diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index fe882b1..1f6bedd 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@ option(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS "Build shared libraries instead of static libraries" ON
 option(VISP_VULKAN "Enable Vulkan support" OFF)
 option(VISP_DEV "Enable development mode" OFF)
 option(VISP_CI "Enable for continuous integration environment" OFF)
+option(VISP_PACKAGE "Build for packaging and distribution" OFF)
 option(VISP_TESTS "Build tests" ${PROJECT_IS_TOP_LEVEL})
-option(VISP_INSTALL_MODELS "Download and install default models" OFF)
+option(VISP_INSTALL_MODELS "Download and install default models" ${VISP_PACKAGE})
 option(VISP_FMT_LIB "Use external fmt library instead of standard C++ <format>" OFF)
 option(VISP_STATIC_GGML "Force static build of ggml" OFF)
 option(VISP_ASAN "Enable AddressSanitizer" OFF)
@@ -25,6 +26,10 @@ if(PROJECT_IS_TOP_LEVEL)
   set(CMAKE_ARCHIVE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/lib)
   set(CMAKE_LIBRARY_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/lib)
   set(CMAKE_RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/bin)
+  if (VISP_PACKAGE)
+    set(CMAKE_CXX_VISIBILITY_PRESET hidden)
+    set(CMAKE_VISIBILITY_INLINES_HIDDEN ON)
+  endif()
 endif()
 
 # Set default build type to Release (except for multi-config generators)
@@ -76,6 +81,9 @@ elseif(UNIX AND NOT APPLE)
     # Disable omitting dependencies from ELF binaries so they can be found via RPATH
     list(APPEND VISP_LINK_OPTIONS -Wl,--no-as-needed)
   endif()
+  if(VISP_PACKAGE)
+    list(APPEND VISP_LINK_OPTIONS -Wl,--exclude-libs,ALL)
+  endif()
 endif()
 
 # Configure warnings
diff --git a/scripts/pkg-check/check-package.sh b/scripts/pkg-check/check-package.sh
index 71394c8..635815f 100644
--- a/scripts/pkg-check/check-package.sh
+++ b/scripts/pkg-check/check-package.sh
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ step1() {
     -D VISP_VULKAN=OFF \
     -D VISP_TESTS=OFF \
     -D VISP_STATIC_GGML=ON \
-    -D VISP_INSTALL_MODELS=ON
+    -D VISP_PACKAGE=ON
 
   cmake --build "$SRC_BUILD_DIR"
 
diff --git a/src/visp/CMakeLists.txt b/src/visp/CMakeLists.txt
index c8d51aa..fc4d32b 100644
--- a/src/visp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/visp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -33,6 +33,6 @@ set_target_properties(visioncpp PROPERTIES
   SOVERSION ${PROJECT_VERSION_MAJOR}
 )
 
-if (MSVC AND VISP_TESTS)
+if (MSVC AND VISP_TESTS AND NOT VISP_PACKAGE)
   set_target_properties(visioncpp PROPERTIES WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON)
 endif()
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index 72b41a5..f31792d 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ target_compile_options(vision-workbench PRIVATE ${VISP_COMP_OPTIONS})
 target_link_options(vision-workbench PRIVATE ${VISP_LINK_OPTIONS})
 target_link_libraries(vision-workbench PRIVATE visioncpp ggml ${VISP_FMT_LINK})
 
+if(VISP_PACKAGE)
+  message(WARNING "Some tests may not work due to symbol visibility settings for packaging. Use VISP_PACKAGE=OFF to run all tests. Use VISP_TESTS=OFF when packaging.")
+endif()  
+
 #
 # Python tests