diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/timelion/index.js b/src/legacy/core_plugins/timelion/index.js
index fff2d4c4408f6e..f9f0777c541c4e 100644
--- a/src/legacy/core_plugins/timelion/index.js
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/timelion/index.js
@@ -27,6 +27,15 @@ const experimentalLabel = i18n.translate('timelion.uiSettings.experimentalLabel'
 export default function (kibana) {
   return new kibana.Plugin({
     require: ['kibana', 'elasticsearch'],
+
+    config(Joi) {
+      return Joi.object({
+        ui: Joi.object({
+          enabled: Joi.boolean().default(false),
+        }).default(),
+      }).default();
+    },
+
     uiExports: {
       app: {
         title: 'Timelion',
@@ -39,7 +48,13 @@ export default function (kibana) {
         main: 'plugins/timelion/app',
       },
       styleSheetPaths: resolve(__dirname, 'public/index.scss'),
+      injectDefaultVars(server) {
+        return {
+          timelionUiEnabled: server.config().get('timelion.ui.enabled'),
+        };
+      },
       hacks: [
+        'plugins/timelion/hacks/toggle_app_link_in_nav',
         'plugins/timelion/lib/panel_registry',
         'plugins/timelion/panels/timechart/timechart'
       ],
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/timelion/public/hacks/toggle_app_link_in_nav.js b/src/legacy/core_plugins/timelion/public/hacks/toggle_app_link_in_nav.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..e3b68ddf022825
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/timelion/public/hacks/toggle_app_link_in_nav.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you 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 chrome from 'ui/chrome';
+
+const timelionUiEnabled = chrome.getInjected('timelionUiEnabled');
+if (timelionUiEnabled === false && chrome.navLinkExists('timelion')) {
+  chrome.getNavLinkById('timelion').hidden = true;
+}