diff --git a/bookwyrm/forms.py b/bookwyrm/forms.py
index 57a94e3cd..c9e795c3e 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/forms.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/forms.py
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ class EditUserForm(CustomForm):
             "summary",
             "show_goal",
             "manually_approves_followers",
+            "default_post_privacy",
             "discoverable",
             "preferred_timezone",
         ]
diff --git a/bookwyrm/migrations/0046_user_default_post_privacy.py b/bookwyrm/migrations/0046_user_default_post_privacy.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3f2254726
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bookwyrm/migrations/0046_user_default_post_privacy.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Generated by Django 3.0.7 on 2021-02-14 00:39
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('bookwyrm', '0045_auto_20210210_2114'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name='user',
+            name='default_post_privacy',
+            field=models.CharField(choices=[('public', 'Public'), ('unlisted', 'Unlisted'), ('followers', 'Followers'), ('direct', 'Direct')], default='public', max_length=255),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/bookwyrm/models/user.py b/bookwyrm/models/user.py
index 3eb72cb66..33102f98b 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/models/user.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/models/user.py
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ from .base_model import BookWyrmModel, DeactivationReason
 from .federated_server import FederatedServer
 from . import fields, Review
 
-
 class User(OrderedCollectionPageMixin, AbstractUser):
     """a user who wants to read books"""
 
@@ -105,6 +104,11 @@ class User(OrderedCollectionPageMixin, AbstractUser):
         through_fields=("user", "status"),
         related_name="favorite_statuses",
     )
+    default_post_privacy = models.CharField(
+        max_length=255,
+        default='public',
+        choices=fields.PrivacyLevels.choices
+    )
     remote_id = fields.RemoteIdField(null=True, unique=True, activitypub_field="id")
     created_date = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
     updated_date = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)
diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html b/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html
index 9e2af7bee..6aed40213 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html
@@ -53,6 +53,12 @@
             {{ form.manually_approves_followers }}
         </label>
     </div>
+    <div class="block">
+        <label class="label" for="id_default_post_privacy">
+            {% trans "Default post privacy:" %}
+            {{ form.default_post_privacy }}
+        </label>
+    </div>
     <div class="block">
         <label class="checkbox label" for="id_discoverable">
             {% trans "Show this account in suggested users:" %}
diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html
index f6959de53..0305aee70 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html
@@ -6,16 +6,16 @@
     <label class="is-sr-only" for="privacy-{{ uuid }}">{% trans "Post privacy" %}</label>
     {% endif %}
     <select name="privacy" id="privacy-{{ uuid }}">
-        <option value="public" {% if not current or current == 'public' %}selected{% endif %}>
+        <option value="public" {% if user.default_post_privacy == 'public' or current == 'public' %}selected{% endif %}>
             {% trans "Public" %}
         </option>
-        <option value="unlisted" {% if current == 'unlisted' %}selected{% endif %}>
+        <option value="unlisted" {% if user.default_post_privacy == 'unlisted' or current == 'unlisted' %}selected{% endif %}>
             {% trans "Unlisted" %}
         </option>
-        <option value="followers" {% if current == 'followers' %}selected{% endif %}>
+        <option value="followers" {% if user.default_post_privacy == 'followers' or current == 'followers' %}selected{% endif %}>
             {% trans "Followers" %}
         </option>
-        <option value="direct" {% if current == 'direct' %}selected{% endif %}>
+        <option value="direct" {% if user.default_post_privacy == 'direct' or current == 'direct' %}selected{% endif %}>
             {% trans "Private" %}
         </option>
     </select>