diff --git a/internal/features/features.go b/internal/features/features.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c0d330efe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/features/features.go
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2023 The Flux authors
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+// Package features sets the feature gates that kustomize-controller supports,
+// and their default states.
+package features
+
+import feathelper "github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/features"
+
+const (
+	// CacheSecretsAndConfigMaps controls whether Secrets and ConfigMaps should
+	// be cached.
+	//
+	// When enabled, it will cache both object types, resulting in increased
+	// memory usage and cluster-wide RBAC permissions (list and watch).
+	CacheSecretsAndConfigMaps = "CacheSecretsAndConfigMaps"
+)
+
+var features = map[string]bool{
+	// CacheSecretsAndConfigMaps
+	// opt-in from v0.33
+	CacheSecretsAndConfigMaps: false,
+}
+
+// FeatureGates contains a list of all supported feature gates and
+// their default values.
+func FeatureGates() map[string]bool {
+	return features
+}
+
+// Enabled verifies whether the feature is enabled or not.
+//
+// This is only a wrapper around the Enabled func in
+// pkg/runtime/features, so callers won't need to import both packages
+// for checking whether a feature is enabled.
+func Enabled(feature string) (bool, error) {
+	return feathelper.Enabled(feature)
+}
+
+// Disable disables the specified feature. If the feature is not
+// present, it's a no-op.
+func Disable(feature string) {
+	if _, ok := features[feature]; ok {
+		features[feature] = false
+	}
+}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index c977e90c2..d7befb967 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"os"
 	"time"
 
@@ -29,11 +30,13 @@ import (
 	"sigs.k8s.io/cli-utils/pkg/kstatus/polling"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/cli-utils/pkg/kstatus/polling/engine"
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
+	ctrlclient "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 
 	"github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/acl"
 	runtimeClient "github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/client"
 	runtimeCtrl "github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/controller"
 	"github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/events"
+	feathelper "github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/features"
 	"github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/leaderelection"
 	"github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/logger"
 	"github.com/fluxcd/pkg/runtime/pprof"
@@ -42,6 +45,7 @@ import (
 
 	kustomizev1 "github.com/fluxcd/kustomize-controller/api/v1beta2"
 	"github.com/fluxcd/kustomize-controller/controllers"
+	"github.com/fluxcd/kustomize-controller/internal/features"
 	"github.com/fluxcd/kustomize-controller/internal/statusreaders"
 	// +kubebuilder:scaffold:imports
 )
@@ -78,6 +82,7 @@ func main() {
 		noRemoteBases         bool
 		httpRetry             int
 		defaultServiceAccount string
+		featureGates          feathelper.FeatureGates
 	)
 
 	flag.StringVar(&metricsAddr, "metrics-addr", ":8080", "The address the metric endpoint binds to.")
@@ -91,14 +96,22 @@ func main() {
 		"Disallow remote bases usage in Kustomize overlays. When this flag is enabled, all resources must refer to local files included in the source artifact.")
 	flag.IntVar(&httpRetry, "http-retry", 9, "The maximum number of retries when failing to fetch artifacts over HTTP.")
 	flag.StringVar(&defaultServiceAccount, "default-service-account", "", "Default service account used for impersonation.")
+
 	clientOptions.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
 	logOptions.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
 	leaderElectionOptions.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
 	aclOptions.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
 	kubeConfigOpts.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
 	rateLimiterOptions.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
+	featureGates.BindFlags(flag.CommandLine)
+
 	flag.Parse()
 
+	if err := featureGates.WithLogger(setupLog).SupportedFeatures(features.FeatureGates()); err != nil {
+		setupLog.Error(err, "unable to load feature gates")
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
 	ctrl.SetLogger(logger.NewLogger(logOptions))
 
 	watchNamespace := ""
@@ -106,6 +119,16 @@ func main() {
 		watchNamespace = os.Getenv("RUNTIME_NAMESPACE")
 	}
 
+	var disableCacheFor []ctrlclient.Object
+	shouldCache, err := features.Enabled(features.CacheSecretsAndConfigMaps)
+	if err != nil {
+		setupLog.Error(err, "unable to check feature gate "+features.CacheSecretsAndConfigMaps)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	if !shouldCache {
+		disableCacheFor = append(disableCacheFor, &corev1.Secret{}, &corev1.ConfigMap{})
+	}
+
 	restConfig := runtimeClient.GetConfigOrDie(clientOptions)
 	mgr, err := ctrl.NewManager(restConfig, ctrl.Options{
 		Scheme:                        scheme,
@@ -120,6 +143,7 @@ func main() {
 		LeaderElectionID:              fmt.Sprintf("%s-leader-election", controllerName),
 		Namespace:                     watchNamespace,
 		Logger:                        ctrl.Log,
+		ClientDisableCacheFor:         disableCacheFor,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		setupLog.Error(err, "unable to start manager")