diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 4b4032209..3dfa7962b 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 
 * `recipe()`, `prep()`, and `bake()` now work with sparse matrices. (#1364, #1368, #1369)
 
+* `prep.recipe(..., strings_as_factors = TRUE)` now only converts string variables that have role "predictor" or "outcome". (@dajmcdon, #1358, #1376)
+
 # recipes 1.1.0
 
 ## Improvements
diff --git a/R/misc.R b/R/misc.R
index 28f7cba80..bcde7daa5 100644
--- a/R/misc.R
+++ b/R/misc.R
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ get_rhs_vars <- function(formula, data, no_lhs = FALSE) {
   ## `inline_check` stops when in-line functions are used.
 
   outcomes_names <- all.names(
-    rlang::f_lhs(formula), 
-    functions = FALSE, 
+    rlang::f_lhs(formula),
+    functions = FALSE,
     unique = TRUE
   )
 
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ get_rhs_vars <- function(formula, data, no_lhs = FALSE) {
     functions = FALSE,
     unique = TRUE
   )
-  
+
   if (any(predictors_names == ".")) {
     predictors_names <- predictors_names[predictors_names != "."]
     predictors_names <- c(predictors_names, colnames(data))
@@ -182,6 +182,20 @@ has_lvls <- function(info) {
   !vapply(info, function(x) all(is.na(x$values)), c(logic = TRUE))
 }
 
+kill_levels <- function(lvls, var_info) {
+  vars <- var_info$variable
+  roles <- var_info$role
+  preds_outcomes <- unique(vars[roles %in% c("outcome", "predictor")])
+  others <- unique(setdiff(vars, preds_outcomes))
+  if (length(others) > 0L) {
+    for (var in others) {
+      lvls[[var]] <- list(values = NA, ordered = NA)
+    }
+  }
+  lvls
+}
+
+
 strings2factors <- function(x, info) {
   check_lvls <- has_lvls(info)
   if (!any(check_lvls)) {
@@ -279,10 +293,10 @@ merge_term_info <- function(.new, .old) {
 #' supported by all steps.
 #'
 #' @param ... Arguments pass in from a call to `step`.
-#' 
-#' @return `ellipse_check()`: If not empty, a list of quosures. If empty, an 
+#'
+#' @return `ellipse_check()`: If not empty, a list of quosures. If empty, an
 #'   error is thrown.
-#' 
+#'
 #' @keywords internal
 #' @rdname recipes-internal
 #' @export
@@ -311,9 +325,9 @@ ellipse_check <- function(...) {
 #'  recipe (e.g. `terms` in most steps).
 #' @param trained A logical for whether the step has been trained.
 #' @param width An integer denoting where the output should be wrapped.
-#' 
+#'
 #' @return `printer()`: `NULL`, invisibly.
-#' 
+#'
 #' @keywords internal
 #' @rdname recipes-internal
 #' @export
@@ -502,16 +516,16 @@ check_type <- function(dat, quant = TRUE, types = NULL, call = caller_env()) {
 ## Support functions
 
 #' Check to see if a step or check as been trained
-#' 
+#'
 #' `is_trained()` is a helper function that returned a single logical to
 #' indicate whether a recipe is traine or not.
-#' 
+#'
 #' @param x a step object.
 #' @return `is_trained()`: A single logical.
-#' 
+#'
 #' @seealso [developer_functions]
 #' @keywords internal
-#' 
+#'
 #' @rdname recipes-internal
 #' @export
 is_trained <- function(x) {
@@ -521,14 +535,14 @@ is_trained <- function(x) {
 
 #' Convert Selectors to Character
 #'
-#' `sel2char()` takes a list of selectors (e.g. `terms` in most steps) and 
+#' `sel2char()` takes a list of selectors (e.g. `terms` in most steps) and
 #' returns a character vector version for printing.
-#' 
+#'
 #' @param x A list of selectors
 #' @return `sel2char()`: A character vector.
-#' 
+#'
 #' @seealso [developer_functions]
-#' 
+#'
 #' @keywords internal
 #' @rdname recipes-internal
 #' @export
@@ -968,7 +982,7 @@ recipes_remove_cols <- function(new_data, object, col_names = character()) {
 #' This helper function is meant to be used in `prep()` methods to identify
 #' predictors and outcomes by names.
 #'
-#' @param info data.frame with variable information of columns. 
+#' @param info data.frame with variable information of columns.
 #'
 #' @return Character vector of column names.
 #' @keywords internal
diff --git a/R/recipe.R b/R/recipe.R
index eae5f0f38..3ed1caf52 100644
--- a/R/recipe.R
+++ b/R/recipe.R
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ recipe.default <- function(x, ...) {
 #'  Dots are allowed as are simple multivariate outcome terms (i.e. no need for
 #'  `cbind`; see Examples). A model formula may not be the best choice for
 #'  high-dimensional data with many columns, because of problems with memory.
-#' @param x,data A data frame, tibble, or sparse matrix from the `Matrix` 
+#' @param x,data A data frame, tibble, or sparse matrix from the `Matrix`
 #'   package of the *template* data set. See [sparse_data] for more information
 #'   about use of sparse data.
 #'   (see below).
@@ -321,8 +321,8 @@ prep <- function(x, ...) {
 #' For a recipe with at least one preprocessing operation, estimate the required
 #'   parameters from a training set that can be later applied to other data
 #'   sets.
-#' @param training A data frame, tibble, or sparse matrix from the `Matrix` 
-#'   package, that will be used to estimate parameters for preprocessing. See 
+#' @param training A data frame, tibble, or sparse matrix from the `Matrix`
+#'   package, that will be used to estimate parameters for preprocessing. See
 #'   [sparse_data] for more information about use of sparse data.
 #' @param fresh A logical indicating whether already trained operation should be
 #'   re-trained. If `TRUE`, you should pass in a data set to the argument
@@ -339,9 +339,10 @@ prep <- function(x, ...) {
 #'     the final recipe size large. When `verbose = TRUE`, a message is written
 #'     with the approximate object size in memory but may be an underestimate
 #'     since it does not take environments into account.
-#' @param strings_as_factors A logical: should character columns be converted to
-#'   factors? This affects the preprocessed training set (when
-#'   `retain = TRUE`) as well as the results of `bake.recipe`.
+#' @param strings_as_factors A logical: should character columns that have role
+#'   "predictor" or "outcome" be converted to factors? This affects the
+#'   preprocessed training set (when `retain = TRUE`) as well as the results of
+#'  `bake.recipe`.
 #' @return A recipe whose step objects have been updated with the required
 #'   quantities (e.g. parameter estimates, model objects, etc). Also, the
 #'   `term_info` object is likely to be modified as the operations are
@@ -403,9 +404,9 @@ prep.recipe <-
 
     # Record the original levels for later checking
     orig_lvls <- lapply(training, get_levels)
-
     if (strings_as_factors) {
       lvls <- lapply(training, get_levels)
+      lvls <- kill_levels(lvls, x$var_info)
       training <- strings2factors(training, lvls)
     } else {
       lvls <- NULL
@@ -545,6 +546,7 @@ prep.recipe <-
     ## The steps may have changed the data so reassess the levels
     if (strings_as_factors) {
       lvls <- lapply(training, get_levels)
+      lvls <- kill_levels(lvls, x$term_info)
       check_lvls <- has_lvls(lvls)
       if (!any(check_lvls)) lvls <- NULL
     } else {
@@ -604,10 +606,10 @@ bake <- function(object, ...) {
 #'   [prep()], apply the computations to new data.
 #' @param object A trained object such as a [recipe()] with at least
 #'   one preprocessing operation.
-#' @param new_data A data frame, tibble, or sparse matrix from the `Matrix` 
-#'   package for whom the preprocessing will be applied. If `NULL` is given to 
+#' @param new_data A data frame, tibble, or sparse matrix from the `Matrix`
+#'   package for whom the preprocessing will be applied. If `NULL` is given to
 #'   `new_data`, the pre-processed _training data_ will be returned (assuming
-#'   that `prep(retain = TRUE)` was used). See [sparse_data] for more 
+#'   that `prep(retain = TRUE)` was used). See [sparse_data] for more
 #'   information about use of sparse data.
 #' @param ... One or more selector functions to choose which variables will be
 #'   returned by the function. See [selections()] for more details.
diff --git a/man/roles.Rd b/man/roles.Rd
index 05e4c5a6a..856025e3b 100644
--- a/man/roles.Rd
+++ b/man/roles.Rd
@@ -93,10 +93,9 @@ If you really aren't using \code{sample} in your recipe, we recommend that you i
 
 try(bake(rec, biomass_test))
 #> Error in bake(rec, biomass_test) : 
-#>   x The following required columns are missing from `new_data`:
-#>   `sample`.
-#> i These columns have one of the following roles, which are required
-#>   at `bake()` time: `id variable`.
+#>   x The following required columns are missing from `new_data`: `sample`.
+#> i These columns have one of the following roles, which are required at `bake()`
+#>   time: `id variable`.
 #> i If these roles are not required at `bake()` time, use
 #>   `update_role_requirements(role = "your_role", bake = FALSE)`.
 }\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/R4.4/discretize.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/R4.4/discretize.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8c7540ace
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/R4.4/discretize.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# multiple column prefix
+
+    Code
+      recipe(~., data = example_data) %>% step_discretize(x1, x2, options = list(
+        labels = "hello")) %>% prep()
+    Condition
+      Warning:
+      Note that the options `prefix` and `labels` will be applied to all variables.
+      Error in `step_discretize()`:
+      Caused by error in `cut.default()`:
+      ! number of intervals and length of 'labels' differ
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/R4.4/selections.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/R4.4/selections.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..61a3dfe82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/R4.4/selections.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# simple name selections
+
+    Code
+      recipes_eval_select(quos = quos(I(beds:sqft)), data = Sacramento, info = info_sac)
+    Condition
+      Error:
+      i In argument: `I(beds:sqft)`.
+      Caused by error:
+      ! object 'beds' not found
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/cut.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/cut.md
index 643c23abe..2827966f9 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/_snaps/cut.md
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/cut.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
       Error in `step_cut()`:
       Caused by error in `prep()`:
       x All columns selected for the step should be double or integer.
-      * 1 factor variable found: `cat_var`
+      * 1 string variable found: `cat_var`
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-dummy_multi_choice.R b/tests/testthat/test-dummy_multi_choice.R
index 76a281cdb..1ec01cd60 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-dummy_multi_choice.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-dummy_multi_choice.R
@@ -136,6 +136,9 @@ test_that("factor levels are preserved", {
 # Infrastructure ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 test_that("bake method errors when needed non-standard role columns are missing", {
+  # lang_1 is not converted automatically because it has a non-standard role
+  # but it is used like a factor variable. See also `?step_string2factor`
+  languages <- languages %>% mutate(lang_1 = factor(lang_1))
   rec <- recipe(~., data = languages) %>%
     step_dummy_multi_choice(lang_1, lang_2, lang_3) %>%
     update_role(lang_1, new_role = "potato") %>%
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-misc.R b/tests/testthat/test-misc.R
index c16e98aa0..11a5c88fc 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-misc.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-misc.R
@@ -55,3 +55,57 @@ test_that("validate_training_data errors are thrown", {
       prep(mtcars)
   )
 })
+
+test_that("vars without role in predictor/outcome avoid string processing", {
+
+  x <- tibble(
+    real_pred = 1:5,
+    chr_pred_and_lime = letters[1:5],
+    chr_outcome = letters[1:5],
+    chr_only_lemon = letters[1:5],
+    chr_only_lime = letters[1:5]
+  )
+  var_info <- tibble(variable = names(x), source = "original")
+  var_info <- full_join(get_types(x), var_info, by = "variable")
+  var_info$role <- c("predictor", "predictor", "outcome", "lemon", "lime")
+  additional_row <- var_info[2, ]
+  additional_row$role <- "lime"
+  var_info <- var_info %>% add_row(additional_row)
+
+  orig_lvls <- lapply(x, get_levels)
+  training <- strings2factors(x, orig_lvls)
+  original_expectation <- c(FALSE, rep(TRUE, 4))
+  names(original_expectation) <- names(x)
+  expect_identical(has_lvls(orig_lvls), original_expectation)
+  expect_identical(orig_lvls$real_pred, list(values = NA, ordered = NA))
+  expect_identical(
+    orig_lvls$chr_pred_and_lime,
+    list(values = letters[1:5], ordered = FALSE, factor = FALSE)
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    orig_lvls$chr_outcome,
+    list(values = letters[1:5], ordered = FALSE, factor = FALSE)
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    orig_lvls$chr_only_lemon, # gets converted to fctr
+    list(values = letters[1:5], ordered = FALSE, factor = FALSE)
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    orig_lvls$chr_only_lime, # gets converted to fctr
+    list(values = letters[1:5], ordered = FALSE, factor = FALSE)
+  )
+
+
+  new_lvls <- kill_levels(orig_lvls, var_info)
+  new_expect <- original_expectation
+  new_expect[4:5] <- FALSE
+  expect_identical(has_lvls(new_lvls), new_expect)
+  expect_identical(new_lvls$real_pred, orig_lvls$real_pred)
+  # chr predictor gets converted, despite also having another role
+  expect_identical(new_lvls$chr_pred_and_lime, orig_lvls$chr_pred_and_lime)
+  expect_identical(new_lvls$chr_outcome, orig_lvls$chr_outcome)
+  # non-predictor / non-outcome var remains chr, we don't log the levels
+  expect_identical(new_lvls$chr_only_lemon, list(values = NA, ordered = NA))
+  expect_identical(new_lvls$chr_only_lime, list(values = NA, ordered = NA))
+})
+