diff --git a/doc/ale.txt b/doc/ale.txt
index 4480ce97..1bc639b8 100644
--- a/doc/ale.txt
+++ b/doc/ale.txt
@@ -624,6 +624,11 @@ g:ale_emit_conflict_warnings                     *g:ale_emit_conflict_warnings*
   When set to `0`, ALE will not emit any warnings on startup about conflicting
   plugins. ALE will probably not work if other linting plugins are installed.
 
+  When this option is set to `1`, ALE will add its `after` directory to
+  |runtimepath| automatically, so the checks can be applied. Setting this
+  option to `0` before ALE is loaded will prevent ALE from modifying
+  |runtimepath|.
+
 
 g:ale_enabled                                                   *g:ale_enabled*
                                                                 *b:ale_enabled*
diff --git a/plugin/ale.vim b/plugin/ale.vim
index a0d9b271..52b3059b 100644
--- a/plugin/ale.vim
+++ b/plugin/ale.vim
@@ -32,8 +32,13 @@ if !s:has_features
     finish
 endif
 
-" Add the after directory to the runtimepath
-let &runtimepath .= ',' . expand('<sfile>:p:h:h') . '/after'
+" This flag can be set to 0 to disable emitting conflict warnings.
+let g:ale_emit_conflict_warnings = get(g:, 'ale_emit_conflict_warnings', 1)
+
+if g:ale_emit_conflict_warnings
+    " Add the after directory to the runtimepath
+    let &runtimepath .= ',' . expand('<sfile>:p:h:h') . '/after'
+endif
 
 " Set this flag so that other plugins can use it, like airline.
 let g:loaded_ale = 1
@@ -44,9 +49,6 @@ if has('unix') && empty($TMPDIR)
     let $TMPDIR = '/tmp'
 endif
 
-" This flag can be set to 0 to disable emitting conflict warnings.
-let g:ale_emit_conflict_warnings = get(g:, 'ale_emit_conflict_warnings', 1)
-
 " This global variable is used internally by ALE for tracking information for
 " each buffer which linters are being run against.
 let g:ale_buffer_info = {}