diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/testing/compare.py b/lib/matplotlib/testing/compare.py
index 81bc56df4494..022923d67ad0 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/testing/compare.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/testing/compare.py
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ def __call__(self, orig, dest):
         if not self._proc:
             self._proc = subprocess.Popen(
                 [mpl._get_executable_info("gs").executable,
-                 "-dNOPAUSE", "-sDEVICE=png16m"],
+                 "-dNOSAFER", "-dNOPAUSE", "-sDEVICE=png16m"],
                 # As far as I can see, ghostscript never outputs to stderr.
                 stdin=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
             try: