diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 428a82e1..f894cada 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@ Not recommended for general use, this package will be removed if upstream become
 
 Custom changes:
 - added `allowOutsideClick` passthrough from the `modals` service to the `focus-trap` initialisation so `clickOutsideDeactivates` and `allowOutsideClick` and be used in tandem to allow wormholed content such as dropdowns to work inside of a modal
+- added `escapeDeactivates` passthrough from the `modals` service to the `focus-trap` initialisation so that deactivation/close event handling can be fully controlled by the consuming app
diff --git a/addon/components/modal.js b/addon/components/modal.js
index 8ad66da9..061a22f1 100644
--- a/addon/components/modal.js
+++ b/addon/components/modal.js
@@ -30,11 +30,12 @@ export default Component.extend({
   didInsertElement() {
     this._super(...arguments);
 
-    let { allowOutsideClick, clickOutsideDeactivates } = this.modals;
+    let { allowOutsideClick, clickOutsideDeactivates, escapeDeactivates } = this.modals;
     let element = document.getElementById(this.modalElementId);
     let options = {
       allowOutsideClick,
       clickOutsideDeactivates,
+      escapeDeactivates,
       fallbackFocus: `#${this.modalElementId}`,
       onDeactivate: () => {
         if (this.isDestroyed || this.isDestroying) {
diff --git a/addon/services/modals.js b/addon/services/modals.js
index 13df0f93..ac2edf42 100644
--- a/addon/services/modals.js
+++ b/addon/services/modals.js
@@ -11,8 +11,9 @@ export default Service.extend({
   }),
   top: alias('_stack.lastObject'),
 
-  allowOutsideClick: undefined,
+  allowOutsideClick: false,
   clickOutsideDeactivates: true,
+  escapeDeactivates: true,
 
   init() {
     this._super(...arguments);