diff --git a/btrbk b/btrbk
index ae69035..e8ee74d 100755
--- a/btrbk
+++ b/btrbk
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ my %config_options = (
   backend                     => { default => "btrfs-progs", accept => [       "btrfs-progs", "btrfs-progs-btrbk", "btrfs-progs-sudo" ] },
   backend_local               => { default => undef,         accept => [ "no", "btrfs-progs", "btrfs-progs-btrbk", "btrfs-progs-sudo" ] },
   backend_remote              => { default => undef,         accept => [ "no", "btrfs-progs", "btrfs-progs-btrbk", "btrfs-progs-sudo" ] },
+  backend_local_user          => { default => undef,         accept => [ "no", "btrfs-progs", "btrfs-progs-btrbk", "btrfs-progs-sudo" ] },
 
   compat                      => { default => undef,     accept => [ "no", "busybox" ] },
   compat_local                => { default => undef,     accept => [ "no", "busybox" ] },
@@ -2603,8 +2604,14 @@ sub vinfo_cmd($$@)
   my $cmd = shift || die;
   my @cmd_args = @_;
   my $ret;
-  my $backend = defined($vinfo->{HOST}) ? config_key($vinfo, "backend_remote") : config_key($vinfo, "backend_local");
-  $backend = $backend // config_key($vinfo, "backend") // die;
+  my $backend;
+  if(defined($vinfo->{HOST})) {
+    $backend //= config_key($vinfo, "backend_remote");
+  } else {
+    $backend //= config_key($vinfo, "backend_local_user") if($>); # $EUID, $EFFECTIVE_USER_ID
+    $backend //= config_key($vinfo, "backend_local");
+  }
+  $backend //= config_key($vinfo, "backend") // die;
   my $cmd_mapped = $backend_cmd_map{$backend}{$cmd};
   if(defined($cmd_mapped)) {
     TRACE "vinfo_cmd: found mapping for backend=$backend cmd=\"$cmd\": " . join(' ', @$cmd_mapped) if($do_trace);
diff --git a/doc/btrbk.conf.5.asciidoc b/doc/btrbk.conf.5.asciidoc
index 0ac4e67..0e5178a 100644
--- a/doc/btrbk.conf.5.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/btrbk.conf.5.asciidoc
@@ -364,27 +364,31 @@ constraints.
 *backend* btrfs-progs|btrfs-progs-btrbk|btrfs-progs-sudo::
     Backend filesystem utilities to be used for btrfs specific
     operations. Defaults to ``btrfs-progs''.
-    If you want to set this option for local or remote hosts only, you
-    can set *backend_local* or *backend_remote*
-    (e.g. "backend_remote btrfs-progs-btrbk").
 +
 --
-btrfs-progs::
+*btrfs-progs*::
     Default backend, btrfs commands are called as specified in
     btrfs(8) (e.g. "btrfs subvolume show").
 
-btrfs-progs-btrbk::
+*btrfs-progs-btrbk*::
     btrfs commands are separated by a dash instead of a whitespace
     (e.g. "btrfs-subvolume-show" instead of "btrfs subvolume
     show"). Useful for setting suid or file capabilities (setcap) on
     specific btrfs commands, as implemented in
     <https://github.com/digint/btrfs-progs-btrbk>.
 
-btrfs-progs-sudo::
+*btrfs-progs-sudo*::
     btrfs commands are prefixed with "sudo -n" (e.g. "sudo -n btrfs
     subvolume show" instead of "btrfs subvolume show"). Make sure to
     have appropriate (root) permissions for the "btrfs" command groups
     as well as the "readlink" and "test" commands in /etc/sudoers.
+
+If you want to set this option for local or remote hosts only, set
+*backend_local* or *backend_remote* (e.g. "backend_remote
+btrfs-progs-btrbk").
+
+If you want to set this option for regular (non-root) user only, set
+*backend_local_user*.
 --
 +