diff --git a/jupyterhub_config.py b/jupyterhub_config.py
index cce2c68..e59a17d 100644
--- a/jupyterhub_config.py
+++ b/jupyterhub_config.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ c.KubeSpawner.singleuser_image_spec = 'yuvipanda/simple-singleuser:v1'
 # The spawned containers need to be able to talk to the hub through the proxy!
 c.KubeSpawner.hub_connect_ip = os.environ['HUB_CONNECT_IP']
 
+c.KubeSpawner.singleuser_service_account = 'default'
 # Do not use any authentication at all - any username / password will work.
 c.JupyterHub.authenticator_class = 'dummyauthenticator.DummyAuthenticator'
 
diff --git a/kubespawner/objects.py b/kubespawner/objects.py
index 36ea5da..3848f2e 100644
--- a/kubespawner/objects.py
+++ b/kubespawner/objects.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ from kubernetes.client.models.v1_pod_spec import V1PodSpec
 from kubernetes.client.models.v1_object_meta import V1ObjectMeta
 from kubernetes.client.models.v1_pod_security_context import V1PodSecurityContext
 from kubernetes.client.models.v1_local_object_reference import V1LocalObjectReference
+from kubernetes.client.models.v1_volume import V1Volume
+from kubernetes.client.models.v1_volume_mount import V1VolumeMount
 
 from kubernetes.client.models.v1_container import V1Container
 from kubernetes.client.models.v1_security_context import V1SecurityContext
@@ -40,6 +42,7 @@ def make_pod(
     mem_guarantee,
     lifecycle_hooks,
     init_containers,
+    service_account,
 ):
     """
     Make a k8s pod specification for running a user notebook.
@@ -106,6 +109,8 @@ def make_pod(
         Dictionary of lifecycle hooks
       - init_containers:
         List of initialization containers belonging to the pod.
+      - service_account:
+        Service account to mount on the pod. None disables mounting
     """
 
     pod = V1Pod()
@@ -150,6 +155,28 @@ def make_pod(
     notebook_container.lifecycle = lifecycle_hooks
     notebook_container.resources = V1ResourceRequirements()
     
+    if service_account is None:
+        # Add a hack to ensure that no service accounts are mounted in spawned pods
+        # This makes sure that we don"t accidentally give access to the whole
+        # kubernetes API to the users in the spawned pods.
+        # Note: We don't simply use `automountServiceAccountToken` here since we wanna be compatible
+        # with older kubernetes versions too for now.
+        hack_volume = V1Volume()
+        hack_volume.name =  "no-api-access-please"
+        hack_volume.empty_dir = {}
+        hack_volumes = [hack_volume]
+
+        hack_volume_mount = V1VolumeMount()
+        hack_volume_mount.name = "no-api-access-please"
+        hack_volume_mount.mount_path = "/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount"
+        hack_volume_mount.read_only = True
+        hack_volume_mounts = [hack_volume_mount]
+    else:
+        hack_volumes = []
+        hack_volume_mounts = []
+
+        pod.service_account_name = service_account
+
     if run_privileged:
         container_security_context = V1SecurityContext()
         container_security_context.privileged = True
@@ -167,11 +194,11 @@ def make_pod(
         notebook_container.resources.limits['cpu'] = cpu_limit
     if mem_limit:
         notebook_container.resources.limits['memory'] = mem_limit
-    notebook_container.volume_mounts = volume_mounts
+    notebook_container.volume_mounts = volume_mounts + hack_volume_mounts
     pod.spec.containers.append(notebook_container)
 
     pod.spec.init_containers = init_containers
-    pod.spec.volumes = volumes
+    pod.spec.volumes = volumes + hack_volumes
     return pod
 
 
diff --git a/kubespawner/spawner.py b/kubespawner/spawner.py
index 24a50e3..19e6c38 100644
--- a/kubespawner/spawner.py
+++ b/kubespawner/spawner.py
@@ -21,8 +21,6 @@ from traitlets.config import SingletonConfigurable
 from traitlets import Type, Unicode, List, Integer, Union, Dict, Bool, Any
 from jupyterhub.spawner import Spawner
 from jupyterhub.traitlets import Command
-from kubernetes.client.models.v1_volume import V1Volume
-from kubernetes.client.models.v1_volume_mount import V1VolumeMount
 from kubernetes.client.rest import ApiException
 from kubernetes import client
 import escapism
@@ -149,6 +147,24 @@ class KubeSpawner(Spawner):
         """
     ).tag(config=True)
 
+    singleuser_service_account = Unicode(
+        None,
+        allow_none=True,
+        config=True,
+        help="""
+        The service account to be mounted in the spawned user pod.
+
+        When set to None (the default), no service account is mounted, and the default service account
+        is explicitly disabled.
+
+        This serviceaccount must already exist in the namespace the user pod is being spawned in.
+
+        WARNING: Be careful with this configuration! Make sure the service account being mounted
+        has the minimal permissions needed, and nothing more. When misconfigured, this can easily
+        give arbitrary users root over your entire cluster.
+        """
+    )
+
     pod_name_template = Unicode(
         'jupyter-{username}',
         config=True,
@@ -623,19 +639,6 @@ class KubeSpawner(Spawner):
         else:
             real_cmd = None
 
-        # Add a hack to ensure that no service accounts are mounted in spawned pods
-        # This makes sure that we don"t accidentally give access to the whole
-        # kubernetes API to the users in the spawned pods.
-        # See https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/16779#issuecomment-157460294
-        hack_volume = V1Volume()
-        hack_volume.name =  "no-api-access-please"
-        hack_volume.empty_dir = {}
-
-        hack_volume_mount = V1VolumeMount()
-        hack_volume_mount.name = "no-api-access-please"
-        hack_volume_mount.mount_path = "/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount"
-        hack_volume_mount.read_only = True
-
         # Default set of labels, picked up from
         # https://github.com/kubernetes/helm/blob/master/docs/chart_best_practices/labels.md
         labels = {
@@ -659,8 +662,8 @@ class KubeSpawner(Spawner):
             fs_gid=singleuser_fs_gid,
             run_privileged=self.singleuser_privileged,
             env=self.get_env(),
-            volumes=self._expand_all(self.volumes) + [hack_volume],
-            volume_mounts=self._expand_all(self.volume_mounts) + [hack_volume_mount],
+            volumes=self._expand_all(self.volumes),
+            volume_mounts=self._expand_all(self.volume_mounts),
             working_dir=self.singleuser_working_dir,
             labels=labels,
             cpu_limit=self.cpu_limit,
@@ -669,6 +672,7 @@ class KubeSpawner(Spawner):
             mem_guarantee=self.mem_guarantee,
             lifecycle_hooks=self.singleuser_lifecycle_hooks,
             init_containers=self.singleuser_init_containers,
+            service_account=self.singleuser_service_account
         )
 
     def get_pvc_manifest(self):

diff --git a/tests/test_objects.py b/tests/test_objects.py
index a95ab56..5994de1 100644
--- a/tests/test_objects.py
+++ b/tests/test_objects.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ def test_make_simplest_pod():
         labels={},
         lifecycle_hooks=None,
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -51,14 +52,14 @@ def test_make_simplest_pod():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {},
                         "requests": {}
                     }
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ def test_make_labeled_pod():
         labels={"test": "true"},
         lifecycle_hooks=None,
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -108,14 +110,14 @@ def test_make_labeled_pod():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {},
                         "requests": {}
                     }
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -147,6 +149,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_image_pull_secrets():
         labels={},
         lifecycle_hooks=None,
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -168,14 +171,14 @@ def test_make_pod_with_image_pull_secrets():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {},
                         "requests": {}
                     }
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -208,6 +211,7 @@ def test_set_pod_uid_fs_gid():
         labels={},
         lifecycle_hooks=None,
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -229,14 +233,14 @@ def test_set_pod_uid_fs_gid():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {},
                         "requests": {}
                     }
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -268,6 +272,7 @@ def test_run_privileged_container():
         labels={},
         lifecycle_hooks=None,
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -293,10 +298,10 @@ def test_run_privileged_container():
                     "securityContext": {
                         "privileged": True,
                     },
-                    "volumeMounts": []
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -328,6 +333,7 @@ def test_make_pod_resources_all():
         labels={},
         lifecycle_hooks=None,
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -348,7 +354,7 @@ def test_make_pod_resources_all():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {
                             "cpu": 2,
@@ -361,7 +367,7 @@ def test_make_pod_resources_all():
                     }
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -396,6 +402,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_env():
         labels={},
         lifecycle_hooks=None,
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -414,7 +421,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_env():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {
                         },
@@ -423,7 +430,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_env():
                     }
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -461,6 +468,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_lifecycle():
             }
         },
         init_containers=None,
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -479,7 +487,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_lifecycle():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {
                         },
@@ -495,7 +503,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_lifecycle():
                     }
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"
@@ -539,6 +547,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_init_containers():
                 'command': ['sh', '-c', 'until nslookup mydb; do echo waiting for mydb; sleep 2; done;']
             }
         ],
+        service_account=None
     )) == {
         "metadata": {
             "name": "test",
@@ -557,7 +566,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_init_containers():
                         "name": "notebook-port",
                         "containerPort": 8888
                     }],
-                    'volumeMounts': [],
+                    'volumeMounts': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'mountPath': '/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount', 'readOnly': True}],
                     "resources": {
                         "limits": {
                         },
@@ -579,7 +588,7 @@ def test_make_pod_with_init_containers():
                     "command": ["sh", "-c", "until nslookup mydb; do echo waiting for mydb; sleep 2; done;"]
                 }
             ],
-            'volumes': [],
+            'volumes': [{'name': 'no-api-access-please', 'emptyDir': {}}],
         },
         "kind": "Pod",
         "apiVersion": "v1"

Add support for setting singleuser service account
Currently we disable all service account mounting from inside the pod.

We should allow people to:

1. Specify that the default serviceaccount needs to be mounted
2. Specify that an arbitrary service account should be created and then mounted.

The default would still be no sa, but would be something you can override. This would be great for people who wanna launch helm charts from inside the notebook.
tests/test_objects.py::test_make_simplest_pod tests/test_objects.py::test_make_labeled_pod tests/test_objects.py::test_make_pod_with_image_pull_secrets tests/test_objects.py::test_set_pod_uid_fs_gid tests/test_objects.py::test_run_privileged_container tests/test_objects.py::test_make_pod_resources_all tests/test_objects.py::test_make_pod_with_env tests/test_objects.py::test_make_pod_with_lifecycle tests/test_objects.py::test_make_pod_with_init_containers
tests/test_objects.py::test_make_pvc_simple tests/test_objects.py::test_make_resources_all