diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index d9d6af42..3d9d4fdf 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -69,7 +69,10 @@ for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(project_dir):
         data_files.append([dirpath,
             [os.path.join(dirpath, f) for f in filenames]])
 
-data_files.append(('/usr/local/share/applications', ['data/mopidy.desktop']))
+if os.geteuid() == 0:
+    # Only try to install this file if we are root
+    data_files.append(
+        ('/usr/local/share/applications', ['data/mopidy.desktop']))
 
 setup(
     name='Mopidy',