-                <object class="wxStaticText">
+                <object class="wxStaticText" name="OnlineUpdates">
                   <label>Check for updates:</label>
                 </object>
                 <flag>wxALL|wxALIGN_CENTRE_VERTICAL</flag>