diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 61e8b74..4c8d777 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 - Added autoScrollTriggerOffset to the ChatPaginationControls to adjust when the auto scroll should be enabled
 - Added the ability to set the color of the CircularProgressIndicator of the ImageLoadingSnackbar by theme.snackBarTheme.actionTextColor
 - Added semantics for variable text, buttons and textfields
+- Added flag to enable/disable loading new and old messages on scrolling to the end of the current view.
 
 ## 4.0.0
 - Move to the new user story architecture
diff --git a/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart b/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart
index 9dbf314..bace1a3 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart
@@ -302,6 +302,8 @@ class ChatPaginationControls {
     this.autoScrollTriggerOffset = 50.0,
     this.loadingIndicatorForNewMessages = true,
     this.loadingIndicatorForOldMessages = true,
+    this.loadNewMessagesOnScroll = true,
+    this.loadOldMessagesOnScroll = true,
     this.loadingNewMessageMinDuration = Duration.zero,
     this.loadingOldMessageMinDuration = Duration.zero,
   });
@@ -314,6 +316,15 @@ class ChatPaginationControls {
   /// chat. Defaults to 50.0
   final double autoScrollTriggerOffset;
 
+  /// Whether to load new messages when someone scrolls to the end of the chat
+  final bool loadNewMessagesOnScroll;
+
+  /// Whether to load older messages when scrolling towards the start of the
+  /// chat.
+  ///
+  /// If the messages are loaded by pagination, it is smart to add this.
+  final bool loadOldMessagesOnScroll;
+
   /// Whether to show a loading indicator for new messages loading
   final bool loadingIndicatorForNewMessages;
 
diff --git a/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/screens/chat_detail/chat_detail_screen.dart b/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/screens/chat_detail/chat_detail_screen.dart
index 04728ef..74b4784 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/screens/chat_detail/chat_detail_screen.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_chat/lib/src/screens/chat_detail/chat_detail_screen.dart
@@ -352,14 +352,18 @@ class _ChatBody extends HookWidget {
 
         var distanceFromBottom = maxScroll - offset;
 
-        if (offset <= threshold && !isLoadingOlder.value) {
-          unawaited(loadOlderMessages());
+        if (options.paginationControls.loadOldMessagesOnScroll) {
+          if (offset <= threshold && !isLoadingOlder.value) {
+            unawaited(loadOlderMessages());
+          }
         }
 
-        if (distanceFromBottom <= threshold &&
-            !isLoadingNewer.value &&
-            !autoScrollEnabled.value) {
-          unawaited(loadNewerMessages());
+        if (options.paginationControls.loadNewMessagesOnScroll) {
+          if (distanceFromBottom <= threshold &&
+              !isLoadingNewer.value &&
+              !autoScrollEnabled.value) {
+            unawaited(loadNewerMessages());
+          }
         }
 
         if (distanceFromBottom > autoScrollThreshold) {