diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 201726b428..1d8ce603a5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ git-annex (8.20200227) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
 
   * Fix regression that prevented external special remotes from using
     GETCONFIG to query values like "name". (Introduced in version 7.20200202.7.)
+  * Fix bug that caused unlocked annexed dotfiles to be added to git by the
+    smudge filter when annex.dotfiles was not set.
   * Improve behavior when a directory git-annex is writing to gets
     unmounted. Previously it could in some cases re-create the mount point
     and directory tree, and even write object contents to the wrong disk.
diff --git a/Command/Smudge.hs b/Command/Smudge.hs
index 10ed0ae963..6b20ad3fee 100644
--- a/Command/Smudge.hs
+++ b/Command/Smudge.hs
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ shouldAnnex file indexmeta moldkey = ifM (annexGitAddToAnnex <$> Annex.getGitCon
 	checkmatcher d
 		| dotfile file = ifM (getGitConfigVal annexDotFiles)
 			( go
-			, return False
+			, d
 			)
 		| otherwise = go
 	  where
diff --git a/doc/bugs/Guard_against_previously_annexed_dotfiles_being_converted_to_git_files__63__.mdwn b/doc/bugs/Guard_against_previously_annexed_dotfiles_being_converted_to_git_files__63__.mdwn
index ab90679830..997911284b 100644
--- a/doc/bugs/Guard_against_previously_annexed_dotfiles_being_converted_to_git_files__63__.mdwn
+++ b/doc/bugs/Guard_against_previously_annexed_dotfiles_being_converted_to_git_files__63__.mdwn
@@ -64,3 +64,5 @@ index 3de500c..7898192 100644
 
 [[!meta author=kyle]]
 [[!tag projects/datalad]]
+
+> [[fixed|done]] --[[Joey]]
diff --git a/doc/bugs/Guard_against_previously_annexed_dotfiles_being_converted_to_git_files__63__/comment_2_5d0e1468f7ab2e8cd42452812d9ce49b._comment b/doc/bugs/Guard_against_previously_annexed_dotfiles_being_converted_to_git_files__63__/comment_2_5d0e1468f7ab2e8cd42452812d9ce49b._comment
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fe8e9befa0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/bugs/Guard_against_previously_annexed_dotfiles_being_converted_to_git_files__63__/comment_2_5d0e1468f7ab2e8cd42452812d9ce49b._comment
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+[[!comment format=mdwn
+ username="joey"
+ subject="""comment 2"""
+ date="2020-03-09T18:07:12Z"
+ content="""
+Analysis: Command.Smudge.shouldAnnex was changed
+in [[!commit 3cd375723658398a4b15ff8ec19e562ec4622488]] to check, for dotfiles,
+if annex.dotfiles is set. If not, it always returns False, so the file
+always gets added to git when it's smudged.
+
+After getting a file, git-annex tells git to update its index, which
+smudges the file. Of course, there are also plenty of other things that can
+cause a file to be smudged.
+
+Bad. Fix is very easy, luckily. It just needs to, rather than returning
+False, checking if the file was annexed, same as is done for non-dotfiles.
+"""]]