diff --git a/dblayer.php b/dblayer.php
index 0de5175..0f19128 100644
--- a/dblayer.php
+++ b/dblayer.php
@@ -161,7 +161,8 @@ class dblayer extends PDO
       if (file_exists ($file) && ! is_writeable ($file))
         throw new Exception (_("The SQLite database file is write protected"),
                              500);
-      chmod ($file, 0666);
+      if (function_exists ("posix_getuid") && fileowner ($file) === posix_getuid ())
+        chmod ($file, 0666);
       // Force ForeignKeys support (disabled by default)
       $this->db->exec("PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON");
       break;