diff --git a/src/components/structures/RoomView.js b/src/components/structures/RoomView.js
index 542b7a3e50..b29b3579f0 100644
--- a/src/components/structures/RoomView.js
+++ b/src/components/structures/RoomView.js
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             roomId: null,
             roomLoading: true,
             peekLoading: false,
+            shouldPeek: true,
 
             // The event to be scrolled to initially
             initialEventId: null,
@@ -169,8 +170,13 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             initialEventPixelOffset: RoomViewStore.getInitialEventPixelOffset(),
             isInitialEventHighlighted: RoomViewStore.isInitialEventHighlighted(),
             forwardingEvent: RoomViewStore.getForwardingEvent(),
+            shouldPeek: RoomViewStore.shouldPeek(),
         };
 
+        // finished joining, start waiting for a room and show a spinner. See onRoom.
+        newState.waitingForRoom = this.state.joining && !newState.joining &&
+                        !RoomViewStore.getJoinError();
+
         // Temporary logging to diagnose https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/issues/4307
         console.log(
             'RVS update:',
@@ -178,12 +184,11 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             newState.roomAlias,
             'loading?', newState.roomLoading,
             'joining?', newState.joining,
+            'initial?', initial,
+            'waiting?', newState.waitingForRoom,
+            'shouldPeek?', newState.shouldPeek,
         );
 
-        // finished joining, start waiting for a room and show a spinner. See onRoom.
-        newState.waitingForRoom = this.state.joining && !newState.joining &&
-                        !RoomViewStore.getJoinError();
-
         // NB: This does assume that the roomID will not change for the lifetime of
         // the RoomView instance
         if (initial) {
@@ -239,7 +244,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
         if (!this.state.joining && this.state.roomId) {
             if (this.props.autoJoin) {
                 this.onJoinButtonClicked();
-            } else if (!room) {
+            } else if (!room && this.state.shouldPeek) {
                 console.log("Attempting to peek into room %s", this.state.roomId);
                 this.setState({
                     peekLoading: true,
diff --git a/src/createRoom.js b/src/createRoom.js
index 4d7f5792f3..bf0c0fee1c 100644
--- a/src/createRoom.js
+++ b/src/createRoom.js
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ function createRoom(opts) {
             dis.dispatch({
                 action: 'view_room',
                 room_id: roomId,
+                should_peek: false,
             });
         }
         return roomId;
diff --git a/src/stores/RoomViewStore.js b/src/stores/RoomViewStore.js
index d68373f0d5..2f7d55b71f 100644
--- a/src/stores/RoomViewStore.js
+++ b/src/stores/RoomViewStore.js
@@ -137,6 +137,8 @@ class RoomViewStore extends Store {
                 forwardingEvent: null,
                 roomLoading: false,
                 roomLoadError: null,
+                // should peek by default
+                shouldPeek: payload.should_peek === undefined ? true : payload.should_peek,
             };
 
             // If an event ID wasn't specified, default to the one saved for this room
@@ -297,6 +299,10 @@ class RoomViewStore extends Store {
     getForwardingEvent() {
         return this._state.forwardingEvent;
     }
+
+    shouldPeek() {
+        return this._state.shouldPeek;
+    }
 }
 
 let singletonRoomViewStore = null;