diff --git a/constants/defaults.ts b/constants/defaults.ts
index d98016f..cbe487f 100644
--- a/constants/defaults.ts
+++ b/constants/defaults.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_SETTINGS: NoteStatusSettings = {
 	useCustomStatusesOnly: false,
 	useMultipleStatuses: true,
 	tagPrefix: 'obsidian-note-status',
+	strictStatuses: false, // Default to show all statuses from frontmatter
 	excludeUnknownStatus: true, // Default to exclude unknown status files for better performance
 };
 
@@ -35,4 +36,4 @@ export const DEFAULT_COLORS: Record<string, string> = {
 	completed: '#00aaff', // Blue for accent
 	dropped: '#ff0000',   // Red for error
 	unknown: '#888888'    // Gray for muted
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+};
diff --git a/integrations/settings/settings-ui.ts b/integrations/settings/settings-ui.ts
index ab166dd..33ae528 100644
--- a/integrations/settings/settings-ui.ts
+++ b/integrations/settings/settings-ui.ts
@@ -160,6 +160,14 @@ export class NoteStatusSettingsUI {
             this.callbacks.onSettingChange('tagPrefix', value.trim());
           }
         }));
+
+
+    new Setting(containerEl)
+      .setName('Strict status validation')
+      .setDesc('Only show statuses that are defined in templates or custom statuses. ⚠️ WARNING: When enabled, any unknown statuses will be automatically removed when modifying file statuses.')
+      .addToggle(toggle => toggle
+        .setValue(settings.strictStatuses || false)
+        .onChange(value => this.callbacks.onSettingChange('strictStatuses', value)));
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/models/types.ts b/models/types.ts
index 820bfc3..d1ddb48 100644
--- a/models/types.ts
+++ b/models/types.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ export interface NoteStatusSettings {
     useCustomStatusesOnly: boolean; // Whether to use only custom statuses or include templates
     useMultipleStatuses: boolean; // Whether to allow multiple statuses per note
     tagPrefix: string; // Prefix for the status tag (default: 'status')
+    strictStatuses: boolean; // Whether to only show known statuses
     excludeUnknownStatus: boolean; // Whether to exclude files with unknown status from the status pane
 }
 
@@ -39,4 +40,4 @@ export interface FileExplorerView extends View {
         titleEl?: HTMLElement;
         selfEl?: HTMLElement;
     }>;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/services/status-service.ts b/services/status-service.ts
index c9f6f52..e184d55 100644
--- a/services/status-service.ts
+++ b/services/status-service.ts
@@ -83,12 +83,22 @@ export class StatusService {
     
     if (Array.isArray(frontmatterStatus)) {
       for (const statusName of frontmatterStatus) {
-        this.addValidStatus(statusName.toString(), statuses);
+        if (this.settings.strictStatuses) {
+          this.addValidStatus(statusName.toString(), statuses);
+        } else {
+          const cleanStatus = statusName.toString().trim();
+          if (cleanStatus) statuses.push(cleanStatus);
+        }
       }
     } else {
-      this.addValidStatus(frontmatterStatus.toString(), statuses);
+      if (this.settings.strictStatuses) {
+        this.addValidStatus(frontmatterStatus.toString(), statuses);
+      } else {
+        const cleanStatus = frontmatterStatus.toString().trim();
+        if (cleanStatus) statuses.push(cleanStatus);
+      }
     }
-
+  
     return statuses.length > 0 ? statuses : ['unknown'];
   }
   
@@ -361,4 +371,4 @@ export class StatusService {
       }
     }));
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}