diff --git a/sandbox/gvisor/run.py b/sandbox/gvisor/run.py
index 1cf3c238..b84f3f47 100755
--- a/sandbox/gvisor/run.py
+++ b/sandbox/gvisor/run.py
@@ -81,15 +81,6 @@ settings = {
   "ociVersion": "1.0.0",
   "process": {
     "terminal": include_bash,
-    # Match current user id, for convenience with mounts. For some versions of
-    # gvisor, default behavior may be better - if you see "access denied" problems
-    # during imports, try commenting this section out. We could make imports work
-    # for any version of gvisor by setting mode when using tmp.dir to allow
-    # others to list directory contents.
-    "user": {
-      "uid": os.getuid(),
-      "gid": 0
-    },
     "args": cmd_args,
     "env": env,
     "cwd": "/"
@@ -121,6 +112,18 @@ settings = {
     ]
   }
 }
+
+if not os.environ.get('GVISOR_USE_DEFAULT_USER'):
+  # Match current user id, for convenience with mounts. For some versions of
+  # gvisor, default behavior may be better - if you see "access denied" problems
+  # during imports, try setting GVISOR_USE_DEFAULT_USER. We could make imports work
+  # for any version of gvisor by setting mode when using tmp.dir to allow
+  # others to list directory contents.
+  settings['process']['user'] = {
+    "uid": os.getuid(),
+    "gid": 0
+  }
+
 memory_limit = os.environ.get('GVISOR_LIMIT_MEMORY')
 if memory_limit:
   settings['process']['rlimits'] = [