diff --git a/README b/README
index c8c529ed86..e02fa02d31 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1081,6 +1081,13 @@ debug: if turned on, this will make the XMPP library blurt out all of
 public: an array of JIDs to send _all_ notices to. This is useful for
 	participating in third-party search and archiving services.
 
+invite
+------
+
+For configuring invites.
+
+enabled: Whether to allow users to send invites. Default true.
+
 tag
 ---
 
diff --git a/actions/invite.php b/actions/invite.php
index 5dcc836526..bdea4807d8 100644
--- a/actions/invite.php
+++ b/actions/invite.php
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@ class InviteAction extends CurrentUserDesignAction
     function handle($args)
     {
         parent::handle($args);
-        if (!common_logged_in()) {
+        if (!common_config('invite', 'enabled')) {
+            $this->clientError(_('Invites have been disabled.'));
+        } else if (!common_logged_in()) {
             $this->clientError(sprintf(_('You must be logged in to invite other users to use %s'),
                                         common_config('site', 'name')));
             return;
diff --git a/config.php.sample b/config.php.sample
index d42bac9a69..a23b41b319 100644
--- a/config.php.sample
+++ b/config.php.sample
@@ -86,6 +86,9 @@ $config['sphinx']['port'] = 3312;
 // $config['xmpp']['public'][] = 'someindexer@example.net';
 // $config['xmpp']['debug'] = false;
 
+// Turn off invites
+// $config['invite']['enabled'] = false;
+
 // Default locale info
 // $config['site']['timezone'] = 'Pacific/Auckland';
 // $config['site']['language'] = 'en_NZ';
diff --git a/lib/action.php b/lib/action.php
index 89a8c8f4d3..12d122f120 100644
--- a/lib/action.php
+++ b/lib/action.php
@@ -422,11 +422,13 @@ class Action extends HTMLOutputter // lawsuit
                     $this->menuItem(common_local_url('smssettings'),
                                     _('Connect'), _('Connect to SMS, Twitter'), false, 'nav_connect');
                 }
-                $this->menuItem(common_local_url('invite'),
-                                _('Invite'),
-                                sprintf(_('Invite friends and colleagues to join you on %s'),
-                                        common_config('site', 'name')),
-                                false, 'nav_invitecontact');
+                if (common_config('invite', 'enabled')) {
+                    $this->menuItem(common_local_url('invite'),
+                                    _('Invite'),
+                                    sprintf(_('Invite friends and colleagues to join you on %s'),
+                                            common_config('site', 'name')),
+                                    false, 'nav_invitecontact');
+                }
                 $this->menuItem(common_local_url('logout'),
                                 _('Logout'), _('Logout from the site'), false, 'nav_logout');
             }
diff --git a/lib/common.php b/lib/common.php
index e2936f0751..e10f24b3b8 100644
--- a/lib/common.php
+++ b/lib/common.php
@@ -175,6 +175,8 @@ $config =
               'host' => null, # only set if != server
               'debug' => false, # print extra debug info
               'public' => array()), # JIDs of users who want to receive the public stream
+        'invite' =>
+        array('enabled' => true),
         'sphinx' =>
         array('enabled' => false,
               'server' => 'localhost',
diff --git a/lib/facebookaction.php b/lib/facebookaction.php
index a445750f7e..1ae90d53bd 100644
--- a/lib/facebookaction.php
+++ b/lib/facebookaction.php
@@ -213,12 +213,14 @@ class FacebookAction extends Action
             array('href' => 'index.php', 'title' => _('Home')), _('Home'));
         $this->elementEnd('li');
 
-        $this->elementStart('li',
-            array('class' =>
-                ($this->action == 'facebookinvite') ? 'current' : 'facebook_invite'));
-        $this->element('a',
-            array('href' => 'invite.php', 'title' => _('Invite')), _('Invite'));
-        $this->elementEnd('li');
+        if (common_config('invite', 'enabled')) {
+            $this->elementStart('li',
+                array('class' =>
+                    ($this->action == 'facebookinvite') ? 'current' : 'facebook_invite'));
+            $this->element('a',
+                array('href' => 'invite.php', 'title' => _('Invite')), _('Invite'));
+            $this->elementEnd('li');
+        }
 
         $this->elementStart('li',
             array('class' =>
diff --git a/lib/subgroupnav.php b/lib/subgroupnav.php
index 4a9b36ae8f..5209919232 100644
--- a/lib/subgroupnav.php
+++ b/lib/subgroupnav.php
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ class SubGroupNav extends Widget
                                          $this->user->nickname),
                                  $action == 'usergroups',
                                  'nav_usergroups');
-            if (!is_null($cur) && $this->user->id === $cur->id) {
+            if (common_config('invite', 'enabled') && !is_null($cur) && $this->user->id === $cur->id) {
                 $this->out->menuItem(common_local_url('invite'),
                                      _('Invite'),
                                      sprintf(_('Invite friends and colleagues to join you on %s'),
diff --git a/plugins/FBConnect/FBConnectPlugin.php b/plugins/FBConnect/FBConnectPlugin.php
index cd6e9cecfb..d45d2718c3 100644
--- a/plugins/FBConnect/FBConnectPlugin.php
+++ b/plugins/FBConnect/FBConnectPlugin.php
@@ -273,11 +273,13 @@ class FBConnectPlugin extends Plugin
              $action->menuItem(common_local_url('smssettings'),
                  _('Connect'), _('Connect to SMS, Twitter'), false, 'nav_connect');
             }
-            $action->menuItem(common_local_url('invite'),
-                _('Invite'),
-                sprintf(_('Invite friends and colleagues to join you on %s'),
-                common_config('site', 'name')),
-                false, 'nav_invitecontact');
+            if (common_config('invite', 'enabled')) {
+                $action->menuItem(common_local_url('invite'),
+                    _('Invite'),
+                    sprintf(_('Invite friends and colleagues to join you on %s'),
+                    common_config('site', 'name')),
+                    false, 'nav_invitecontact');
+            }
 
             // Need to override the Logout link to make it do FB stuff
             if (!empty($fbuid)) {