diff --git a/payload_consumer/delta_performer.cc b/payload_consumer/delta_performer.cc
index 01db96a..a21a9b0 100644
--- a/payload_consumer/delta_performer.cc
+++ b/payload_consumer/delta_performer.cc
@@ -355,7 +355,14 @@
   target_path_ = install_plan_->partitions[current_partition_].target_path;
   int err;
 
-  target_fd_ = OpenFile(target_path_.c_str(), O_RDWR | O_DSYNC, &err);
+  int flags = O_RDWR;
+  if (!is_interactive_)
+    flags |= O_DSYNC;
+
+  LOG(INFO) << "Opening " << target_path_ << " partition with"
+            << (is_interactive_ ? "out" : "") << " O_DSYNC";
+
+  target_fd_ = OpenFile(target_path_.c_str(), flags, &err);
   if (!target_fd_) {
     LOG(ERROR) << "Unable to open target partition "
                << partition.partition_name() << " on slot "
diff --git a/payload_consumer/delta_performer.h b/payload_consumer/delta_performer.h
index 71d7178..038b260 100644
--- a/payload_consumer/delta_performer.h
+++ b/payload_consumer/delta_performer.h
@@ -78,12 +78,14 @@
                  BootControlInterface* boot_control,
                  HardwareInterface* hardware,
                  DownloadActionDelegate* download_delegate,
-                 InstallPlan* install_plan)
+                 InstallPlan* install_plan,
+                 bool is_interactive)
       : prefs_(prefs),
         boot_control_(boot_control),
         hardware_(hardware),
         download_delegate_(download_delegate),
-        install_plan_(install_plan) {}
+        install_plan_(install_plan),
+        is_interactive_(is_interactive) {}
 
   // FileWriter's Write implementation where caller doesn't care about
   // error codes.
@@ -385,6 +387,9 @@
   // The last progress chunk recorded.
   unsigned last_progress_chunk_{0};
 
+  // If |true|, the update is user initiated (vs. periodic update checks).
+  bool is_interactive_{false};
+
   // The timeout after which we should force emitting a progress log (constant),
   // and the actual point in time for the next forced log to be emitted.
   const base::TimeDelta forced_progress_log_wait_{
diff --git a/payload_consumer/delta_performer_integration_test.cc b/payload_consumer/delta_performer_integration_test.cc
index afbb8dc..6fdaba5 100644
--- a/payload_consumer/delta_performer_integration_test.cc
+++ b/payload_consumer/delta_performer_integration_test.cc
@@ -746,7 +746,8 @@
                                   &state->fake_boot_control_,
                                   &state->fake_hardware_,
                                   &state->mock_delegate_,
-                                  install_plan);
+                                  install_plan,
+                                  false /* is_interactive */);
   string public_key_path = GetBuildArtifactsPath(kUnittestPublicKeyPath);
   EXPECT_TRUE(utils::FileExists(public_key_path.c_str()));
   (*performer)->set_public_key_path(public_key_path);
diff --git a/payload_consumer/delta_performer_unittest.cc b/payload_consumer/delta_performer_unittest.cc
index 12d0708..a326ae4 100644
--- a/payload_consumer/delta_performer_unittest.cc
+++ b/payload_consumer/delta_performer_unittest.cc
@@ -328,8 +328,12 @@
   FakeBootControl fake_boot_control_;
   FakeHardware fake_hardware_;
   MockDownloadActionDelegate mock_delegate_;
-  DeltaPerformer performer_{
-      &prefs_, &fake_boot_control_, &fake_hardware_, &mock_delegate_, &install_plan_};
+  DeltaPerformer performer_{&prefs_,
+                            &fake_boot_control_,
+                            &fake_hardware_,
+                            &mock_delegate_,
+                            &install_plan_,
+                            false /* is_interactive*/};
 };
 
 TEST_F(DeltaPerformerTest, FullPayloadWriteTest) {
diff --git a/payload_consumer/download_action.cc b/payload_consumer/download_action.cc
index b2405ef..43812d7 100644
--- a/payload_consumer/download_action.cc
+++ b/payload_consumer/download_action.cc
@@ -44,12 +44,14 @@
                                BootControlInterface* boot_control,
                                HardwareInterface* hardware,
                                SystemState* system_state,
-                               HttpFetcher* http_fetcher)
+                               HttpFetcher* http_fetcher,
+                               bool is_interactive)
     : prefs_(prefs),
       boot_control_(boot_control),
       hardware_(hardware),
       system_state_(system_state),
       http_fetcher_(http_fetcher),
+      is_interactive_(is_interactive),
       writer_(nullptr),
       code_(ErrorCode::kSuccess),
       delegate_(nullptr),
@@ -188,8 +190,12 @@
   if (writer_) {
     LOG(INFO) << "Using writer for test.";
   } else {
-    delta_performer_.reset(new DeltaPerformer(
-        prefs_, boot_control_, hardware_, delegate_, &install_plan_));
+    delta_performer_.reset(new DeltaPerformer(prefs_,
+                                              boot_control_,
+                                              hardware_,
+                                              delegate_,
+                                              &install_plan_,
+                                              is_interactive_));
     writer_ = delta_performer_.get();
   }
   download_active_ = true;
diff --git a/payload_consumer/download_action.h b/payload_consumer/download_action.h
index 285930a..618a5b9 100644
--- a/payload_consumer/download_action.h
+++ b/payload_consumer/download_action.h
@@ -72,12 +72,13 @@
   // Takes ownership of the passed in HttpFetcher. Useful for testing.
   // A good calling pattern is:
   // DownloadAction(prefs, boot_contol, hardware, system_state,
-  //                new WhateverHttpFetcher);
+  //                new WhateverHttpFetcher, false);
   DownloadAction(PrefsInterface* prefs,
                  BootControlInterface* boot_control,
                  HardwareInterface* hardware,
                  SystemState* system_state,
-                 HttpFetcher* http_fetcher);
+                 HttpFetcher* http_fetcher,
+                 bool is_interactive);
   ~DownloadAction() override;
 
   // InstallPlanAction overrides.
@@ -145,6 +146,11 @@
   // Pointer to the HttpFetcher that does the http work.
   std::unique_ptr<HttpFetcher> http_fetcher_;
 
+  // If |true|, the update is user initiated (vs. periodic update checks). Hence
+  // the |delta_performer_| can decide not to use O_DSYNC flag for faster
+  // update.
+  bool is_interactive_;
+
   // The FileWriter that downloaded data should be written to. It will
   // either point to *decompressing_file_writer_ or *delta_performer_.
   FileWriter* writer_;
diff --git a/payload_consumer/download_action_unittest.cc b/payload_consumer/download_action_unittest.cc
index 5e9ef5c..ae85cb5 100644
--- a/payload_consumer/download_action_unittest.cc
+++ b/payload_consumer/download_action_unittest.cc
@@ -165,7 +165,8 @@
                                  fake_system_state.boot_control(),
                                  fake_system_state.hardware(),
                                  &fake_system_state,
-                                 http_fetcher);
+                                 http_fetcher,
+                                 false /* is_interactive */);
   download_action.SetTestFileWriter(&writer);
   BondActions(&feeder_action, &download_action);
   MockDownloadActionDelegate download_delegate;
@@ -280,7 +281,8 @@
         fake_system_state_.boot_control(),
         fake_system_state_.hardware(),
         &fake_system_state_,
-        new MockHttpFetcher(data.data(), data.size(), nullptr));
+        new MockHttpFetcher(data.data(), data.size(), nullptr),
+        false /* is_interactive */);
     download_action.SetTestFileWriter(&writer);
     MockDownloadActionDelegate download_delegate;
     if (use_download_delegate) {
@@ -380,7 +382,8 @@
                                  fake_system_state_.boot_control(),
                                  fake_system_state_.hardware(),
                                  &fake_system_state_,
-                                 new MockHttpFetcher("x", 1, nullptr));
+                                 new MockHttpFetcher("x", 1, nullptr),
+                                 false /* is_interactive */);
   download_action.SetTestFileWriter(&writer);
 
   DownloadActionTestAction test_action;
@@ -468,7 +471,8 @@
                                               fake_system_state_.boot_control(),
                                               fake_system_state_.hardware(),
                                               &fake_system_state_,
-                                              http_fetcher_));
+                                              http_fetcher_,
+                                              false /* is_interactive */));
     download_action_->SetTestFileWriter(&writer);
     BondActions(&feeder_action, download_action_.get());
     DownloadActionTestProcessorDelegate delegate(ErrorCode::kSuccess);