diff --git a/core/java/android/provider/Settings.java b/core/java/android/provider/Settings.java
index cafdc7193b21c..8f626df8d5803 100755
--- a/core/java/android/provider/Settings.java
+++ b/core/java/android/provider/Settings.java
@@ -8701,6 +8701,16 @@ public final class Settings {
         public static final String EPHEMERAL_COOKIE_MAX_SIZE_BYTES =
                 "ephemeral_cookie_max_size_bytes";
 
+        /**
+         * Toggle to enable/disable the entire ephemeral feature. By default, ephemeral is
+         * enabled. Set to zero to disable.
+         * <p>
+         * Type: int (0 for false, 1 for true)
+         *
+         * @hide
+         */
+        public static final String ENABLE_EPHEMERAL_FEATURE = "enable_ephemeral_feature";
+
         /**
          * A mask applied to the ephemeral hash to generate the hash prefix.
          * <p>
diff --git a/services/core/java/com/android/server/pm/PackageManagerService.java b/services/core/java/com/android/server/pm/PackageManagerService.java
index 783db051f8de1..dfcddd2e211a2 100644
--- a/services/core/java/com/android/server/pm/PackageManagerService.java
+++ b/services/core/java/com/android/server/pm/PackageManagerService.java
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ import android.app.admin.SecurityLog;
 import android.app.backup.IBackupManager;
 import android.content.BroadcastReceiver;
 import android.content.ComponentName;
+import android.content.ContentResolver;
 import android.content.Context;
 import android.content.IIntentReceiver;
 import android.content.Intent;
@@ -4807,7 +4808,12 @@ public class PackageManagerService extends IPackageManager.Stub {
         if (!mSystemReady) {
             return true;
         }
-        return Secure.getInt(mContext.getContentResolver(), Secure.WEB_ACTION_ENABLED, 1) == 0;
+        // we can't get a content resolver until the system is ready; these checks must happen last
+        final ContentResolver resolver = mContext.getContentResolver();
+        if (Global.getInt(resolver, Global.ENABLE_EPHEMERAL_FEATURE, 1) == 0) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        return Secure.getInt(resolver, Secure.WEB_ACTION_ENABLED, 1) == 0;
     }
 
     private boolean isEphemeralAllowed(