diff --git a/packages/trace-viewer/src/sw/snapshotRenderer.ts b/packages/trace-viewer/src/sw/snapshotRenderer.ts
index 93363878ab..df340af2e4 100644
--- a/packages/trace-viewer/src/sw/snapshotRenderer.ts
+++ b/packages/trace-viewer/src/sw/snapshotRenderer.ts
@@ -238,7 +238,9 @@ function snapshotNodes(snapshot: FrameSnapshot): NodeSnapshot[] {
 
 function snapshotScript(...targetIds: (string | undefined)[]) {
   function applyPlaywrightAttributes(unwrapPopoutUrl: (url: string) => string, ...targetIds: (string | undefined)[]) {
-    const isUnderTest = new URLSearchParams(location.search).has('isUnderTest');
+    const searchParams = new URLSearchParams(location.search);
+    const shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot = searchParams.has('shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot');
+    const isUnderTest = searchParams.has('isUnderTest');
 
     const kPointerWarningTitle = 'Recorded click position in absolute coordinates did not' +
         ' match the center of the clicked element. This is likely due to a difference between' +
@@ -455,15 +457,20 @@ function snapshotScript(...targetIds: (string | undefined)[]) {
 
             drawCheckerboard(context, canvas);
 
-            context.drawImage(img, boundingRect.left * img.width, boundingRect.top * img.height, (boundingRect.right - boundingRect.left) * img.width, (boundingRect.bottom - boundingRect.top) * img.height, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
+            if (shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot) {
+              context.drawImage(img, boundingRect.left * img.width, boundingRect.top * img.height, (boundingRect.right - boundingRect.left) * img.width, (boundingRect.bottom - boundingRect.top) * img.height, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
+
+              if (partiallyUncaptured)
+                canvas.title = `Playwright couldn't capture full canvas contents because it's located partially outside the viewport.`;
+              else
+                canvas.title = `Canvas contents are displayed on a best-effort basis based on viewport screenshots taken during test execution.`;  
+            } else {
+              canvas.title = 'Canvas content display is disabled.';
+            }
+
             if (isUnderTest)
               // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
               console.log(`canvas drawn:`, JSON.stringify([boundingRect.left, boundingRect.top, (boundingRect.right - boundingRect.left), (boundingRect.bottom - boundingRect.top)].map(v => Math.floor(v * 100))));
-
-            if (partiallyUncaptured)
-              canvas.title = `Playwright couldn't capture full canvas contents because it's located partially outside the viewport.`;
-            else
-              canvas.title = `Canvas contents are displayed on a best-effort basis based on viewport screenshots taken during test execution.`;
           }
         };
         img.onerror = () => {
diff --git a/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/defaultSettingsView.tsx b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/defaultSettingsView.tsx
index c36ddd1458..5b55268af9 100644
--- a/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/defaultSettingsView.tsx
+++ b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/defaultSettingsView.tsx
@@ -17,13 +17,25 @@
 import * as React from 'react';
 import { SettingsView } from './settingsView';
 import { useDarkModeSetting } from '@web/theme';
+import { useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot } from './settings/useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot';
 
 export const DefaultSettingsView: React.FC<{}> = () => {
+  const [
+    shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot,
+    setShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot,
+  ] = useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot();
   const [darkMode, setDarkMode] = useDarkModeSetting();
 
   return (
     <SettingsView
-      settings={[{ value: darkMode, set: setDarkMode, title: 'Dark mode' }]}
+      settings={[
+        { value: darkMode, set: setDarkMode, title: 'Dark mode' },
+        {
+          value: shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot,
+          set: setShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot,
+          title: 'Display canvas content',
+        },
+      ]}
     />
   );
 };
diff --git a/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/settings/useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot.ts b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/settings/useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..163dd50ec0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/settings/useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import { useSetting } from '@web/uiUtils';
+
+export const useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot = (): [
+  boolean,
+  (value: boolean) => void
+] => useSetting('shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot', false);
diff --git a/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/snapshotTab.tsx b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/snapshotTab.tsx
index 8383890a2e..70eec996fb 100644
--- a/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/snapshotTab.tsx
+++ b/packages/trace-viewer/src/ui/snapshotTab.tsx
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import { locatorOrSelectorAsSelector } from '@isomorphic/locatorParser';
 import { TabbedPaneTab } from '@web/components/tabbedPane';
 import { BrowserFrame } from './browserFrame';
 import type { ElementInfo } from '@recorder/recorderTypes';
+import { useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot } from './settings/useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot';
 
 export const SnapshotTabsView: React.FunctionComponent<{
   action: ActionTraceEvent | undefined,
@@ -43,13 +44,16 @@ export const SnapshotTabsView: React.FunctionComponent<{
 }> = ({ action, sdkLanguage, testIdAttributeName, isInspecting, setIsInspecting, highlightedLocator, setHighlightedLocator }) => {
   const [snapshotTab, setSnapshotTab] = React.useState<'action'|'before'|'after'>('action');
 
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars
+  const [shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot, _] = useShouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot();
+
   const snapshots = React.useMemo(() => {
     return collectSnapshots(action);
   }, [action]);
   const snapshotUrls = React.useMemo(() => {
     const snapshot = snapshots[snapshotTab];
-    return snapshot ? extendSnapshot(snapshot) : undefined;
-  }, [snapshots, snapshotTab]);
+    return snapshot ? extendSnapshot(snapshot, shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot) : undefined;
+  }, [snapshots, snapshotTab, shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot]);
 
   return <div className='snapshot-tab vbox'>
     <Toolbar>
@@ -327,7 +331,7 @@ export function collectSnapshots(action: ActionTraceEvent | undefined): Snapshot
 const isUnderTest = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).has('isUnderTest');
 const serverParam = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get('server');
 
-export function extendSnapshot(snapshot: Snapshot): SnapshotUrls {
+export function extendSnapshot(snapshot: Snapshot, shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot: boolean): SnapshotUrls {
   const params = new URLSearchParams();
   params.set('trace', context(snapshot.action).traceUrl);
   params.set('name', snapshot.snapshotName);
@@ -339,6 +343,9 @@ export function extendSnapshot(snapshot: Snapshot): SnapshotUrls {
     if (snapshot.hasInputTarget)
       params.set('hasInputTarget', '1');
   }
+  if (shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot)
+    params.set('shouldPopulateCanvasFromScreenshot', '1');
+
   const snapshotUrl = new URL(`snapshot/${snapshot.action.pageId}?${params.toString()}`, window.location.href).toString();
   const snapshotInfoUrl = new URL(`snapshotInfo/${snapshot.action.pageId}?${params.toString()}`, window.location.href).toString();