diff --git a/AFNetworking/AFHTTPRequestOperation.m b/AFNetworking/AFHTTPRequestOperation.m
index 11eb2c2..437ded4 100644
--- a/AFNetworking/AFHTTPRequestOperation.m
+++ b/AFNetworking/AFHTTPRequestOperation.m
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 // THE SOFTWARE.
 
 #import "AFHTTPRequestOperation.h"
-#import "AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.h"
 
 static NSUInteger const kAFHTTPMinimumInitialDataCapacity = 1024;
 static NSUInteger const kAFHTTPMaximumInitialDataCapacity = 1024 * 1024 * 8;
@@ -227,11 +226,9 @@ static NSThread *_networkRequestThread = nil;
     
     switch (state) {
         case AFHTTPOperationExecutingState:
-            [[AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager sharedManager] incrementActivityCount];
             [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:AFHTTPOperationDidStartNotification object:self];
             break;
         case AFHTTPOperationFinishedState:
-            [[AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager sharedManager] decrementActivityCount];
             [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:AFHTTPOperationDidFinishNotification object:self];
             break;
         default:
diff --git a/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.h b/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.h
index 59110b9..4cd8908 100644
--- a/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.h
+++ b/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.h
@@ -23,13 +23,21 @@
 #import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
 
 /**
- `AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager` manages the state of the network activity indicator in the status bar. When network operations start, they can call `-incrementActivityCount`, and once they're finished, call `-decrementActivityCount`. The number of active requests is incremented and decremented much like a stack or a semaphore, and the activity indicator will animate so long as that number is greater than zero.
+ `AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager` manages the state of the network activity indicator in the status bar. When enabled, it will listen for notifications indicating that a network request operation has started or finished, and start or stop animating the indicator accordingly. The number of active requests is incremented and decremented much like a stack or a semaphore, and the activity indicator will animate so long as that number is greater than zero.
  */
 @interface AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager : NSObject {
 @private
 	NSInteger _activityCount;
+    BOOL _enabled;
 }
 
+/**
+ A Boolean value indicating whether the manager is enabled. 
+ 
+ @discussion If YES, the manager will change status bar network activity indicator according to network operation notifications it receives. The default value is NO.
+ */
+@property (nonatomic, assign, getter = isEnabled) BOOL enabled;
+
 /**
  Returns the shared network activity indicator manager object for the system.
  
diff --git a/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.m b/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.m
index 89d12cb..efd8d34 100644
--- a/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.m
+++ b/AFNetworking/AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.m
@@ -22,29 +22,52 @@
 
 #import "AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.h"
 
+#import "AFHTTPRequestOperation.h"
+
 @interface AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager ()
 @property (readwrite, nonatomic, assign) NSInteger activityCount;
 @end
 
 @implementation AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager
 @synthesize activityCount = _activityCount;
+@synthesize enabled = _enabled;
 
 + (AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager *)sharedManager {
     static AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager *_sharedManager = nil;
     static dispatch_once_t oncePredicate;
     dispatch_once(&oncePredicate, ^{
-        _sharedManager = [[AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager alloc] init];
+        _sharedManager = [[self alloc] init];
     });
     
     return _sharedManager;
 }
 
+- (id)init {
+    self = [super init];
+    if (!self) {
+        return nil;
+    }
+
+    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:@selector(incrementActivityCount) name:AFHTTPOperationDidStartNotification object:nil];
+    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:@selector(decrementActivityCount) name:AFHTTPOperationDidFinishNotification object:nil];
+    
+    return self;
+}
+
+- (void)dealloc {
+    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] removeObserver:self];
+    
+    [super dealloc];
+}
+
 - (void)setActivityCount:(NSInteger)activityCount {
     [self willChangeValueForKey:@"activityCount"];
     _activityCount = MAX(activityCount, 0);
     [self didChangeValueForKey:@"activityCount"];
 
-    [[UIApplication sharedApplication] setNetworkActivityIndicatorVisible:self.activityCount > 0];
+    if (self.enabled) {
+        [[UIApplication sharedApplication] setNetworkActivityIndicatorVisible:self.activityCount > 0];
+    }
 }
 
 - (void)incrementActivityCount {
diff --git a/Example/AppDelegate.m b/Example/AppDelegate.m
index 08143b9..72b7896 100644
--- a/Example/AppDelegate.m
+++ b/Example/AppDelegate.m
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 #import "AppDelegate.h"
 #import "NearbySpotsViewController.h"
 
+#import "AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager.h"
+
 @implementation AppDelegate
 @synthesize window = _window;
 @synthesize navigationController = _navigationController;
@@ -31,6 +33,8 @@
     NSURLCache *URLCache = [[[NSURLCache alloc] initWithMemoryCapacity:1024 * 1024 diskCapacity:1024 * 1024 * 5 diskPath:nil] autorelease];
 	[NSURLCache setSharedURLCache:URLCache];
     
+    [[AFNetworkActivityIndicatorManager sharedManager] setEnabled:YES];
+    
     UITableViewController *viewController = [[[NearbySpotsViewController alloc] init] autorelease];
     self.navigationController = [[[UINavigationController alloc] initWithRootViewController:viewController] autorelease];
     
@@ -38,6 +42,7 @@
     self.window.backgroundColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
     self.window.rootViewController = self.navigationController;
     [self.window makeKeyAndVisible];
+    
     return YES;
 }