diff --git a/test/test_YoutubeDL.py b/test/test_YoutubeDL.py
index d994682b2..6ba66ed30 100644
--- a/test/test_YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/test/test_YoutubeDL.py
@@ -906,6 +906,10 @@ class TestYoutubeDL(unittest.TestCase):
         ydl = YDL()
         self.assertRaises(compat_urllib_error.URLError, ydl.urlopen, 'file:///etc/passwd')
 
+    def test_urlopen_yes_file_protocol(self):
+        ydl = YDL({'allow_file_scheme': True})
+        ydl.urlopen('file:///etc/passwd')
+
     def test_do_not_override_ie_key_in_url_transparent(self):
         ydl = YDL()
 
diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index 9e5620eef..70715f792 100755
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -256,6 +256,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
     default_search:    Prepend this string if an input url is not valid.
                        'auto' for elaborate guessing
     encoding:          Use this encoding instead of the system-specified.
+    allow_file_scheme: Allow use of file:// scheme.
     extract_flat:      Do not resolve URLs, return the immediate result.
                        Pass in 'in_playlist' to only show this behavior for
                        playlist items.
@@ -2628,7 +2629,8 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         file_handler = compat_urllib_request.FileHandler()
 
         def file_open(*args, **kwargs):
-            raise compat_urllib_error.URLError('file:// scheme is explicitly disabled in youtube-dl for security reasons')
+            if not self.params.get('allow_file_scheme', False):
+                raise compat_urllib_error.URLError('file:// scheme is explicitly disabled in youtube-dl for security reasons')
         file_handler.file_open = file_open
 
         opener = compat_urllib_request.build_opener(