diff --git a/common/flatpak-utils.c b/common/flatpak-utils.c
index d5e79f9a..aa0778db 100644
--- a/common/flatpak-utils.c
+++ b/common/flatpak-utils.c
@@ -721,6 +721,9 @@ flatpak_fancy_output (void)
   if (g_strcmp0 (g_getenv ("FLATPAK_FANCY_OUTPUT"), "0") == 0)
     return FALSE;
 
+  if (getenv ("G_MESSAGES_DEBUG"))
+    return FALSE;
+
   return isatty (STDOUT_FILENO);
 }