diff --git a/src/Avatar.ts b/src/Avatar.ts
index 60bdfdcf75..e2557e21a8 100644
--- a/src/Avatar.ts
+++ b/src/Avatar.ts
@@ -165,6 +165,9 @@ export function avatarUrlForRoom(room: Room, width: number, height: number, resi
         return explicitRoomAvatar;
     }
 
+    // space rooms cannot be DMs so skip the rest
+    if (room.isSpaceRoom()) return null;
+
     let otherMember = null;
     const otherUserId = DMRoomMap.shared().getUserIdForRoomId(room.roomId);
     if (otherUserId) {
diff --git a/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json b/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
index c3038fd9af..77451c1da8 100644
--- a/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
+++ b/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
@@ -777,6 +777,7 @@
     "%(senderName)s: %(reaction)s": "%(senderName)s: %(reaction)s",
     "%(senderName)s: %(stickerName)s": "%(senderName)s: %(stickerName)s",
     "Change notification settings": "Change notification settings",
+    "Spaces prototype. Incompatible with Communities, Communities v2 and Custom Tags": "Spaces prototype. Incompatible with Communities, Communities v2 and Custom Tags",
     "Render LaTeX maths in messages": "Render LaTeX maths in messages",
     "Communities v2 prototypes. Requires compatible homeserver. Highly experimental - use with caution.": "Communities v2 prototypes. Requires compatible homeserver. Highly experimental - use with caution.",
     "New spinner design": "New spinner design",
diff --git a/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts b/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts
index 24906f678c..393f4f27a1 100644
--- a/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts
+++ b/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ export class BreadcrumbsStore extends AsyncStoreWithClient<IState> {
     }
 
     private async appendRoom(room: Room) {
+        if (room.isSpaceRoom() && SettingsStore.getValue("feature_spaces")) return; // hide space rooms
         let updated = false;
         const rooms = (this.state.rooms || []).slice(); // cheap clone
 
diff --git a/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts b/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts
index af38141e5d..388bb061e3 100644
--- a/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts
+++ b/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {Room} from "matrix-js-sdk/src/models/room";
 import CallHandler from "../../../CallHandler";
 import { RoomListCustomisations } from "../../../customisations/RoomList";
 import VoipUserMapper from "../../../VoipUserMapper";
+import SettingsStore from "../../../settings/SettingsStore";
 
 export class VisibilityProvider {
     private static internalInstance: VisibilityProvider;
@@ -37,22 +38,23 @@ export class VisibilityProvider {
     }
 
     public isRoomVisible(room: Room): boolean {
-        let isVisible = true; // Returned at the end of this function
-        let forced = false; // When true, this function won't bother calling the customisation points
-
         if (
             CallHandler.sharedInstance().getSupportsVirtualRooms() &&
             VoipUserMapper.sharedInstance().isVirtualRoom(room)
         ) {
-            isVisible = false;
-            forced = true;
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        // hide space rooms as they'll be shown in the SpacePanel
+        if (room.isSpaceRoom() && SettingsStore.getValue("feature_spaces")) {
+            return false;
         }
 
         const isVisibleFn = RoomListCustomisations.isRoomVisible;
-        if (!forced && isVisibleFn) {
-            isVisible = isVisibleFn(room);
+        if (isVisibleFn) {
+            return isVisibleFn(room);
         }
 
-        return isVisible;
+        return true; // default
     }
 }