diff --git a/docs/docs/getting-started/configuration.md b/docs/docs/getting-started/configuration.md
index 58e9f06f2..b9266460f 100644
--- a/docs/docs/getting-started/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/docs/getting-started/configuration.md
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ Ransack.configure do |config|
   # Strip leading and trailing whitespace from string search values.
   # Default is true.
   config.strip_whitespace = false
+
+  # Treat blank values as conditions to search for, rather than as absent.
+  # Default is true (blank values are ignored).
+  config.ignore_blank_values = false
 end
 ```
 
@@ -83,6 +87,49 @@ grouped form. See
 
 :::
 
+## Blank values
+
+By default Ransack ignores a condition whose value is blank — an empty string,
+or an array of only blank values. This is what makes an HTML search form behave
+sensibly: a form submitted with its fields left empty returns every record
+rather than none.
+
+```ruby
+Person.ransack(name_eq: "").result.to_sql
+# => SELECT "people".* FROM "people"
+```
+
+For a JSON API this is often the wrong default, because there an empty value is
+usually an explicit filter rather than an untouched form field. Setting
+`ignore_blank_values` to `false` makes Ransack search for the blank value
+instead of dropping it:
+
+```ruby
+Ransack.configure { |config| config.ignore_blank_values = false }
+
+Person.ransack(name_eq: "").result.to_sql
+# => SELECT "people".* FROM "people" WHERE "people"."name" = ''
+
+Person.ransack(id_in: []).result.to_a
+# => []   (an empty allowlist matches nothing, rather than matching everything)
+```
+
+A `nil` value is ignored under either setting, so params that were never sent
+are still not turned into conditions.
+
+On a non-string column a blank has no literal to compare against, so it is
+treated as `NULL`: `parent_id_eq: ""` becomes `parent_id IS NULL`, and the
+same applies to boolean and date columns. Inside an `_in` or with a comparison
+such as `_gt`, a blank matches nothing at all rather than everything.
+
+:::caution
+
+Do not turn this off for a search backed by an HTML form. A blank text input
+posts `""`, so with `ignore_blank_values = false` an untouched field becomes
+`WHERE column = ''` and the form returns nothing.
+
+:::
+
 ## Sorting NULLs
 
 `fields_sort_option` controls where `NULL`s are placed when sorting:
diff --git a/lib/ransack/configuration.rb b/lib/ransack/configuration.rb
index e9776391d..6a94ac093 100644
--- a/lib/ransack/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/ransack/configuration.rb
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ def []=(key, value)
       default_arrow: nil,
       sanitize_scope_args: true,
       fields_sort_option: nil,
-      strip_whitespace: true
+      strip_whitespace: true,
+      ignore_blank_values: true
     }
 
     def configure
@@ -208,6 +209,27 @@ def strip_whitespace=(boolean)
       self.options[:strip_whitespace] = boolean
     end
 
+    # By default, Ransack ignores search conditions whose value is blank — an
+    # empty string, or an array containing only blank values. This is what makes
+    # a search form submitted with empty fields return every record rather than
+    # none, and it is almost always what an HTML form wants.
+    #
+    # Set this to false to treat a blank value as a value to search *for*:
+    # `name_eq: ''` then generates `WHERE name = ''`, and `id_in: []` generates a
+    # condition matching nothing rather than being dropped. This is usually what
+    # a JSON API wants, where an empty value is an explicit filter rather than an
+    # untouched form field.
+    #
+    # A `nil` value is ignored either way.
+    #
+    # Ransack.configure do |config|
+    #   config.ignore_blank_values = false
+    # end
+    #
+    def ignore_blank_values=(boolean)
+      self.options[:ignore_blank_values] = boolean
+    end
+
     def arel_predicate_with_suffix(arel_predicate, suffix)
       if arel_predicate === Proc
         proc { |v| "#{arel_predicate.call(v)}#{suffix}" }
diff --git a/lib/ransack/predicate.rb b/lib/ransack/predicate.rb
index 649418116..e41d9735b 100644
--- a/lib/ransack/predicate.rb
+++ b/lib/ransack/predicate.rb
@@ -3,6 +3,17 @@ class Predicate
     attr_reader :name, :arel_predicate, :type, :formatter, :validator,
                 :compound, :wants_array, :case_insensitive
 
+    # Consulted at search time rather than captured at predicate-definition
+    # time, so that `Ransack.options[:ignore_blank_values]` set in an
+    # initializer applies to the predicates registered before it ran.
+    DEFAULT_VALIDATOR = lambda do |v|
+      if Ransack.options[:ignore_blank_values]
+        v.respond_to?(:empty?) ? !v.empty? : !v.nil?
+      else
+        !v.nil?
+      end
+    end
+
     class << self
 
       def names
@@ -37,8 +48,7 @@ def initialize(opts = {})
       @arel_predicate = opts[:arel_predicate]
       @type = opts[:type]
       @formatter = opts[:formatter]
-      @validator = opts[:validator] ||
-        lambda { |v| v.respond_to?(:empty?) ? !v.empty? : !v.nil? }
+      @validator = opts[:validator] || DEFAULT_VALIDATOR
       @compound = opts[:compound]
       @wants_array = opts.fetch(:wants_array,
         @compound || Constants::IN_NOT_IN.include?(@arel_predicate))
@@ -64,7 +74,18 @@ def format(val)
     end
 
     def validate(vals, type = @type)
-      vals.any? { |v| validator.call(type ? v.cast(type) : v.value) }
+      # An explicitly empty array is a meaningful filter (matching nothing)
+      # rather than an absent one, but only when blank values are not ignored.
+      return true if vals.empty? && wants_array &&
+                     !Ransack.options[:ignore_blank_values]
+
+      # When blank values are meaningful, validate the value as given. Casting
+      # first would turn '' into nil for an integer or boolean column and the
+      # explicit blank would be dropped — leaving no condition at all.
+      vals.any? do |v|
+        value = type && Ransack.options[:ignore_blank_values] ? v.cast(type) : v.value
+        validator.call(value)
+      end
     end
 
     def negative?
diff --git a/lib/ransack/search.rb b/lib/ransack/search.rb
index 303107957..8d69bddd6 100644
--- a/lib/ransack/search.rb
+++ b/lib/ransack/search.rb
@@ -177,11 +177,18 @@ def collapse_multiparameter_attributes!(attrs)
       attrs
     end
 
-    # True when every element of a condition's value is blank, i.e. the field
-    # was submitted empty. `false` is a real value, and an explicit nil is kept
-    # so `name_in: [nil]` still reaches the query.
+    # True when a condition's value should be dropped before building. With
+    # `ignore_blank_values` on (the default) a blank value means "this form
+    # field was left empty"; with it off, only nil is treated that way and a
+    # blank value is a value to search for. `false` is always a real value, and
+    # an explicit nil inside an array is kept so `name_in: [nil]` still reaches
+    # the query. The `c:` pruning below shares this, so it follows the option.
     def blank_condition_value?(value)
-      [*value].all? { |i| i.blank? && i != false && !i.nil? }
+      if Ransack.options[:ignore_blank_values]
+        [*value].all? { |i| i.blank? && i != false && !i.nil? }
+      else
+        value.nil? || (value.is_a?(Array) && !value.empty? && value.all?(&:nil?))
+      end
     end
 
     # The low-level `c:` API nests its values a level deeper than the shorthand
diff --git a/spec/ransack/search_spec.rb b/spec/ransack/search_spec.rb
index 2f7250acb..4d71bb315 100644
--- a/spec/ransack/search_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/ransack/search_spec.rb
@@ -20,6 +20,91 @@ module Ransack
         Search.new(Person, name_eq: 'foobar')
       end
 
+      context 'blank value handling' do
+        after { Ransack.configure { |c| c.ignore_blank_values = true } }
+
+        context 'when ignore_blank_values is true (the default)' do
+          it 'removes empty string conditions before building' do
+            expect_any_instance_of(Search).to receive(:build).with({})
+            Search.new(Person, name_eq: '')
+          end
+
+          it 'removes empty array conditions before building' do
+            expect_any_instance_of(Search).to receive(:build).with({})
+            Search.new(Person, name_in: [])
+          end
+
+          it 'removes conditions that are blank after whitespace stripping' do
+            expect_any_instance_of(Search).to receive(:build).with({})
+            Search.new(Person, name_eq: '   ')
+          end
+        end
+
+        context 'when ignore_blank_values is false' do
+          before { Ransack.configure { |c| c.ignore_blank_values = false } }
+
+          it 'keeps empty string conditions before building' do
+            expect_any_instance_of(Search).to receive(:build)
+            .with({ 'name_eq' => '' })
+            Search.new(Person, name_eq: '')
+          end
+
+          it 'keeps empty array conditions before building' do
+            expect_any_instance_of(Search).to receive(:build)
+            .with({ 'name_in' => [] })
+            Search.new(Person, name_in: [])
+          end
+
+          it 'still removes nil conditions before building' do
+            expect_any_instance_of(Search).to receive(:build).with({})
+            Search.new(Person, name_eq: nil)
+          end
+
+          it 'searches for the empty string with an eq predicate' do
+            s = Search.new(Person, name_eq: '')
+            field = "#{quote_table_name('people')}.#{quote_column_name('name')}"
+            expect(s.result.to_sql).to include "#{field} = ''"
+          end
+
+          it 'matches nothing for an empty array with an in predicate' do
+            s = Search.new(Person, name_in: [])
+            expect(s.result.to_a).to eq []
+          end
+
+          # A blank on a non-string column would be cast to nil before
+          # validation and the condition silently dropped — returning every
+          # row, which is the one outcome this option exists to prevent.
+          it 'treats a blank on an integer column as NULL' do
+            s = Search.new(Person, parent_id_eq: '')
+            field = "#{quote_table_name('people')}.#{quote_column_name('parent_id')}"
+            expect(s.result.to_sql).to include "#{field} IS NULL"
+          end
+
+          it 'treats a blank on a boolean column as NULL' do
+            s = Search.new(Person, awesome_eq: '')
+            field = "#{quote_table_name('people')}.#{quote_column_name('awesome')}"
+            expect(s.result.to_sql).to include "#{field} IS NULL"
+          end
+
+          it 'matches nothing for a blank inside an in predicate on an integer column' do
+            Person.create!(salary: 100)
+            expect(Search.new(Person, salary_in: ['']).result.to_a).to eq []
+          end
+
+          it 'matches nothing for a blank with a comparison predicate on an integer column' do
+            Person.create!(salary: 100)
+            expect(Search.new(Person, salary_gt: '').result.to_a).to eq []
+          end
+
+          it 'keeps the condition on the search object' do
+            s = Search.new(Person, children_name_eq: '')
+            condition = s.base[:children_name_eq]
+            expect(condition).not_to be_nil
+            expect(condition.values.first.value).to eq ''
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
       context 'whitespace stripping' do
         context 'when whitespace_strip option is true' do
           before do