diff --git a/mnists/__init__.py b/mnists/__init__.py
index 3b504e6..cb4efe9 100644
--- a/mnists/__init__.py
+++ b/mnists/__init__.py
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ def batch_flatten(x):
 
 
 def prepare(dataset="mnist", return_floats=True, return_onehot=True,
-                  flatten=False, squeeze_layers=True):
+            flatten=False, squeeze_layers=True, check_integrity=True):
     if dataset not in metadata.keys():
         raise Exception(f"Unknown dataset: {dataset}")
 
@@ -163,7 +163,8 @@ def prepare(dataset="mnist", return_floats=True, return_onehot=True,
 
     for name in images_and_labels:
         download(name)
-        validate(name)
+        if check_integrity:
+            validate(name)
 
     if npz_existing:
         with np.load(construct_path(npz)):