diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fbacfd5..8e7544d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ pip install -r requirements.txt
 You will need to set some env vars, either in a .env file at the project root, or just by exporting them like so:
 ```shell
 export PYTHONPATH=.
+export ADMIN_MODE=1
 export OPENAI_API_KEY="xxx"  # API key used to query the LLM
 export EMBEDDING_API_KEY="xxx"  # API key used to query the embedding model
 export DATABASE_URL="sqlite:///$(pwd)/database/db.sqlite3"  # For local developement only. You will need a real, cloud-based SQL database URL for prod.
diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index 706a763..cd933dc 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 import asyncio
 import inspect
+import os
 import traceback
 from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import List
 from uuid import uuid4
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
 from fastapi import Depends, FastAPI, HTTPException, status
 from fastapi.responses import StreamingResponse
@@ -30,6 +32,9 @@
     user_exists,
 )
 
+load_dotenv()
+ADMIN_MODE = bool(int(os.getenv("ADMIN_MODE", False)))
+
 app = FastAPI()
 logger = get_logger()
 
@@ -211,8 +216,11 @@ async def feedback_thumbs_down(
 ############################################
 
 
-@app.post("/user/signup")
+@app.post("/user/signup", include_in_schema=ADMIN_MODE)
 async def signup(user: UnsecureUser) -> dict:
+    if not ADMIN_MODE:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN, detail="Signup is disabled")
+    
     user = User.from_unsecure_user(user)
     if user_exists(user.email):
         raise HTTPException(
diff --git a/docs/admin_mode.md b/docs/admin_mode.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b19625f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/admin_mode.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+Once you start deploying to a cloud, you may end up having to plublicly expose your backend and frontend to the internet. In this case you will need to disable the admin mode on the deployed components.
+
+Just deploy with the `ADMIN_MODE` env var as disabled. This could be in your Dockerfile, or any other deployment config.
+```shell
+ADMIN_MODE=0 
+```
+
+This will disable the signup endpoint, preventing people stumbling upon the API from creating an account and using your LLM tokens.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index 96a6cae..f523b32 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ pip install -r requirements.txt
 You will need to set some env vars, either in a .env file at the project root, or just by exporting them like so:
 ```shell
 export PYTHONPATH=.
+export ADMIN_MODE=1
 export OPENAI_API_KEY="xxx"  # API key used to query the LLM
 export EMBEDDING_API_KEY="xxx"  # API key used to query the embedding model
 export DATABASE_URL="sqlite:///$(pwd)/database/db.sqlite3"  # For local developement only. You will need a real, cloud-based SQL database URL for prod.
diff --git a/frontend/lib/auth.py b/frontend/lib/auth.py
index b170398..3ae0350 100644
--- a/frontend/lib/auth.py
+++ b/frontend/lib/auth.py
@@ -2,22 +2,23 @@
 from time import sleep
 from typing import Optional
 from urllib.parse import urljoin
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
 
 import extra_streamlit_components as stx
 import requests
 import streamlit as st
 from requests.sessions import Session
 
+load_dotenv()
 FASTAPI_URL = os.getenv("FASTAPI_URL", "http://localhost:8000/")
+ADMIN_MODE = bool(int(os.getenv("ADMIN_MODE", False)))
 
 def auth() -> Optional[str]:
-    tab = stx.tab_bar(
-        data=[
-            stx.TabBarItemData(id="Login", title="Login", description=""),
-            stx.TabBarItemData(id="Signup", title="Signup", description=""),
-        ],
-        default="Login",
-    )
+    data = [stx.TabBarItemData(id="Login", title="Login", description="")]
+    if ADMIN_MODE:
+        data += [stx.TabBarItemData(id="Signup", title="Signup", description="")]
+
+    tab = stx.tab_bar(data=data, default="Login")
     if tab == "Login":
         login_form()
     elif tab == "Signup":
diff --git a/mkdocs.yml b/mkdocs.yml
index 55d6c75..4851e55 100644
--- a/mkdocs.yml
+++ b/mkdocs.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ nav:
   - Loading Docs in the RAG: loading_documents.md
   - The RAG object: rag_object.md
   - The RAGConfig object: rag_config.md
+  - Deployment: 
+    - Admin Mode: admin_mode.md
   - Config cookbook:
     - LLMs: recipe_llms_configs.md
     - Vector Stores: recipe_vector_stores_configs.md