diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5c3a0e6..e347860 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -76,6 +76,18 @@ By default, no test recording will be performed.  Here are the system properties
     * possible values are `FLV` or `MP4`
     * defaults to `MP4`
 
+#### Observability and Tracing
+Selenium integrates with [OpenTelemetry](https://opentelemetry.io) to support observability and tracing out of the box. By default, Selenium [enables tracing](https://www.selenium.dev/blog/2021/selenium-4-observability).
+
+This plugin, however, **disables tracing by default** since most setups lack an OpenTelemetry collector to process the traces.
+
+To enable tracing, set the following system property:
+* `grails.geb.tracing.enabled`
+  * possible values are `true` or `false`
+  * defaults to `false`
+  
+This allows you to opt in to tracing when an OpenTelemetry collector is available.
+
 ### GebSpec
 
 If you choose to extend `GebSpec`, you will need to have a [Selenium WebDriver](https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/webdriver/browsers/) installed that matches a browser you have installed on your system.
diff --git a/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/GrailsGebSettings.groovy b/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/GrailsGebSettings.groovy
index 264126d..606ba1c 100644
--- a/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/GrailsGebSettings.groovy
+++ b/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/GrailsGebSettings.groovy
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ class GrailsGebSettings {
     private static VncRecordingMode DEFAULT_RECORDING_MODE = VncRecordingMode.SKIP
     private static VncRecordingFormat DEFAULT_RECORDING_FORMAT = VncRecordingFormat.MP4
 
+    String tracingEnabled
     String recordingDirectoryName
     String reportingDirectoryName
     VncRecordingMode recordingMode
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ class GrailsGebSettings {
     LocalDateTime startTime
 
     GrailsGebSettings(LocalDateTime startTime) {
+        tracingEnabled = System.getProperty('grails.geb.tracing.enabled', 'false')
         recordingDirectoryName = System.getProperty('grails.geb.recording.directory', 'build/gebContainer/recordings')
         reportingDirectoryName = System.getProperty('grails.geb.reporting.directory', 'build/gebContainer/reports')
         recordingMode = VncRecordingMode.valueOf(
diff --git a/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/WebDriverContainerHolder.groovy b/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/WebDriverContainerHolder.groovy
index de3d367..a287f1b 100644
--- a/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/WebDriverContainerHolder.groovy
+++ b/src/testFixtures/groovy/grails/plugin/geb/WebDriverContainerHolder.groovy
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ class WebDriverContainerHolder {
                 grailsGebSettings.recordingFormat
         )
         currentContainer.tap {
+            withEnv('SE_ENABLE_TRACING', grailsGebSettings.tracingEnabled)
             withAccessToHost(true)
             start()
         }