diff --git a/pkg/importer/html.go b/pkg/importer/html.go
index d62451bc5..6dbae9f86 100644
--- a/pkg/importer/html.go
+++ b/pkg/importer/html.go
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ var tmpl = template.Must(template.New("root").Parse(`
    <li>Import root permanode: {{if .Acct.RootObject}}{{.Acct.RootObject.PermanodeRef}}{{else}}(none){{end}}</li>
    <li>Configured: {{.Acct.IsAccountReady}}</li>
    <li>Summary: {{.Acct.AccountLinkSummary}}</li>
+   <li>Import interval: {{if .Acct.RefreshInterval}}{{.Acct.RefreshInterval}}{{else}}(manual){{end}}</li>
    <li>Running: {{.Running}}</li>
    {{if .Running}}
      <li>Started: {{.StartedAgo}} ago</li>
@@ -189,6 +190,11 @@ var tmpl = template.Must(template.New("root").Parse(`
 <input type='submit' value='Re-login'>
 </form>
 
+<form method='post' style='display: inline'>
+<input type='hidden' name='mode' value='toggleauto'>
+<input type='submit' value='Toggle auto'>
+</form>
+
 <form method='post' style='display: inline'>
 <input type='hidden' name='mode' value='delete'>
 <input type='submit' value='Delete Account' onclick='return confirm("Delete account?")'>
diff --git a/pkg/importer/importer.go b/pkg/importer/importer.go
index 3f2ea8617..d9027d066 100644
--- a/pkg/importer/importer.go
+++ b/pkg/importer/importer.go
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ const (
 	attrClientID     = "authClientID"
 	attrClientSecret = "authClientSecret"
 	attrImportRoot   = "importRoot"
+	attrImportAuto   = "importAuto" // => time.Duration value ("30m") or "" for off
 )
 
 // An Importer imports from a third-party site.
@@ -675,6 +676,15 @@ func (ia *importerAcct) delete() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (ia *importerAcct) toggleAuto() error {
+	old := ia.acct.Attr(attrImportAuto)
+	var new string
+	if old == "" {
+		new = "30m" // TODO: configurable?
+	}
+	return ia.acct.SetAttrs(attrImportAuto, new)
+}
+
 func (ia *importerAcct) IsAccountReady() (bool, error) {
 	return ia.im.impl.IsAccountReady(ia.acct)
 }
@@ -694,6 +704,15 @@ func (ia *importerAcct) AccountLinkSummary() string {
 	return ia.im.impl.SummarizeAccount(ia.acct)
 }
 
+func (ia *importerAcct) RefreshInterval() time.Duration {
+	ds := ia.acct.Attr(attrImportAuto)
+	if ds == "" {
+		return 0
+	}
+	d, _ := time.ParseDuration(ds)
+	return d
+}
+
 func (ia *importerAcct) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if r.Method == "POST" {
 		ia.serveHTTPPost(w, r)
@@ -742,6 +761,11 @@ func (ia *importerAcct) serveHTTPPost(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	case "login":
 		ia.setup(w, r)
 		return
+	case "toggleauto":
+		if err := ia.toggleAuto(); err != nil {
+			http.Error(w, err.Error(), 500)
+			return
+		}
 	case "delete":
 		ia.stop() // can't hurt
 		if err := ia.delete(); err != nil {