diff --git a/doc/source/configuration.rst b/doc/source/configuration.rst
index 885ce7a..828af4c 100644
--- a/doc/source/configuration.rst
+++ b/doc/source/configuration.rst
@@ -397,6 +397,13 @@ well as one that leaves a +1 "Code-Review" approval.
 General Options
 +++++++++++++++
 
+**breadcrumbs**
+  Gertty displays a footer at the bottom of the screen by default
+  which contains navigation information in the form of "breadcrumbs"
+  -- short descriptions of previous screens, with the right-most entry
+  indicating the screen that will be displayed if you press the `ESC`
+  key.  To disable this feature, set this value to `false`.
+
 **display-times-in-utc**
   Times are displayed in the local timezone by default.  To display
   them in UTC instead, set this value to `true`.
diff --git a/examples/reference-gertty.yaml b/examples/reference-gertty.yaml
index f33deae..bbf5043 100644
--- a/examples/reference-gertty.yaml
+++ b/examples/reference-gertty.yaml
@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@ commentlinks:
 #   sort-by: 'number'
 #   reverse: false
 
+# Uncomment the following line to disable the navigation breadcrumbs
+# at the bottom of the screen:
+# breadcrumbs: false
+
 # Uncomment the following line to use a unified diff view instead
 # of the default side-by-side:
 # diff-view: unified
diff --git a/gertty/app.py b/gertty/app.py
index 2b7a679..645c427 100644
--- a/gertty/app.py
+++ b/gertty/app.py
@@ -291,7 +291,10 @@ class App(object):
         self.breadcrumbs = BreadCrumbBar()
         self.screens.set_modified_callback(
             functools.partial(self.breadcrumbs._update, self.screens))
-        self.footer = urwid.AttrMap(self.breadcrumbs, 'footer')
+        if self.config.breadcrumbs:
+            self.footer = urwid.AttrMap(self.breadcrumbs, 'footer')
+        else:
+            self.footer = None
         screen = view_project_list.ProjectListView(self)
         self.status.update(title=screen.title)
         self.updateStatusQueries()
diff --git a/gertty/config.py b/gertty/config.py
index 4b9737c..f20fd0a 100644
--- a/gertty/config.py
+++ b/gertty/config.py
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ class ConfigSchema(object):
                            'thread-changes': bool,
                            'display-times-in-utc': bool,
                            'handle-mouse': bool,
+                           'breadcrumbs': bool,
                            'change-list-options': self.change_list_options,
                            'expire-age': str,
                            })
@@ -237,6 +238,7 @@ class Config(object):
 
         self.thread_changes = self.config.get('thread-changes', True)
         self.utc = self.config.get('display-times-in-utc', False)
+        self.breadcrumbs = self.config.get('breadcrumbs', True)
         self.handle_mouse = self.config.get('handle-mouse', True)
 
         change_list_options = self.config.get('change-list-options', {})