diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3fa81c938..c38a090b0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 ### Updates
 
+- Added `IterableConfig.enableForegroundCriteriaFetch` (default `true`) to control whether the SDK fetches unknown-user targeting criteria when the app enters the foreground (SDK-554).
 - Added `IterableConfig.eventThresholdLimit` (default `100`) to cap locally stored unknown-user events before identification (SDK-553). The value is forwarded to the native SDK; it has no runtime effect in React Native until `enableUnknownUserActivation` is exposed in a future release (that switch is not on the RN config surface yet).
 
 ## 3.2.1
diff --git a/android/src/main/java/com/iterable/reactnative/Serialization.java b/android/src/main/java/com/iterable/reactnative/Serialization.java
index 51c5d3368..a1a1d0d50 100644
--- a/android/src/main/java/com/iterable/reactnative/Serialization.java
+++ b/android/src/main/java/com/iterable/reactnative/Serialization.java
@@ -251,6 +251,10 @@ static IterableConfig.Builder getConfigFromReadableMap(ReadableMap iterableConte
                 configBuilder.setDataRegion(iterableDataRegion);
             }
 
+            if (iterableContextJSON.has("enableForegroundCriteriaFetch")) {
+                configBuilder.setEnableForegroundCriteriaFetch(iterableContextJSON.optBoolean("enableForegroundCriteriaFetch"));
+            }
+
             if (iterableContextJSON.has("enableEmbeddedMessaging")) {
                 configBuilder.setEnableEmbeddedMessaging(iterableContextJSON.optBoolean("enableEmbeddedMessaging"));
             }
diff --git a/ios/RNIterableAPI/Serialization.swift b/ios/RNIterableAPI/Serialization.swift
index b0b1bda2c..b7e5194e3 100644
--- a/ios/RNIterableAPI/Serialization.swift
+++ b/ios/RNIterableAPI/Serialization.swift
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ extension IterableConfig {
       config.useInMemoryStorageForInApps = useInMemoryStorageForInApp
     }
 
+    if let enableForegroundCriteriaFetch = dict["enableForegroundCriteriaFetch"] as? Bool {
+      config.enableForegroundCriteriaFetch = enableForegroundCriteriaFetch
+    }
+
     if let enableEmbeddedMessaging = dict["enableEmbeddedMessaging"] as? Bool {
       config.enableEmbeddedMessaging = enableEmbeddedMessaging
     }
diff --git a/src/core/classes/Iterable.test.ts b/src/core/classes/Iterable.test.ts
index 53e8dd69a..9bd4ef811 100644
--- a/src/core/classes/Iterable.test.ts
+++ b/src/core/classes/Iterable.test.ts
@@ -325,6 +325,7 @@ describe('Iterable', () => {
       expect(config.checkForDeferredDeeplink).toBe(false);
       expect(config.customActionHandler).toBe(undefined);
       expect(config.dataRegion).toBe(IterableDataRegion.US);
+      expect(config.enableForegroundCriteriaFetch).toBe(true);
       expect(config.enableEmbeddedMessaging).toBe(false);
       expect(config.encryptionEnforced).toBe(false);
       expect(config.expiringAuthTokenRefreshPeriod).toBe(60.0);
@@ -345,6 +346,7 @@ describe('Iterable', () => {
       expect(configDict.autoPushRegistration).toBe(true);
       expect(configDict.customActionHandlerPresent).toBe(false);
       expect(configDict.dataRegion).toBe(IterableDataRegion.US);
+      expect(configDict.enableForegroundCriteriaFetch).toBe(true);
       expect(configDict.enableEmbeddedMessaging).toBe(false);
       expect(configDict.encryptionEnforced).toBe(false);
       expect(configDict.expiringAuthTokenRefreshPeriod).toBe(60.0);
@@ -368,6 +370,13 @@ describe('Iterable', () => {
       expect(configDict.authCallbackTimeoutMs).toBe(2500);
     });
 
+    it('should include enableForegroundCriteriaFetch in toDict() when set to false', () => {
+      const config = new IterableConfig();
+      config.enableForegroundCriteriaFetch = false;
+      const configDict = config.toDict();
+      expect(configDict.enableForegroundCriteriaFetch).toBe(false);
+    });
+
     it('should include eventThresholdLimit in toDict() when overridden', () => {
       const config = new IterableConfig();
       config.eventThresholdLimit = 50;
diff --git a/src/core/classes/IterableConfig.ts b/src/core/classes/IterableConfig.ts
index e30639bbd..a284e87af 100644
--- a/src/core/classes/IterableConfig.ts
+++ b/src/core/classes/IterableConfig.ts
@@ -403,6 +403,14 @@ export class IterableConfig {
    */
   authCallbackTimeoutMs = 6000;
 
+  /**
+   * When `true` (the default), the SDK fetches unknown-user (anonymous) targeting
+   * criteria when the app enters the foreground.
+   *
+   * Set to `false` to disable that foreground fetch.
+   */
+  enableForegroundCriteriaFetch = true;
+
   /**
    * Should the SDK enable and use embedded messaging?
    *
@@ -497,6 +505,7 @@ export class IterableConfig {
       pushPlatform: this.pushPlatform,
       encryptionEnforced: this.encryptionEnforced,
       retryPolicy: this.retryPolicy,
+      enableForegroundCriteriaFetch: this.enableForegroundCriteriaFetch,
       enableEmbeddedMessaging: this.enableEmbeddedMessaging,
       androidWakeDelayMs: this.androidWakeDelayMs,
       authCallbackTimeoutMs: this.authCallbackTimeoutMs,