diff --git a/bookwyrm/forms.py b/bookwyrm/forms.py
index ba2fcc8c..19f692db 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/forms.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/forms.py
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class EditUserForm(CustomForm):
     class Meta:
         model = models.User
         fields = [
-            'avatar', 'name', 'email', 'summary', 'manually_approves_followers'
+            'avatar', 'name', 'email', 'summary', 'manually_approves_followers', 'default_post_privacy'
         ]
         help_texts = {f: None for f in fields}
 
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 00000000..3f225472
--- /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 da717d2e..fe21b58f 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/models/user.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/models/user.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ from .base_model import BookWyrmModel
 from .federated_server import FederatedServer
 from . import fields, Review
 
-
 class User(OrderedCollectionPageMixin, AbstractUser):
     ''' a user who wants to read books '''
     username = fields.UsernameField()
@@ -91,6 +90,11 @@ 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)
diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html b/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html
index 798d2fcb..fc490b96 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/preferences/edit_user.html
@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ Edit Profile
             {{ form.manually_approves_followers }}
         </label>
     </div>
+    <div class="block">
+        <label class="label" for="id_default_post_privacy">
+            Default post privacy:
+            {{form.default_post_privacy}}
+        </label>
+    </div>
     <button class="button is-primary" type="submit">Save</button>
 </form>
 {% endblock %}
diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html
index a771c3d6..aabdc8df 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/privacy_select.html
@@ -5,16 +5,16 @@
     <label class="is-sr-only" for="privacy-{{ uuid }}">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 %}>
             Public
         </option>
-        <option value="unlisted" {% if current == 'unlisted' %}selected{% endif %}>
+        <option value="unlisted" {% if user.default_post_privacy == 'unlisted' or current == 'unlisted' %}selected{% endif %}>
             Unlisted
         </option>
-        <option value="followers" {% if current == 'followers' %}selected{% endif %}>
+        <option value="followers" {% if user.default_post_privacy == 'followers' or current == 'followers' %}selected{% endif %}>
             Followers
         </option>
-        <option value="direct" {% if current == 'direct' %}selected{% endif %}>
+        <option value="direct" {% if user.default_post_privacy == 'direct' or current == 'direct' %}selected{% endif %}>
             Private
         </option>
     </select>