diff --git a/doc/help/settings.asciidoc b/doc/help/settings.asciidoc
index 434260b20..354fd87c7 100644
--- a/doc/help/settings.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/help/settings.asciidoc
@@ -315,6 +315,7 @@
 |<<session.default_name,session.default_name>>|Name of the session to save by default.
 |<<session.lazy_restore,session.lazy_restore>>|Load a restored tab as soon as it takes focus.
 |<<spellcheck.languages,spellcheck.languages>>|Languages to use for spell checking.
+|<<statusbar.mode_text,statusbar.mode_text>>|Show a text widget with the current input mode in the statusbar.
 |<<statusbar.padding,statusbar.padding>>|Padding (in pixels) for the statusbar.
 |<<statusbar.position,statusbar.position>>|Position of the status bar.
 |<<statusbar.show,statusbar.show>>|When to show the statusbar.
@@ -4190,6 +4191,14 @@ Valid values:
 
 Default: empty
 
+[[statusbar.mode_text]]
+=== statusbar.mode_text
+Show a text widget with the current input mode in the statusbar.
+
+Type: <<types,Bool>>
+
+Default: +pass:[true]+
+
 [[statusbar.padding]]
 === statusbar.padding
 Padding (in pixels) for the statusbar.
diff --git a/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml b/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
index b221a70dc..cde114ce4 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
+++ b/qutebrowser/config/configdata.yml
@@ -2212,6 +2212,11 @@ statusbar.widgets:
   default: ['keypress', 'search_match', 'url', 'scroll', 'history', 'tabs', 'progress']
   desc: "List of widgets displayed in the statusbar."
 
+statusbar.mode_text:
+  default: true
+  type: Bool
+  desc: Show a text widget with the current input mode in the statusbar.
+
 ## tabs
 
 tabs.background:
diff --git a/qutebrowser/mainwindow/statusbar/bar.py b/qutebrowser/mainwindow/statusbar/bar.py
index cce9e2c39..c5527100b 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/mainwindow/statusbar/bar.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/mainwindow/statusbar/bar.py
@@ -346,6 +346,9 @@ class StatusBar(QWidget):
 
     def _set_mode_text(self, mode):
         """Set the mode text."""
+        if not config.val.statusbar.mode_text:
+            self.txt.setText('')
+            return
         if mode == 'passthrough':
             key_instance = config.key_instance
             all_bindings = key_instance.get_reverse_bindings_for('passthrough')