diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index dd135ff..58ab9ea 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,8 +10,14 @@ repository = "https://github.com/nathanbabcock/ffmpeg-sidecar"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT"
 
+[features]
+default = ["download_ffmpeg"]
+download_ffmpeg = ["reqwest"]
+
 [lib]
 crate-type = ["lib"]
 
 [dependencies]
 anyhow = "1.0.79"
+reqwest = { version = "0.12.8", optional = true, features = ["blocking"]}
+
diff --git a/src/download.rs b/src/download.rs
index cb69476..f35061c 100644
--- a/src/download.rs
+++ b/src/download.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use std::{
-  fs::{create_dir_all, read_dir, remove_dir_all, remove_file, rename},
-  io::Read,
+  fs::{create_dir_all, read_dir, remove_dir_all, remove_file, rename, File},
+  io::{copy, Read},
   path::{Path, PathBuf},
   process::{Command, ExitStatus, Stdio},
 };
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ pub fn ffmpeg_download_url() -> anyhow::Result<&'static str> {
 ///
 /// If FFmpeg is already installed, the method exits early without downloading
 /// anything.
+#[cfg(feature = "download_ffmpeg")]
 pub fn auto_download() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
   if ffmpeg_is_installed() {
     return Ok(());
@@ -111,6 +112,7 @@ pub fn parse_linux_version(version: &str) -> Option<String> {
 }
 
 /// Invoke cURL on the command line to download a file, returning it as a string.
+#[deprecated]
 pub fn curl(url: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
   let mut child = Command::new("curl")
     .create_no_window()
@@ -127,6 +129,7 @@ pub fn curl(url: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
 }
 
 /// Invoke cURL on the command line to download a file, writing to a file.
+#[deprecated]
 pub fn curl_to_file(url: &str, destination: &str) -> anyhow::Result<ExitStatus> {
   Command::new("curl")
     .create_no_window()
@@ -138,13 +141,26 @@ pub fn curl_to_file(url: &str, destination: &str) -> anyhow::Result<ExitStatus>
 
 /// Makes an HTTP request to obtain the latest version available online,
 /// automatically choosing the correct URL for the current platform.
+#[cfg(feature = "download_ffmpeg")]
 pub fn check_latest_version() -> anyhow::Result<String> {
   // Mac M1 doesn't have a manifest URL, so match the version provided in `ffmpeg_download_url`
   if cfg!(all(target_os = "macos", target_arch = "aarch64")) {
     return Ok("7.0".to_string());
   }
 
-  let string = curl(ffmpeg_manifest_url()?)?;
+  let manifest_url = ffmpeg_manifest_url()?;
+  let response = reqwest::blocking::get(manifest_url)
+    .context("Failed to make a request for the latest version")?;
+
+  if !response.status().is_success() {
+    anyhow::bail!(
+      "Failed to get the latest version, status: {}",
+      response.status()
+    );
+  }
+
+  let string = response.text().context("Failed to read response text")?;
+
   if cfg!(target_os = "windows") {
     Ok(string)
   } else if cfg!(target_os = "macos") {
@@ -158,6 +174,7 @@ pub fn check_latest_version() -> anyhow::Result<String> {
 
 /// Invoke `curl` to download an archive (ZIP on windows, TAR on linux and mac)
 /// from the latest published release online.
+#[cfg(feature = "download_ffmpeg")]
 pub fn download_ffmpeg_package(url: &str, download_dir: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
   let filename = Path::new(url)
     .file_name()
@@ -165,14 +182,25 @@ pub fn download_ffmpeg_package(url: &str, download_dir: &Path) -> anyhow::Result
 
   let archive_path = download_dir.join(filename);
 
-  let archive_filename = archive_path.to_str().context("invalid download path")?;
-
-  let exit_status = curl_to_file(url, archive_filename)?;
+  let response =
+    reqwest::blocking::get(url).context("Failed to make a request to download ffmpeg")?;
 
-  if !exit_status.success() {
-    anyhow::bail!("Failed to download ffmpeg");
+  if !response.status().is_success() {
+    anyhow::bail!("Failed to download ffmpeg, status: {}", response.status());
   }
 
+  let mut file =
+    File::create(&archive_path).context("Failed to create file for ffmpeg download")?;
+
+  copy(
+    &mut response
+      .bytes()
+      .context("Failed to read response bytes")?
+      .as_ref(),
+    &mut file,
+  )
+  .context("Failed to write ffmpeg download to file")?;
+
   Ok(archive_path)
 }