diff --git a/autoload/vimtex/compiler.vim b/autoload/vimtex/compiler.vim
index fc576c5380..789184338c 100644
--- a/autoload/vimtex/compiler.vim
+++ b/autoload/vimtex/compiler.vim
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ endfunction
 
 " {{{1 Initialize module
 
-if !g:vimtex_compiler_enabled | finish | endif
+if !get(g:, 'vimtex_compiler_enabled') | finish | endif
 
 augroup vimtex_compiler
   autocmd!
diff --git a/autoload/vimtex/options.vim b/autoload/vimtex/options.vim
index f670cde374..5c01c1683f 100644
--- a/autoload/vimtex/options.vim
+++ b/autoload/vimtex/options.vim
@@ -273,24 +273,25 @@ function! vimtex#options#init() abort " {{{1
   call s:init_option('vimtex_subfile_start_local', 0)
 
   call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_enabled', 1)
-  call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_conceal_default', 1)
   call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_conceal', {
-        \ 'accents': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'cites': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'fancy': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'greek': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'math_bounds': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'math_delimiters': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'math_fracs': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'math_super_sub': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'math_symbols': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
-        \ 'styles': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default,
+        \ 'accents': 1,
+        \ 'cites': 1,
+        \ 'fancy': 1,
+        \ 'greek': 1,
+        \ 'math_bounds': 1,
+        \ 'math_delimiters': 1,
+        \ 'math_fracs': 1,
+        \ 'math_super_sub': 1,
+        \ 'math_symbols': 1,
+        \ 'sections': 0,
+        \ 'styles': 1,
         \})
   call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_conceal_cites', {
         \ 'type': 'brackets',
         \ 'icon': '📖',
         \ 'verbose': v:true,
         \})
+  call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_conceal_disable', 0)
   call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_custom_cmds', [])
   call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_nested', {
         \ 'aliases' : {
@@ -323,10 +324,17 @@ function! vimtex#options#init() abort " {{{1
   call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_nospell_comments', 0)
   call s:init_option('vimtex_syntax_packages', {
         \ 'amsmath': {'load': 2},
-        \ 'babel': {'conceal': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default},
-        \ 'hyperref': {'conceal': g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default},
+        \ 'babel': {'conceal': 1},
+        \ 'hyperref': {'conceal': 1},
         \})
 
+  " Disable conceals if chosen
+  if g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_disable
+    call map(g:vimtex_syntax_conceal, {k, v -> 0})
+    let g:vimtex_syntax_packages.babel.conceal = 0
+    let g:vimtex_syntax_packages.hyperref.conceal = 0
+  endif
+
   call s:init_option('vimtex_texcount_custom_arg', '')
 
   call s:init_option('vimtex_text_obj_enabled', 1)
@@ -464,6 +472,7 @@ function! s:check_for_deprecated_options() abort " {{{1
         \ 'g:vimtex_quickfix_latexlog',
         \ 'g:vimtex_quickfix_warnings',
         \ 'g:vimtex_syntax_autoload_packages',
+        \ 'g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default',
         \ 'g:vimtex_textidote_jar',
         \ 'g:vimtex_toc_fold',
         \ 'g:vimtex_toc_fold_level_start',
diff --git a/autoload/vimtex/syntax/core.vim b/autoload/vimtex/syntax/core.vim
index 681abf21a4..3e35260908 100644
--- a/autoload/vimtex/syntax/core.vim
+++ b/autoload/vimtex/syntax/core.vim
@@ -614,6 +614,11 @@ function! vimtex#syntax#core#init() abort " {{{1
     if g:vimtex_syntax_conceal.cites
       call s:match_conceal_cites_{g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_cites.type}()
     endif
+
+    " Conceal section commands
+    if g:vimtex_syntax_conceal.sections
+      call s:match_conceal_sections()
+    endif
   endif
 
   " }}}2
@@ -785,6 +790,8 @@ function! vimtex#syntax#core#init_highlights() abort " {{{1
   highlight def link texParboxOptHeight    texError
   highlight def link texParboxOptIPos      texError
   highlight def link texParboxOptPos       texError
+  highlight def link texPartConcealed      texCmdPart
+  highlight def link texPartConcArgTitle   texPartArgTitle
   highlight def link texRefOpt             texOpt
   highlight def link texRefConcealedOpt1   texRefOpt
   highlight def link texRefConcealedOpt2   texRefOpt
@@ -1927,6 +1934,18 @@ function! s:match_conceal_cites_icon() abort " {{{1
         \ 'conceal cchar=' . g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_cites.icon
 endfunction
 
+" }}}1
+function! s:match_conceal_sections() abort " {{{1
+  syntax match texCmdPart "\v\\%(sub)*section>\*?" contains=texPartConcealed nextgroup=texPartConcArgTitle
+  syntax match texPartConcealed "\\" contained conceal cchar=#
+  syntax match texPartConcealed "sub" contained conceal cchar=#
+  syntax match texPartConcealed "section\*\?" contained conceal cchar= 
+
+  call vimtex#syntax#core#new_arg('texPartConcArgTitle', {
+        \ 'opts': 'contained keepend concealends'
+        \})
+endfunction
+
 " }}}1
 
 function! s:gather_newtheorems() abort " {{{1
diff --git a/doc/vimtex.txt b/doc/vimtex.txt
index 095e7aa4b8..18ed652f9c 100644
--- a/doc/vimtex.txt
+++ b/doc/vimtex.txt
@@ -2133,13 +2133,6 @@ OPTIONS                                                        *vimtex-options*
 
   Default value: 1.
 
-*g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default*
-  Specify the default flag for the conceal feature. This is used e.g. in
-  |vimtex_syntax_conceal| and for package specific options in
-  |vimtex_syntax_packages|. For more info, see |vimtex-syntax-conceal|.
-
-  Default value: 1
-
 *g:vimtex_syntax_conceal*
   A dictionary for specifying which core conceal features to activate. This
   mostly implies concealing particular elements with a replacement unicode
@@ -2183,6 +2176,13 @@ OPTIONS                                                        *vimtex-options*
       Replace various math symbol commands to an equivalent unicode character.
       This includes quite a lot of replacements, so be warned!
 
+    sections~
+      Conceal `\(sub)*section` commands. The titles are replaced with Markdown
+      style ATX headers, e.g.:
+
+        `\section{Test}`    --> `# Test`
+        `\subsection{Test}` --> `## Test`
+
     styles~
       Conceal the LaTeX command "boundaries" for italicized and bolded style
       commands, i.e. `\emph`, `\textit`, and `\textbf`. This means that one
@@ -2190,7 +2190,28 @@ OPTIONS                                                        *vimtex-options*
 
         `\emph{text here}` --> `text here`
 
-  Default value: All keys set to |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default|.
+  Default value: >
+
+    let g:vimtex_syntax_conceal = {
+          \ 'accents': 1,
+          \ 'cites': 1,
+          \ 'fancy': 1,
+          \ 'greek': 1,
+          \ 'math_bounds': 1,
+          \ 'math_delimiters': 1,
+          \ 'math_fracs': 1,
+          \ 'math_super_sub': 1,
+          \ 'math_symbols': 1,
+          \ 'sections': 0,
+          \ 'styles': 1,
+          \}
+
+*g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_disable*
+  The option |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal| allows to selectively disable conceal
+  features. For convenience, this option allows to disable all conceal
+  features in one go. For more info, see |vimtex-syntax-conceal|.
+
+  Default value: 0
 
 *g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_cites*
   A simple dictionary to control how citation conceal should work. It has
@@ -2351,8 +2372,7 @@ OPTIONS                                                        *vimtex-options*
     array~
     asymptote~
     babel~
-      `conceal`  whether to enable conceal
-        Default: |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default|
+      `conceal`  whether to enable conceal; enabled by default
     beamer~
     biblatex~
     booktabs~
@@ -4076,7 +4096,8 @@ are several major differences that users may want to be aware of:
 Associated settings:
 * |g:vimtex_syntax_enabled|
 * |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal|
-* |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default|
+* |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_cites|
+* |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_disable|
 * |g:vimtex_syntax_nested|
 * |g:vimtex_syntax_nospell_commands|
 * |g:vimtex_syntax_packages|
@@ -4088,9 +4109,9 @@ VimTeX utilizes the |syn-conceal| feature of Vim to allow displaying commands
 like `\alpha` as `α`. That is, various elements/commands can be concealed or
 substituted with a unicode symbol.
 
-This feature is enabled by default. It can be fully disabled with
-|g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default| or specific types of concealments can be
-disabled with |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal|.
+This feature is mostly enabled by default. Various types of concealments can
+be enabled/disabled with |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal|. The entire feature can be
+fully disabled with |g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_disable|.
 
 For conceals to work properly, one must set the option 'conceallevel' to 2. It
 is also good to be aware of the 'concealcursor' option.
@@ -5781,6 +5802,10 @@ The following changelog only logs particularly important changes, such as
 changes that break backwards compatibility.  See the git log for the detailed
 changelog.
 
+2021-10-09: Better options for syntax conceal~
+Deprecated *g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_default* in favour of
+|g:vimtex_syntax_conceal_disable|.
+
 2020-11-16: More flexible package syntax options~
 Deprecate *g:vimtex_syntax_autoload_packages* in favor of
 |g:vimtex_syntax_packages|, which allows more fine grained control over each
diff --git a/test/test-syntax/test-conceal.tex b/test/test-syntax/test-conceal.tex
index ef9628042a..758226720e 100644
--- a/test/test-syntax/test-conceal.tex
+++ b/test/test-syntax/test-conceal.tex
@@ -63,4 +63,12 @@
 
 $$\lVert \mathrm{w} \rVert_2^2$$
 
+\chapter{test}
+
+\section{test}
+
+\subsection{testing}
+
+\subsubsection{testing}
+
 \end{document}