diff --git a/UI/cmake/os-linux.cmake b/UI/cmake/os-linux.cmake
index c37e977428e116..3dc0bcf8e57664 100644
--- a/UI/cmake/os-linux.cmake
+++ b/UI/cmake/os-linux.cmake
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 target_sources(obs-studio PRIVATE platform-x11.cpp)
-target_compile_definitions(obs-studio PRIVATE USE_XDG OBS_INSTALL_PREFIX="${OBS_INSTALL_PREFIX}")
+target_compile_definitions(
+  obs-studio
+  PRIVATE USE_XDG OBS_INSTALL_PREFIX="${OBS_INSTALL_PREFIX}" $<$<BOOL:ENABLE_PORTABLE_CONFIG>:ENABLE_PORTABLE_CONFIG>
+)
 target_link_libraries(obs-studio PRIVATE Qt::GuiPrivate Qt::DBus)
 
 target_sources(obs-studio PRIVATE system-info-posix.cpp)
diff --git a/UI/obs-app.cpp b/UI/obs-app.cpp
index 5f37267a372dfa..bf9f6cd1f1055f 100644
--- a/UI/obs-app.cpp
+++ b/UI/obs-app.cpp
@@ -720,12 +720,24 @@ bool OBSApp::InitGlobalConfig()
 	InitGlobalConfigDefaults();
 	InitGlobalLocationDefaults();
 
-	userConfigLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(
-		config_get_string(appConfig, "Locations", "Configuration"));
-	userScenesLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(
-		config_get_string(appConfig, "Locations", "SceneCollections"));
-	userProfilesLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(
-		config_get_string(appConfig, "Locations", "Profiles"));
+	if (IsPortableMode()) {
+		userConfigLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(
+			config_get_default_string(appConfig, "Locations",
+						  "Configuration"));
+		userScenesLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(
+			config_get_default_string(appConfig, "Locations",
+						  "SceneCollections"));
+		userProfilesLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(
+			config_get_default_string(appConfig, "Locations",
+						  "Profiles"));
+	} else {
+		userConfigLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(config_get_string(
+			appConfig, "Locations", "Configuration"));
+		userScenesLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(config_get_string(
+			appConfig, "Locations", "SceneCollections"));
+		userProfilesLocation = std::filesystem::u8path(
+			config_get_string(appConfig, "Locations", "Profiles"));
+	}
 
 	bool userConfigResult = InitUserConfig(userConfigLocation, lastVersion);
 
@@ -2434,7 +2446,7 @@ static void load_debug_privilege(void)
 
 #define CONFIG_PATH BASE_PATH "/config"
 
-#if defined(LINUX_PORTABLE) || defined(_WIN32)
+#if defined(ENABLE_PORTABLE_CONFIG) || defined(_WIN32)
 #define ALLOW_PORTABLE_MODE 1
 #else
 #define ALLOW_PORTABLE_MODE 0
diff --git a/cmake/linux/defaults.cmake b/cmake/linux/defaults.cmake
index a495f019816f19..17c3c890ca4a8b 100644
--- a/cmake/linux/defaults.cmake
+++ b/cmake/linux/defaults.cmake
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ option(ENABLE_PULSEAUDIO "Enable PulseAudio support" ON)
 option(ENABLE_WAYLAND "Enable building with support for Wayland" ON)
 
 option(ENABLE_RELOCATABLE "Enable relocatable build" OFF)
+option(ENABLE_PORTABLE_CONFIG "Enable support for portable config file location" OFF)
 
 # Set default installation directories
 include(GNUInstallDirs)