diff --git a/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.12.md b/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.12.md
index 013836a84..b05e36370 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.12.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.12.md
@@ -14,6 +14,6 @@ Changelog for the K8ssandra Operator, new PRs should update the `unreleased` sec
 When cutting a new release, update the `unreleased` heading to the tag being generated and date, like `## vX.Y.Z - YYYY-MM-DD` and create a new placeholder section for  `unreleased` entries.
 
 ## unreleased
-
+* [ENHANCEMENT] [#1160](https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/issues/1160) Allow disabling Reaper front-end auth.
 - [ENHANCEMENT] [#1115](https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/issues/1115) Add a validation check for the projected pod names length
 * [CHANGE] [#1050](https://github.com/k8ssandra/k8ssandra-operator/issues/1050) Remove unnecessary requeues in the Medusa controllers
diff --git a/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go b/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go
index c96d2b015..7313e1237 100644
--- a/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go
+++ b/apis/reaper/v1alpha1/reaper_types.go
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ type ReaperTemplate struct {
 	// this field is ignored.
 	JmxUserSecretRef corev1.LocalObjectReference `json:"jmxUserSecretRef,omitempty"`
 
-	// Defines the secret which contains the username and password for the Reaper UI and REST API authentication.
+	// Defines the secret which contains the username and password for the Reaper UI and REST API authentication. When UiUserSecretRef.Name == "", authentication is turned off in the front-end only.
 	// +optional
 	UiUserSecretRef *corev1.LocalObjectReference `json:"uiUserSecretRef,omitempty"`