diff --git a/env/frontend.env b/env/frontend.env
index 0434f13695..0225b9a761 100644
--- a/env/frontend.env
+++ b/env/frontend.env
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 NODE_ENV=development
 PORT=8062
 SENTRY_ENV=dev # Re-enable sentry
+OPTIMIZE_IMAGES="true"
 
 # Environment variables with `NEXT_PUBLIC_` prefix are exposed to the client side
 NEXT_PUBLIC_ORIGIN=${MITOL_APP_BASE_URL}
diff --git a/frontends/main/next.config.js b/frontends/main/next.config.js
index 9ee6c74782..66742a7869 100644
--- a/frontends/main/next.config.js
+++ b/frontends/main/next.config.js
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ const { validateEnv } = require("./validateEnv")
 
 validateEnv()
 
+const OPTIMIZE_IMAGES = Boolean(
+  (process.env.OPTIMIZE_IMAGES ?? "true") === "true",
+)
+
 const processFeatureFlags = () => {
   const featureFlagPrefix =
     process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_FEATURE_PREFIX || "FEATURE_"
@@ -90,6 +94,7 @@ const nextConfig = {
   transpilePackages: ["@mitodl/smoot-design/ai"],
 
   images: {
+    unoptimized: !OPTIMIZE_IMAGES,
     remotePatterns: [
       {
         protocol: "http",