diff --git a/src/components/structures/MatrixChat.js b/src/components/structures/MatrixChat.js
index 462933cbc6..71910b6f31 100644
--- a/src/components/structures/MatrixChat.js
+++ b/src/components/structures/MatrixChat.js
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             collapse_rhs: false,
             ready: false,
             width: 10000,
+            autoPeek: true, // by default, we peek into rooms when we try to join them
         };
         if (s.logged_in) {
             if (MatrixClientPeg.get().getRooms().length) {
@@ -304,6 +305,9 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                 });
                 break;
             case 'view_room':
+                // by default we autoPeek rooms, unless we were called explicitly with
+                // autoPeek=false by something like RoomDirectory who has already peeked
+                this.setState({ autoPeek : payload.auto_peek === false ? false : true });
                 this._viewRoom(payload.room_id, payload.show_settings);
                 break;
             case 'view_prev_room':
@@ -787,6 +791,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                         <RoomView
                             ref="roomView"
                             roomId={this.state.currentRoom}
+                            autoPeek={this.state.autoPeek}
                             key={this.state.currentRoom}
                             ConferenceHandler={this.props.ConferenceHandler} />
                     );
diff --git a/src/components/structures/RoomView.js b/src/components/structures/RoomView.js
index 5604565dd7..b4986e7a33 100644
--- a/src/components/structures/RoomView.js
+++ b/src/components/structures/RoomView.js
@@ -57,7 +57,9 @@ if (DEBUG_SCROLL) {
 module.exports = React.createClass({
     displayName: 'RoomView',
     propTypes: {
-        ConferenceHandler: React.PropTypes.any
+        ConferenceHandler: React.PropTypes.any,
+        roomId: React.PropTypes.string,
+        autoPeek: React.PropTypes.bool, // should we try to peek the room on mount, or has whoever invoked us already initiated a peek?
     },
 
     /* properties in RoomView objects include:
@@ -78,7 +80,9 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             syncState: MatrixClientPeg.get().getSyncState(),
             hasUnsentMessages: this._hasUnsentMessages(room),
             callState: null,
+            autoPeekDone: false, // track whether our autoPeek (if any) has completed)
             guestsCanJoin: false,
+            canPeek: false,
             readMarkerEventId: room ? room.getEventReadUpTo(MatrixClientPeg.get().credentials.userId) : null,
             readMarkerGhostEventId: undefined
         }
@@ -86,6 +90,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
 
     componentWillMount: function() {
         this.dispatcherRef = dis.register(this.onAction);
+        MatrixClientPeg.get().on("Room", this.onNewRoom);
         MatrixClientPeg.get().on("Room.timeline", this.onRoomTimeline);
         MatrixClientPeg.get().on("Room.name", this.onRoomName);
         MatrixClientPeg.get().on("Room.accountData", this.onRoomAccountData);
@@ -110,9 +115,13 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
         // We can't try to /join because this may implicitly accept invites (!)
         // We can /peek though. If it fails then we present the join UI. If it
         // succeeds then great, show the preview (but we still may be able to /join!).
-        if (!this.state.room) {
+        if (!this.state.room && this.props.autoPeek) {
             console.log("Attempting to peek into room %s", this.props.roomId);
             MatrixClientPeg.get().peekInRoom(this.props.roomId).done(() => {
+                this.setState({
+                    autoPeekDone: true;
+                });
+
                 // we don't need to do anything - JS SDK will emit Room events
                 // which will update the UI. We *do* however need to know if we
                 // can join the room so we can fiddle with the UI appropriately.
@@ -120,15 +129,20 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                 if (!peekedRoom) {
                     return;
                 }
+
                 var guestAccessEvent = peekedRoom.currentState.getStateEvents("m.room.guest_access", "");
-                if (!guestAccessEvent) {
-                    return;
-                }
-                if (guestAccessEvent.getContent().guest_access === "can_join") {
+                if (guestAccessEvent && guestAccessEvent.getContent().guest_access === "can_join") {
                     this.setState({
                         guestsCanJoin: true
                     });
                 }
+
+                var historyVisibility = peekedRoom.currentState.getStateEvents("m.room.history_visibility", "");
+                if (historyVisibility && historyVisibility.getContent().history_visibility === "world_readable") {
+                    this.setState({
+                        canPeek: true
+                    });
+                }
             }, function(err) {
                 console.error("Failed to peek into room: %s", err);
             });
@@ -155,6 +169,7 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
         }
         dis.unregister(this.dispatcherRef);
         if (MatrixClientPeg.get()) {
+            MatrixClientPeg.get().removeListener("Room", this.onNewRoom);
             MatrixClientPeg.get().removeListener("Room.timeline", this.onRoomTimeline);
             MatrixClientPeg.get().removeListener("Room.name", this.onRoomName);
             MatrixClientPeg.get().removeListener("Room.accountData", this.onRoomAccountData);
@@ -278,6 +293,14 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
         });
     },
 
+    onNewRoom: function(room) {
+        if (room.roomId == this.props.roomId) {
+            this.setState({
+                room: room
+            });
+        }
+    },
+
     onRoomName: function(room) {
         if (room.roomId == this.props.roomId) {
             this.setState({
@@ -929,9 +952,10 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             );
         }
 
+        var visibilityDeferred;
         if (old_history_visibility != newVals.history_visibility &&
                 newVals.history_visibility != undefined) {
-            deferreds.push(
+            visibilityDeferred = 
                 MatrixClientPeg.get().sendStateEvent(
                     this.state.room.roomId, "m.room.history_visibility", {
                         history_visibility: newVals.history_visibility,
@@ -940,6 +964,27 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             );
         }
 
+        if (old_guest_read != newVals.guest_read ||
+            old_guest_join != newVals.guest_join)
+        {
+            var guestDeferred = 
+                MatrixClientPeg.get().setGuestAccess(this.state.room.roomId, {
+                    allowRead: newVals.guest_read,
+                    allowJoin: newVals.guest_join
+                });
+
+            if (visibilityDeferred) {
+                visibilityDeferred = visibilityDeferred.then(guestDeferred);
+            }
+            else {
+                visibilityDeferred = guestDeferred;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (visibilityDeferred) {
+            deferreds.push(visibilityDeferred);
+        }
+
         if (newVals.power_levels) {
             deferreds.push(
                 MatrixClientPeg.get().sendStateEvent(
@@ -1033,17 +1078,6 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
             );
         }
 
-        if (old_guest_read != newVals.guest_read ||
-            old_guest_join != newVals.guest_join)
-        {
-            deferreds.push(
-                MatrixClientPeg.get().setGuestAccess(this.state.room.roomId, {
-                    allowRead: newVals.guest_read,
-                    allowJoin: newVals.guest_join
-                })
-            );
-        }
-
         if (deferreds.length) {
             var self = this;
             q.allSettled(deferreds).then(
@@ -1391,12 +1425,28 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
 
         if (!this.state.room) {
             if (this.props.roomId) {
-                return (
-                    <div>
-                    <button onClick={this.onJoinButtonClicked}>Join Room</button>
-                    </div>
-                );
-            } else {
+                if (this.props.autoPeek && !this.state.autoPeekDone) {
+                    return (
+                        <div className="mx_RoomView">
+                            <Loader />
+                        </div>
+                    );                
+                }
+                else {
+                    var joinErrorText = this.state.joinError ? "Failed to join room!" : "";
+                    return (
+                        <div className="mx_RoomView">
+                            <RoomHeader ref="header" room={this.state.room} simpleHeader="Join room"/>
+                            <div className="mx_RoomView_auxPanel">
+                                <RoomPreviewBar onJoinClick={ this.onJoinButtonClicked } 
+                                                canJoin={ true } canPreview={ false }/>
+                                <div className="error">{joinErrorText}</div>
+                            </div>
+                        </div>
+                    );                    
+                }
+            }
+            else {
                 return (
                     <div />
                 );
@@ -1417,16 +1467,21 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                 var inviteEvent = myMember.events.member;
                 var inviterName = inviteEvent.sender ? inviteEvent.sender.name : inviteEvent.getSender();
                 // XXX: Leaving this intentionally basic for now because invites are about to change totally
+                // FIXME: This comment is now outdated - what do we need to fix? ^
                 var joinErrorText = this.state.joinError ? "Failed to join room!" : "";
                 var rejectErrorText = this.state.rejectError ? "Failed to reject invite!" : "";
+
+                // We deliberately don't try to peek into invites, even if we have permission to peek
+                // as they could be a spam vector.
+                // XXX: in future we could give the option of a 'Preview' button which lets them view anyway.
                 return (
                     <div className="mx_RoomView">
                         <RoomHeader ref="header" room={this.state.room} simpleHeader="Room invite"/>
-                        <div className="mx_RoomView_invitePrompt">
-                            <div>{inviterName} has invited you to a room</div>
-                            <br/>
-                            <button ref="joinButton" onClick={this.onJoinButtonClicked}>Join</button>
-                            <button onClick={this.onRejectButtonClicked}>Reject</button>
+                        <div className="mx_RoomView_auxPanel">
+                            <RoomPreviewBar onJoinClick={ this.onJoinButtonClicked } 
+                                            onRejectClick={ this.onRejectButtonClicked }
+                                            inviterName={ inviterName }
+                                            canJoin={ true } canPreview={ false }/>
                             <div className="error">{joinErrorText}</div>
                             <div className="error">{rejectErrorText}</div>
                         </div>
@@ -1544,6 +1599,12 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                     <RoomPreviewBar onJoinClick={this.onJoinButtonClicked} canJoin={true} />
                 );
             }
+            else if (this.state.canPeek &&
+                    (!myMember || myMember.membership !== "join")) {
+                aux = (
+                    <RoomPreviewBar onJoinClick={this.onJoinButtonClicked} canJoin={true} />
+                );
+            }
 
             var conferenceCallNotification = null;
             if (this.state.displayConfCallNotification) {
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomPreviewBar.js b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomPreviewBar.js
index 2f12c4c8e2..657aa6a4d9 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomPreviewBar.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomPreviewBar.js
@@ -23,33 +23,57 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
 
     propTypes: {
         onJoinClick: React.PropTypes.func,
-        canJoin: React.PropTypes.bool
+        onRejectClick: React.PropTypes.func,
+        inviterName: React.PropTypes.string,
+        canJoin: React.PropTypes.bool,
+        canPreview: React.PropTypes.bool,
     },
 
     getDefaultProps: function() {
         return {
             onJoinClick: function() {},
-            canJoin: false
+            canJoin: false,
+            canPreview: true,
         };
     },
 
     render: function() {
-        var joinBlock;
+        var joinBlock, previewBlock;
 
-        if (this.props.canJoin) {
+        if (this.props.inviter) {
+            joinBlock = (
+                <div>
+                    <div className="mx_RoomPreviewBar_invite_text">
+                        You have been invited to join this room by { this.props.inviterName }
+                    </div>
+                    <div className="mx_RoomPreviewBar_join_text">
+                        Would you like to <a onClick={ this.props.onJoinClick }>accept</a> or
+                        <a onClick={ this.props.onRejectClick }>decline</a> this invitation?
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+            );
+
+        }
+        else if (this.props.canJoin) {
             joinBlock = (
                 <div className="mx_RoomPreviewBar_join_text">
-                Would you like to <a onClick={this.props.onJoinClick}>join</a> this room?
+                    Would you like to <a onClick={ this.props.onJoinClick }>join</a> this room?
+                </div>
+            );
+        }
+
+        if (this.props.canPreview) {
+            previewBlock = (
+                <div className="mx_RoomPreviewBar_preview_text">
+                    This is a preview of this room. Room interactions have been disabled.
                 </div>
             );
         }
 
         return (
             <div className="mx_RoomPreviewBar">
-                <div className="mx_RoomPreviewBar_preview_text">
-                This is a preview of this room. Room interactions have been disabled.
-                </div>
-                {joinBlock}
+                { previewBlock }
+                { joinBlock }
             </div>
         );
     }
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomSettings.js b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomSettings.js
index 0ff15a4f43..f41e30091b 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/RoomSettings.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/RoomSettings.js
@@ -660,12 +660,13 @@ module.exports = React.createClass({
                 }
             </div>
 
+        // FIXME: disable guests_read if the user hasn't turned on shared history
         return (
             <div className="mx_RoomSettings">
                 <label><input type="checkbox" ref="is_private" defaultChecked={join_rule != "public"}/> Make this room private</label> <br/>
-                <label><input type="checkbox" ref="share_history" defaultChecked={history_visibility == "shared"}/> Share message history with new users</label> <br/>
-                <label><input type="checkbox" ref="guests_read" defaultChecked={history_visibility === "world_readable"}/> Allow guests to read messages in this room</label> <br/>
-                <label><input type="checkbox" ref="guests_join" defaultChecked={guest_access === "can_join"}/> Allow guests to join this room</label> <br/>
+                <label><input type="checkbox" ref="share_history" defaultChecked={history_visibility === "shared" || history_visibility === "world_readable"}/> Share message history with new participants</label> <br/>
+                <label><input type="checkbox" ref="guests_join" defaultChecked={guest_access === "can_join"}/> Let guests join this room</label> <br/>
+                <label><input type="checkbox" ref="guests_read" defaultChecked={history_visibility === "world_readable"}/> Let users read message history without joining</label> <br/>
                 <label className="mx_RoomSettings_encrypt"><input type="checkbox" /> Encrypt room</label>
 
                 { tags_section }