diff --git a/akvorado.yaml b/akvorado.yaml
index 17ce6087..bbac20c1 100644
--- a/akvorado.yaml
+++ b/akvorado.yaml
@@ -30,8 +30,9 @@ inlet:
   kafka:
     compression-codec: zstd
   geoip:
-  #  asn-database: /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-ASN.mmdb
-  #  country-database: /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb
+    optional: true
+    asn-database: /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-ASN.mmdb
+    country-database: /usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb
   snmp:
     workers: 10
   flow:
diff --git a/console/data/docs/01-install.md b/console/data/docs/01-install.md
index 50171f6e..9ef466e0 100644
--- a/console/data/docs/01-install.md
+++ b/console/data/docs/01-install.md
@@ -57,8 +57,6 @@ A few synthetic flows are generated in the background. Take a look at
 the `docker-compose.yml` file if you want to setup the GeoIP database.
 It requires two environment variables to fetch them from
 [MaxMind](https://dev.maxmind.com/geoip/geolite2-free-geolocation-data).
-The appropriate configuration also needs to be uncommented in
-`akvorado.yaml`.
 
 Be sure to flush the conntrack table after starting. See the
 [troubleshooting section](05-troubleshooting.md#no-packets-received)
diff --git a/console/data/docs/02-configuration.md b/console/data/docs/02-configuration.md
index a538f990..24e02ebb 100644
--- a/console/data/docs/02-configuration.md
+++ b/console/data/docs/02-configuration.md
@@ -203,6 +203,8 @@ is provided, the component is inactive. It accepts the following keys:
 
 - `asn-database` tells the path to the ASN database
 - `country-database` tells the path to the country database
+- `optional` makes the presence of the databases optional on start
+  (when not present on start, the component is just disabled)
 
 [MaxMind DB file format]: https://maxmind.github.io/MaxMind-DB/
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 2a79c9c7..be8a8fa0 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ volumes:
 
 services:
   geoip:
+    # Put ACCOUNT_ID and LICENSE_KEY here, or provide them on the command-line
+    # (env GEOIPUPDATE_ACCOUNT_ID=... GEOIPUPDATE_LICENSE_KEY=... docker-compose ...)
     image: maxmindinc/geoipupdate:v4
     environment:
       - GEOIPUPDATE_ACCOUNT_ID
diff --git a/inlet/geoip/config.go b/inlet/geoip/config.go
index 6257e5a3..54762af3 100644
--- a/inlet/geoip/config.go
+++ b/inlet/geoip/config.go
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ type Configuration struct {
 	ASNDatabase string
 	// CountryDatabase defines the path to the country database.
 	CountryDatabase string
+	// Optional tells if we need to error if not present on start.
+	Optional bool
 }
 
 // DefaultConfiguration represents the default configuration for the
diff --git a/inlet/geoip/root.go b/inlet/geoip/root.go
index defd5afa..d6c147e8 100644
--- a/inlet/geoip/root.go
+++ b/inlet/geoip/root.go
@@ -90,10 +90,10 @@ func (c *Component) openDatabase(which string, path string, container *atomic.Va
 
 // Start starts the GeoIP component.
 func (c *Component) Start() error {
-	if err := c.openDatabase("country", c.config.CountryDatabase, &c.db.country); err != nil {
+	if err := c.openDatabase("country", c.config.CountryDatabase, &c.db.country); err != nil && !c.config.Optional {
 		return err
 	}
-	if err := c.openDatabase("asn", c.config.ASNDatabase, &c.db.asn); err != nil {
+	if err := c.openDatabase("asn", c.config.ASNDatabase, &c.db.asn); err != nil && !c.config.Optional {
 		return err
 	}
 	if c.db.country.Load() == nil && c.db.asn.Load() == nil {