diff --git a/pillar/__init__.py b/pillar/__init__.py
index 3c8492b4..4b09e52d 100644
--- a/pillar/__init__.py
+++ b/pillar/__init__.py
@@ -492,6 +492,7 @@ class PillarServer(BlinkerCompatibleEve):
 
         # Pillar-defined Celery task modules:
         celery_task_modules = [
+            'pillar.celery.avatar',
             'pillar.celery.badges',
             'pillar.celery.email_tasks',
             'pillar.celery.file_link_tasks',
@@ -810,6 +811,7 @@ class PillarServer(BlinkerCompatibleEve):
 
         url = self.config['URLS'][resource]
         path = '%s/%s' % (self.api_prefix, url)
+
         with self.__fake_request_url_rule('POST', path):
             return post_internal(resource, payl=payl, skip_validation=skip_validation)[:4]
 
diff --git a/pillar/api/activities.py b/pillar/api/activities.py
index d81bafb6..9177a46d 100644
--- a/pillar/api/activities.py
+++ b/pillar/api/activities.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import logging
 
 from flask import request, current_app
-from pillar.api.utils import gravatar
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
 from pillar.auth import current_user
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ def notification_parse(notification):
     if actor:
         parsed_actor = {
             'username': actor['username'],
-            'avatar': gravatar(actor['email'])}
+            'avatar': pillar.api.users.avatar.url(actor)}
     else:
         parsed_actor = None
 
diff --git a/pillar/api/blender_id.py b/pillar/api/blender_id.py
index 8e4a1548..8cdfa69f 100644
--- a/pillar/api/blender_id.py
+++ b/pillar/api/blender_id.py
@@ -280,6 +280,16 @@ def fetch_blenderid_user() -> dict:
     return payload
 
 
+def avatar_url(blenderid_user_id: str) -> str:
+    """Return the URL to the user's avatar on Blender ID.
+
+    This avatar should be downloaded, and not served from the Blender ID URL.
+    """
+    bid_url = urljoin(current_app.config['BLENDER_ID_ENDPOINT'],
+                      f'api/user/{blenderid_user_id}/avatar')
+    return bid_url
+
+
 def setup_app(app, url_prefix):
     app.register_api_blueprint(blender_id, url_prefix=url_prefix)
 
diff --git a/pillar/api/eve_settings.py b/pillar/api/eve_settings.py
index 6bf9c242..ba9dea85 100644
--- a/pillar/api/eve_settings.py
+++ b/pillar/api/eve_settings.py
@@ -125,6 +125,25 @@ users_schema = {
         'type': 'dict',
         'allow_unknown': True,
     },
+    'avatar': {
+        'type': 'dict',
+        'schema': {
+            'file': {
+                'type': 'objectid',
+                'data_relation': {
+                    'resource': 'files',
+                    'field': '_id',
+                },
+            },
+            # For only downloading when things really changed:
+            'last_downloaded_url': {
+                'type': 'string',
+            },
+            'last_modified': {
+                'type': 'string',
+            },
+        },
+    },
 
     # Node-specific information for this user.
     'nodes': {
diff --git a/pillar/api/file_storage/__init__.py b/pillar/api/file_storage/__init__.py
index ad0bcdfa..bcdc3169 100644
--- a/pillar/api/file_storage/__init__.py
+++ b/pillar/api/file_storage/__init__.py
@@ -821,6 +821,10 @@ def stream_to_storage(project_id: str):
         local_file = uploaded_file.stream
 
     result = upload_and_process(local_file, uploaded_file, project_id)
+
+    # Local processing is done, we can close the local file so it is removed.
+    local_file.close()
+
     resp = jsonify(result)
     resp.status_code = result['status_code']
     add_access_control_headers(resp)
@@ -829,7 +833,9 @@ def stream_to_storage(project_id: str):
 
 def upload_and_process(local_file: typing.Union[io.BytesIO, typing.BinaryIO],
                        uploaded_file: werkzeug.datastructures.FileStorage,
-                       project_id: str):
+                       project_id: str,
+                       *,
+                       may_process_file=True) -> dict:
     # Figure out the file size, as we need to pass this in explicitly to GCloud.
     # Otherwise it always uses os.fstat(file_obj.fileno()).st_size, which isn't
     # supported by a BytesIO object (even though it does have a fileno
@@ -856,18 +862,15 @@ def upload_and_process(local_file: typing.Union[io.BytesIO, typing.BinaryIO],
               'size=%i as "queued_for_processing"',
               file_id, internal_fname, file_size)
     update_file_doc(file_id,
-                    status='queued_for_processing',
+                    status='queued_for_processing' if may_process_file else 'complete',
                     file_path=internal_fname,
                     length=blob.size,
                     content_type=uploaded_file.mimetype)
 
-    log.debug('Processing uploaded file id=%s, fname=%s, size=%i', file_id,
-              internal_fname, blob.size)
-    process_file(bucket, file_id, local_file)
-
-    # Local processing is done, we can close the local file so it is removed.
-    if local_file is not None:
-        local_file.close()
+    if may_process_file:
+        log.debug('Processing uploaded file id=%s, fname=%s, size=%i', file_id,
+                  internal_fname, blob.size)
+        process_file(bucket, file_id, local_file)
 
     log.debug('Handled uploaded file id=%s, fname=%s, size=%i, status=%i',
               file_id, internal_fname, blob.size, status)
@@ -981,7 +984,50 @@ def compute_aggregate_length_items(file_docs):
         compute_aggregate_length(file_doc)
 
 
+def get_file_url(file_id: ObjectId, variation='') -> str:
+    """Return the URL of a file in storage.
+
+    Note that this function is cached, see setup_app().
+
+    :param file_id: the ID of the file
+    :param variation: if non-empty, indicates the variation of of the file
+        to return the URL for; if empty, returns the URL of the original.
+
+    :return: the URL, or an empty string if the file/variation does not exist.
+    """
+
+    file_coll = current_app.db('files')
+    db_file = file_coll.find_one({'_id': file_id})
+    if not db_file:
+        return ''
+
+    ensure_valid_link(db_file)
+
+    if variation:
+        variations = file_doc.get('variations', ())
+        for file_var in variations:
+            if file_var['size'] == variation:
+                return file_var['link']
+        return ''
+
+    return db_file['link']
+
+
+def update_file_doc(file_id, **updates):
+    files = current_app.data.driver.db['files']
+    res = files.update_one({'_id': ObjectId(file_id)},
+                           {'$set': updates})
+    log.debug('update_file_doc(%s, %s): %i matched, %i updated.',
+              file_id, updates, res.matched_count, res.modified_count)
+    return res
+
+
 def setup_app(app, url_prefix):
+    global get_file_url
+
+    cached = app.cache.memoize(timeout=10)
+    get_file_url = cached(get_file_url)
+
     app.on_pre_GET_files += on_pre_get_files
 
     app.on_fetched_item_files += before_returning_file
@@ -992,12 +1038,3 @@ def setup_app(app, url_prefix):
     app.on_insert_files += compute_aggregate_length_items
 
     app.register_api_blueprint(file_storage, url_prefix=url_prefix)
-
-
-def update_file_doc(file_id, **updates):
-    files = current_app.data.driver.db['files']
-    res = files.update_one({'_id': ObjectId(file_id)},
-                           {'$set': updates})
-    log.debug('update_file_doc(%s, %s): %i matched, %i updated.',
-              file_id, updates, res.matched_count, res.modified_count)
-    return res
diff --git a/pillar/api/nodes/activities.py b/pillar/api/nodes/activities.py
index 9a821d52..41518e49 100644
--- a/pillar/api/nodes/activities.py
+++ b/pillar/api/nodes/activities.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from eve.methods import get
 
-from pillar.api.utils import gravatar
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
 
 
 def for_node(node_id):
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ def _user_info(user_id):
     users, _, _, status, _ = get('users', {'_id': user_id})
     if len(users['_items']) > 0:
         user = users['_items'][0]
-        user['gravatar'] = gravatar(user['email'])
+        user['avatar'] = pillar.api.users.avatar.url(user)
 
-        public_fields = {'full_name', 'username', 'gravatar'}
+        public_fields = {'full_name', 'username', 'avatar'}
         for field in list(user.keys()):
             if field not in public_fields:
                 del user[field]
diff --git a/pillar/api/nodes/comments.py b/pillar/api/nodes/comments.py
index 23b51ca4..00cfc573 100644
--- a/pillar/api/nodes/comments.py
+++ b/pillar/api/nodes/comments.py
@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@ import werkzeug.exceptions as wz_exceptions
 
 import pillar
 from pillar import current_app, shortcodes
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
 from pillar.api.nodes.custom.comment import patch_comment
-from pillar.api.utils import jsonify, gravatar
+from pillar.api.utils import jsonify
 from pillar.auth import current_user
 import pillar.markdown
 
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 class UserDO:
     id: str
     full_name: str
-    gravatar: str
+    avatar_url: str
     badges_html: str
 
 
@@ -255,7 +256,7 @@ def to_comment_data_object(mongo_comment: dict) -> CommentDO:
     user = UserDO(
         id=str(mongo_comment['user']['_id']),
         full_name=user_dict['full_name'],
-        gravatar=gravatar(user_dict['email']),
+        avatar_url=pillar.api.users.avatar.url(user_dict),
         badges_html=user_dict.get('badges', {}).get('html', '')
     )
     html = _get_markdowned_html(mongo_comment['properties'], 'content')
diff --git a/pillar/api/organizations/__init__.py b/pillar/api/organizations/__init__.py
index f6903f8e..0bfa89d2 100644
--- a/pillar/api/organizations/__init__.py
+++ b/pillar/api/organizations/__init__.py
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ class OrgManager:
         member_ids = [str2id(uid) for uid in member_sting_ids]
         users_coll = current_app.db('users')
         users = users_coll.find({'_id': {'$in': member_ids}},
-                                projection={'_id': 1, 'full_name': 1, 'email': 1})
+                                projection={'_id': 1, 'full_name': 1, 'email': 1, 'avatar': 1})
         return list(users)
 
     def user_has_organizations(self, user_id: bson.ObjectId) -> bool:
diff --git a/pillar/api/projects/routes.py b/pillar/api/projects/routes.py
index 670cd85a..d9bf9c5c 100644
--- a/pillar/api/projects/routes.py
+++ b/pillar/api/projects/routes.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from bson import ObjectId
 from flask import Blueprint, request, current_app, make_response, url_for
 from werkzeug import exceptions as wz_exceptions
 
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
 from pillar.api.utils import authorization, jsonify, str2id
 from pillar.api.utils import mongo
 from pillar.api.utils.authorization import require_login, check_permissions
@@ -54,10 +55,13 @@ def project_manage_users():
         project = projects_collection.find_one({'_id': ObjectId(project_id)})
         admin_group_id = project['permissions']['groups'][0]['group']
 
-        users = users_collection.find(
+        users = list(users_collection.find(
             {'groups': {'$in': [admin_group_id]}},
-            {'username': 1, 'email': 1, 'full_name': 1})
-        return jsonify({'_status': 'OK', '_items': list(users)})
+            {'username': 1, 'email': 1, 'full_name': 1, 'avatar': 1}))
+        for user in users:
+            user['avatar_url'] = pillar.api.users.avatar.url(user)
+            user.pop('avatar', None)
+        return jsonify({'_status': 'OK', '_items': users})
 
     # The request is not a form, since it comes from the API sdk
     data = json.loads(request.data)
diff --git a/pillar/api/users/avatar.py b/pillar/api/users/avatar.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7a1674bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pillar/api/users/avatar.py
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+import functools
+import io
+import logging
+import mimetypes
+import typing
+
+from bson import ObjectId
+from eve.methods.get import getitem_internal
+import flask
+
+from pillar import current_app
+from pillar.api import blender_id
+from pillar.api.blender_cloud import home_project
+import pillar.api.file_storage
+from werkzeug.datastructures import FileStorage
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+DEFAULT_AVATAR = 'assets/img/default_user_avatar.png'
+
+
+def url(user: dict) -> str:
+    """Return the avatar URL for this user.
+
+    :param user: dictionary from the MongoDB 'users' collection.
+    """
+    assert isinstance(user, dict), f'user must be dict, not {type(user)}'
+
+    avatar_id = user.get('avatar', {}).get('file')
+    if not avatar_id:
+        return _default_avatar()
+
+    # The file may not exist, in which case we get an empty string back.
+    return pillar.api.file_storage.get_file_url(avatar_id) or _default_avatar()
+
+
+@functools.lru_cache(maxsize=1)
+def _default_avatar() -> str:
+    """Return the URL path of the default avatar.
+
+    Doesn't change after the app has started, so we just cache it.
+    """
+    return flask.url_for('static_pillar', filename=DEFAULT_AVATAR)
+
+
+def _extension_for_mime(mime_type: str) -> str:
+    # Take the longest extension. I'd rather have '.jpeg' than the weird '.jpe'.
+    extensions: typing.List[str] = mimetypes.guess_all_extensions(mime_type)
+
+    try:
+        return max(extensions, key=len)
+    except ValueError:
+        # Raised when extensions is empty, e.g. when the mime type is unknown.
+        return ''
+
+
+def _get_file_link(file_id: ObjectId) -> str:
+    # Get the file document via Eve to make it update the link.
+    file_doc, _, _, status = getitem_internal('files', _id=file_id)
+    assert status == 200
+
+    return file_doc['link']
+
+
+def sync_avatar(user_id: ObjectId) -> str:
+    """Fetch the user's avatar from Blender ID and save to storage.
+
+    Errors are logged but do not raise an exception.
+
+    :return: the link to the avatar, or '' if it was not processed.
+    """
+
+    users_coll = current_app.db('users')
+    db_user = users_coll.find_one({'_id': user_id})
+    old_avatar_info = db_user.get('avatar', {})
+    if isinstance(old_avatar_info, ObjectId):
+        old_avatar_info = {'file': old_avatar_info}
+
+    home_proj = home_project.get_home_project(user_id)
+    if not home_project:
+        log.error('Home project of user %s does not exist, unable to store avatar', user_id)
+        return ''
+
+    bid_userid = blender_id.get_user_blenderid(db_user)
+    if not bid_userid:
+        log.error('User %s has no Blender ID user-id, unable to fetch avatar', user_id)
+        return ''
+
+    avatar_url = blender_id.avatar_url(bid_userid)
+    bid_session = blender_id.Session()
+
+    # Avoid re-downloading the same avatar.
+    request_headers = {}
+    if avatar_url == old_avatar_info.get('last_downloaded_url') and \
+            old_avatar_info.get('last_modified'):
+        request_headers['If-Modified-Since'] = old_avatar_info.get('last_modified')
+
+    log.info('Downloading avatar for user %s from %s', user_id, avatar_url)
+    resp = bid_session.get(avatar_url, headers=request_headers, allow_redirects=True)
+    if resp.status_code == 304:
+        # File was not modified, we can keep the old file.
+        log.debug('Avatar for user %s was not modified on Blender ID, not re-downloading', user_id)
+        return _get_file_link(old_avatar_info['file'])
+
+    resp.raise_for_status()
+
+    mime_type = resp.headers['Content-Type']
+    file_extension = _extension_for_mime(mime_type)
+    if not file_extension:
+        log.error('No file extension known for mime type %s, unable to handle avatar of user %s',
+                  mime_type, user_id)
+        return ''
+
+    filename = f'avatar-{user_id}{file_extension}'
+    fake_local_file = io.BytesIO(resp.content)
+    fake_local_file.name = filename
+
+    # Act as if this file was just uploaded by the user, so we can reuse
+    # existing Pillar file-handling code.
+    log.debug("Uploading avatar for user %s to storage", user_id)
+    uploaded_file = FileStorage(
+        stream=fake_local_file,
+        filename=filename,
+        headers=resp.headers,
+        content_type=mime_type,
+        content_length=resp.headers['Content-Length'],
+    )
+
+    with pillar.auth.temporary_user(db_user):
+        upload_data = pillar.api.file_storage.upload_and_process(
+            fake_local_file,
+            uploaded_file,
+            str(home_proj['_id']),
+            # Disallow image processing, as it's a tiny file anyway and
+            # we'll just serve the original.
+            may_process_file=False,
+        )
+    file_id = ObjectId(upload_data['file_id'])
+
+    avatar_info = {
+        'file': file_id,
+        'last_downloaded_url': resp.url,
+        'last_modified': resp.headers.get('Last-Modified'),
+    }
+
+    # Update the user to store the reference to their avatar.
+    old_avatar_file_id = old_avatar_info.get('file')
+    update_result = users_coll.update_one({'_id': user_id},
+                                          {'$set': {'avatar': avatar_info}})
+    if update_result.matched_count == 1:
+        log.debug('Updated avatar for user ID %s to file %s', user_id, file_id)
+    else:
+        log.warning('Matched %d users while setting avatar for user ID %s to file %s',
+                    update_result.matched_count, user_id, file_id)
+
+    if old_avatar_file_id:
+        current_app.delete_internal('files', _id=old_avatar_file_id)
+
+    return _get_file_link(file_id)
diff --git a/pillar/api/users/hooks.py b/pillar/api/users/hooks.py
index 95154f6e..7ad1bb42 100644
--- a/pillar/api/users/hooks.py
+++ b/pillar/api/users/hooks.py
@@ -1,13 +1,12 @@
 import copy
 import json
 
-import bson
 from eve.utils import parse_request
 from werkzeug import exceptions as wz_exceptions
 
 from pillar import current_app
 from pillar.api.users.routes import log
-from pillar.api.utils.authorization import user_has_role
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
 import pillar.auth
 
 USER_EDITABLE_FIELDS = {'full_name', 'username', 'email', 'settings'}
@@ -126,7 +125,7 @@ def check_put_access(request, lookup):
         raise wz_exceptions.Forbidden()
 
 
-def after_fetching_user(user):
+def after_fetching_user(user: dict) -> None:
     # Deny access to auth block; authentication stuff is managed by
     # custom end-points.
     user.pop('auth', None)
diff --git a/pillar/api/utils/__init__.py b/pillar/api/utils/__init__.py
index 997aa4b8..803e9e6b 100644
--- a/pillar/api/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/pillar/api/utils/__init__.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import logging
 import random
 import typing
 import urllib.request, urllib.parse, urllib.error
+import warnings
 
 import bson.objectid
 import bson.tz_util
@@ -186,6 +187,16 @@ def str2id(document_id: str) -> bson.ObjectId:
 
 
 def gravatar(email: str, size=64) -> typing.Optional[str]:
+    """Deprecated: return the Gravatar URL.
+
+    .. deprecated::
+        Use of Gravatar is deprecated, in favour of our self-hosted avatars.
+        See pillar.api.users.avatar.url(user).
+    """
+    warnings.warn('pillar.api.utils.gravatar() is deprecated, '
+                  'use pillar.api.users.avatar.url() instead',
+                  category=DeprecationWarning)
+
     if email is None:
         return None
 
diff --git a/pillar/auth/__init__.py b/pillar/auth/__init__.py
index 41d97c48..f7ccb248 100644
--- a/pillar/auth/__init__.py
+++ b/pillar/auth/__init__.py
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 """Authentication code common to the web and api modules."""
 
 import collections
+import contextlib
+import copy
+import functools
 import logging
 import typing
 
 import blinker
-import bson
+from bson import ObjectId
 from flask import session, g
 import flask_login
 from werkzeug.local import LocalProxy
@@ -31,19 +34,22 @@ class UserClass(flask_login.UserMixin):
     def __init__(self, token: typing.Optional[str]):
         # We store the Token instead of ID
         self.id = token
+        self.auth_token = token
         self.username: str = None
         self.full_name: str = None
-        self.user_id: bson.ObjectId = None
+        self.user_id: ObjectId = None
         self.objectid: str = None
-        self.gravatar: str = None
         self.email: str = None
         self.roles: typing.List[str] = []
         self.groups: typing.List[str] = []  # NOTE: these are stringified object IDs.
-        self.group_ids: typing.List[bson.ObjectId] = []
+        self.group_ids: typing.List[ObjectId] = []
         self.capabilities: typing.Set[str] = set()
         self.nodes: dict = {}  # see the 'nodes' key in eve_settings.py::user_schema.
         self.badges_html: str = ''
 
+        # Stored when constructing a user from the database
+        self._db_user = {}
+
         # Lazily evaluated
         self._has_organizations: typing.Optional[bool] = None
 
@@ -51,10 +57,9 @@ class UserClass(flask_login.UserMixin):
     def construct(cls, token: str, db_user: dict) -> 'UserClass':
         """Constructs a new UserClass instance from a Mongo user document."""
 
-        from ..api import utils
-
         user = cls(token)
 
+        user._db_user = copy.deepcopy(db_user)
         user.user_id = db_user.get('_id')
         user.roles = db_user.get('roles') or []
         user.group_ids = db_user.get('groups') or []
@@ -63,14 +68,13 @@ class UserClass(flask_login.UserMixin):
         user.full_name = db_user.get('full_name') or ''
         user.badges_html = db_user.get('badges', {}).get('html') or ''
 
-        # Be a little more specific than just db_user['nodes']
+        # Be a little more specific than just db_user['nodes'] or db_user['avatar']
         user.nodes = {
             'view_progress': db_user.get('nodes', {}).get('view_progress', {}),
         }
 
         # Derived properties
         user.objectid = str(user.user_id or '')
-        user.gravatar = utils.gravatar(user.email)
         user.groups = [str(g) for g in user.group_ids]
         user.collect_capabilities()
 
@@ -170,13 +174,24 @@ class UserClass(flask_login.UserMixin):
             'user_id': str(self.user_id),
             'username': self.username,
             'full_name': self.full_name,
-            'gravatar': self.gravatar,
+            'avatar_url': self.avatar_url,
             'email': self.email,
             'capabilities': list(self.capabilities),
             'badges_html': self.badges_html,
             'is_authenticated': self.is_authenticated,
         }
 
+    @property
+    @functools.lru_cache(maxsize=1)
+    def avatar_url(self) -> str:
+        """Return the Avatar image URL for this user.
+
+        :return: The avatar URL (the default one if the user has no avatar).
+        """
+
+        import pillar.api.users.avatar
+        return pillar.api.users.avatar.url(self._db_user)
+
 
 class AnonymousUser(flask_login.AnonymousUserMixin, UserClass):
     def __init__(self):
@@ -260,6 +275,25 @@ def logout_user():
     g.current_user = AnonymousUser()
 
 
+@contextlib.contextmanager
+def temporary_user(db_user: dict):
+    """Temporarily sets the given user as 'current user'.
+
+    Does not trigger login signals, as this is not a real login action.
+    """
+    try:
+        actual_current_user = g.current_user
+    except AttributeError:
+        actual_current_user = AnonymousUser()
+
+    temp_user = UserClass.construct('', db_user)
+    try:
+        g.current_user = temp_user
+        yield
+    finally:
+        g.current_user = actual_current_user
+
+
 def get_blender_id_oauth_token() -> str:
     """Returns the Blender ID auth token, or an empty string if there is none."""
 
diff --git a/pillar/celery/avatar.py b/pillar/celery/avatar.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..141d990b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pillar/celery/avatar.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+"""Avatar synchronisation.
+
+Note that this module can only be imported when an application context is
+active. Best to late-import this in the functions where it's needed.
+"""
+import logging
+
+from bson import ObjectId
+import celery
+
+from pillar import current_app
+from pillar.api.users.avatar import sync_avatar
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+@current_app.celery.task(bind=True, ignore_result=True, acks_late=True)
+def sync_avatar_for_user(self: celery.Task, user_id: str):
+    """Downloads the user's avatar from Blender ID."""
+    # WARNING: when changing the signature of this function, also change the
+    # self.retry() call below.
+
+    uid = ObjectId(user_id)
+
+    try:
+        sync_avatar(uid)
+    except (IOError, OSError):
+        log.exception('Error downloading Blender ID avatar for user %s, will retry later')
+        self.retry((user_id, ), countdown=current_app.config['AVATAR_DOWNLOAD_CELERY_RETRY'])
diff --git a/pillar/config.py b/pillar/config.py
index a428c22d..9e39aabc 100644
--- a/pillar/config.py
+++ b/pillar/config.py
@@ -217,6 +217,8 @@ CELERY_BEAT_SCHEDULE = {
 # TODO(Sybren): A proper value should be determined after we actually have users with badges.
 BLENDER_ID_BADGE_EXPIRY = datetime.timedelta(hours=4)
 
+# How many times the Celery task for downloading an avatar is retried.
+AVATAR_DOWNLOAD_CELERY_RETRY = 3
 
 # Mapping from user role to capabilities obtained by users with that role.
 USER_CAPABILITIES = defaultdict(**{
diff --git a/pillar/web/organizations/routes.py b/pillar/web/organizations/routes.py
index d33c3465..8be1d227 100644
--- a/pillar/web/organizations/routes.py
+++ b/pillar/web/organizations/routes.py
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ from flask_login import current_user
 
 import pillar.flask_extra
 from pillar import current_app
-from pillar.api.utils import authorization, str2id, gravatar, jsonify
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
+from pillar.api.utils import authorization, str2id, jsonify
 from pillar.web.system_util import pillar_api
 
 from pillarsdk import Organization, User
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ def view_embed(organization_id: str):
 
     members = om.org_members(organization.members)
     for member in members:
-        member['avatar'] = gravatar(member.get('email'))
+        member['avatar'] = pillar.api.users.avatar.url(member)
         member['_id'] = str(member['_id'])
 
     admin_user = User.find(organization.admin_uid, api=api)
diff --git a/pillar/web/projects/routes.py b/pillar/web/projects/routes.py
index 3fc33387..9d1a9c4f 100644
--- a/pillar/web/projects/routes.py
+++ b/pillar/web/projects/routes.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import werkzeug.exceptions as wz_exceptions
 
 from pillar import current_app
 from pillar.api.utils import utcnow
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
 from pillar.web import system_util
 from pillar.web import utils
 from pillar.web.nodes import finders
@@ -109,7 +110,6 @@ def index():
 
     return render_template(
         'projects/index_dashboard.html',
-        gravatar=utils.gravatar(current_user.email, size=128),
         projects_user=projects_user['_items'],
         projects_deleted=projects_deleted['_items'],
         projects_shared=projects_shared['_items'],
@@ -402,7 +402,6 @@ def render_project(project, api, extra_context=None, template_name=None):
         template_name = template_name or 'projects/home_index.html'
         return render_template(
             template_name,
-            gravatar=utils.gravatar(current_user.email, size=128),
             project=project,
             api=system_util.pillar_api(),
             **extra_context)
@@ -708,15 +707,12 @@ def sharing(project_url):
     api = system_util.pillar_api()
     # Fetch the project or 404
     try:
-        project = Project.find_one({
-            'where': '{"url" : "%s"}' % (project_url)}, api=api)
+        project = Project.find_one({'where': {'url': project_url}}, api=api)
     except ResourceNotFound:
         return abort(404)
 
     # Fetch users that are part of the admin group
     users = project.get_users(api=api)
-    for user in users['_items']:
-        user['avatar'] = utils.gravatar(user['email'])
 
     if request.method == 'POST':
         user_id = request.form['user_id']
@@ -726,13 +722,14 @@ def sharing(project_url):
                 user = project.add_user(user_id, api=api)
             elif action == 'remove':
                 user = project.remove_user(user_id, api=api)
+            else:
+                raise wz_exceptions.BadRequest(f'invalid action {action}')
         except ResourceNotFound:
             log.info('/p/%s/edit/sharing: User %s not found', project_url, user_id)
             return jsonify({'_status': 'ERROR',
                             'message': 'User %s not found' % user_id}), 404
 
-        # Add gravatar to user
-        user['avatar'] = utils.gravatar(user['email'])
+        user['avatar'] = pillar.api.users.avatar.url(user)
         return jsonify(user)
 
     utils.attach_project_pictures(project, api)
diff --git a/pillar/web/settings/routes.py b/pillar/web/settings/routes.py
index d0eb32d4..5d17cffc 100644
--- a/pillar/web/settings/routes.py
+++ b/pillar/web/settings/routes.py
@@ -3,14 +3,16 @@ import logging
 import urllib.parse
 
 from flask import Blueprint, flash, render_template
-from flask_login import login_required, current_user
+from flask_login import login_required
 from werkzeug.exceptions import abort
 
 from pillar import current_app
+from pillar.api.utils import jsonify
+import pillar.api.users.avatar
 from pillar.auth import current_user
 from pillar.web import system_util
 from pillar.web.users import forms
-from pillarsdk import User, exceptions as sdk_exceptions
+from pillarsdk import File, User, exceptions as sdk_exceptions
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 blueprint = Blueprint('settings', __name__)
@@ -51,3 +53,19 @@ def profile():
 def roles():
     """Show roles and capabilties of the current user."""
     return render_template('users/settings/roles.html', title='roles')
+
+
+@blueprint.route('/profile/sync-avatar', methods=['POST'])
+@login_required
+def sync_avatar():
+    """Fetch the user's avatar from Blender ID and save to storage.
+
+    This is an API-like endpoint, in the sense that it returns JSON.
+    It's here in this file to have it close to the endpoint that
+    serves the only page that calls on this endpoint.
+    """
+
+    new_url = pillar.api.users.avatar.sync_avatar(current_user.user_id)
+    if not new_url:
+        return jsonify({'_message': 'Your avatar could not be updated'})
+    return new_url
diff --git a/pillar/web/static/assets/img/default_user_avatar.png b/pillar/web/static/assets/img/default_user_avatar.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8e9b9904
Binary files /dev/null and b/pillar/web/static/assets/img/default_user_avatar.png differ
diff --git a/pillar/web/utils/__init__.py b/pillar/web/utils/__init__.py
index 2d000bd6..74b2bbaf 100644
--- a/pillar/web/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/pillar/web/utils/__init__.py
@@ -136,9 +136,16 @@ def mass_attach_project_pictures(projects: typing.Iterable[pillarsdk.Project], *
 
 
 def gravatar(email: str, size=64):
+    """Deprecated: return the Gravatar URL.
+
+    .. deprecated::
+        Use of Gravatar is deprecated, in favour of our self-hosted avatars.
+        See pillar.api.users.avatar.url(user).
+    """
     import warnings
-    warnings.warn("the pillar.web.gravatar function is deprecated; use hashlib instead",
-                  DeprecationWarning, 2)
+    warnings.warn('pillar.web.utils.gravatar() is deprecated, '
+                  'use pillar.api.users.avatar.url() instead',
+                  category=DeprecationWarning, stacklevel=2)
 
     from pillar.api.utils import gravatar as api_gravatar
     return api_gravatar(email, size)
diff --git a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/currentuser.js b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/currentuser.js
index e3347fe9..e813347c 100644
--- a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/currentuser.js
+++ b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/currentuser.js
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
+export const UserEvents = {
+    USER_LOADED: 'user-loaded',
+}
+let currentUserEventBus = new Vue();
+
 class User{
     constructor(kwargs) {
         this.user_id = kwargs['user_id'] || '';
         this.username = kwargs['username'] || '';
         this.full_name = kwargs['full_name'] || '';
-        this.gravatar = kwargs['gravatar'] || '';
+        this.avatar_url = kwargs['avatar_url'] || '';
         this.email = kwargs['email'] || '';
         this.capabilities = kwargs['capabilities'] || [];
         this.badges_html = kwargs['badges_html'] || '';
@@ -12,7 +17,7 @@ class User{
 
     /**
      * """Returns True iff the user has one or more of the given capabilities."""
-     * @param  {...String} args 
+     * @param  {...String} args
      */
     hasCap(...args) {
         for(let cap of args) {
@@ -25,10 +30,16 @@ class User{
 let currentUser;
 function initCurrentUser(kwargs){
     currentUser = new User(kwargs);
+    currentUserEventBus.$emit(UserEvents.USER_LOADED, currentUser);
 }
 
 function getCurrentUser() {
     return currentUser;
 }
 
-export { getCurrentUser, initCurrentUser }
\ No newline at end of file
+function updateCurrentUser(user) {
+    currentUser = user;
+    currentUserEventBus.$emit(UserEvents.USER_LOADED, currentUser);
+}
+
+export { getCurrentUser, initCurrentUser, updateCurrentUser, currentUserEventBus }
diff --git a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/init.js b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/init.js
index 18ef5307..7a9f9a07 100644
--- a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/init.js
+++ b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/utils/init.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 export { transformPlaceholder } from './placeholder'
 export { prettyDate } from './prettydate'
-export { getCurrentUser, initCurrentUser } from './currentuser'
+export { getCurrentUser, initCurrentUser, updateCurrentUser, currentUserEventBus, UserEvents } from './currentuser'
 export { thenLoadImage } from './files'
 
 
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ export function debounced(fn, delay=1000) {
 
 /**
  * Extracts error message from error of type String, Error or xhrError
- * @param {*} err 
+ * @param {*} err
  * @returns {String}
  */
 export function messageFromError(err){
diff --git a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/init.js b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/init.js
index 0382fac6..ee9522bb 100644
--- a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/init.js
+++ b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/init.js
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import { StatusFilter } from './table/rows/filter/StatusFilter'
 import { TextFilter } from './table/rows/filter/TextFilter'
 import { NameFilter } from './table/rows/filter/NameFilter'
 import { UserAvatar } from './user/Avatar'
+import './user/CurrentUserAvatar'
 
 let mixins = {
     UnitOfWorkTracker,
diff --git a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/user/Avatar.js b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/user/Avatar.js
index 30ca53f7..f2e2e93a 100644
--- a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/user/Avatar.js
+++ b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/user/Avatar.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 const TEMPLATE = `
 <div class="user-avatar">
     <img
-        :src="user.gravatar"
+        :src="user.avatar_url"
         :alt="user.full_name">
 </div>
 `;
diff --git a/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/user/CurrentUserAvatar.js b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/user/CurrentUserAvatar.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4d0927c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/scripts/js/es6/common/vuecomponents/user/CurrentUserAvatar.js
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+const TEMPLATE = `
+<img class="user-avatar" :src="avatarUrl" alt="Your avatar">
+`
+
+export let CurrentUserAvatar = Vue.component("current-user-avatar", {
+    data: function() { return {
+        avatarUrl: "",
+    }},
+    template: TEMPLATE,
+    created: function() {
+        pillar.utils.currentUserEventBus.$on(pillar.utils.UserEvents.USER_LOADED, this.updateAvatarURL);
+        this.updateAvatarURL(pillar.utils.getCurrentUser());
+    },
+    methods: {
+        updateAvatarURL(user) {
+            if (typeof user === 'undefined') {
+                this.avatarUrl = '';
+                return;
+            }
+            this.avatarUrl = user.avatar_url;
+        },
+    },
+});
diff --git a/src/scripts/js/es6/individual/avatar/AvatarSync.js b/src/scripts/js/es6/individual/avatar/AvatarSync.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7f69096a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/scripts/js/es6/individual/avatar/AvatarSync.js
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+// The <i> is given a fixed width so that the button doesn't resize when we change the icon.
+const TEMPLATE = `
+<button class="btn btn-outline-primary" type="button" @click="syncAvatar"
+        :disabled="isSyncing">
+    <i style="width: 2em; display: inline-block"
+        :class="{'pi-refresh': !isSyncing, 'pi-spin': isSyncing, spin: isSyncing}"></i>
+    Fetch Avatar from Blender ID
+</button>
+`
+
+Vue.component("avatar-sync-button", {
+    template: TEMPLATE,
+    data() { return {
+        isSyncing: false,
+    }},
+    methods: {
+        syncAvatar() {
+            this.isSyncing = true;
+
+            $.ajax({
+                type: 'POST',
+                url: `/settings/profile/sync-avatar`,
+            })
+            .then(response => {
+                toastr.info("sync was OK");
+
+                let user = pillar.utils.getCurrentUser();
+                user.avatar_url = response;
+                pillar.utils.updateCurrentUser(user);
+            })
+            .catch(err => {
+                toastr.error(xhrErrorResponseMessage(err), "There was an error syncing your avatar");
+            })
+            .then(() => {
+                this.isSyncing = false;
+            })
+        },
+    },
+});
diff --git a/src/scripts/js/es6/individual/avatar/init.js b/src/scripts/js/es6/individual/avatar/init.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f5935dcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/scripts/js/es6/individual/avatar/init.js
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export { AvatarSync } from './AvatarSync';
diff --git a/src/styles/_user.sass b/src/styles/_user.sass
index 56486a52..42186775 100644
--- a/src/styles/_user.sass
+++ b/src/styles/_user.sass
@@ -101,3 +101,9 @@
         color: $color-success
       &.fail
         color: $color-danger
+
+img.user-avatar
+  border-radius: 1em
+  box-shadow: 0 0 0 0.2em $color-background-light
+  height: 160px
+  width: 160px
diff --git a/src/templates/menus/user_base.pug b/src/templates/menus/user_base.pug
index c123dd59..87e814e1 100644
--- a/src/templates/menus/user_base.pug
+++ b/src/templates/menus/user_base.pug
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@
 li.dropdown
 	| {% block menu_avatar %}
 	a.navbar-item.dropdown-toggle(href="#", data-toggle="dropdown", title="{{ current_user.email }}")
-		img.gravatar(
-		src="{{ current_user.gravatar }}",
-		alt="Avatar")
+		current-user-avatar
+	script.
+		new Vue({el: 'current-user-avatar'})
 	| {% endblock menu_avatar %}
 
 	ul.dropdown-menu.dropdown-menu-right
diff --git a/src/templates/organizations/view_embed.pug b/src/templates/organizations/view_embed.pug
index 9bc2a31b..07737c08 100644
--- a/src/templates/organizations/view_embed.pug
+++ b/src/templates/organizations/view_embed.pug
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ h4 Organization members
 		| {% for email in organization.unknown_members %}
 		li.sharing-users-item.unknown-member(data-user-email='{{ email }}')
 			.sharing-users-avatar
-				img(src="{{ email | gravatar }}")
+				img(src="{{ url_for('static_pillar', filename='assets/img/default_user_avatar.png') }}")
 			.sharing-users-details
 				span.sharing-users-email {{ email }}
 			.sharing-users-action
diff --git a/src/templates/projects/sharing.pug b/src/templates/projects/sharing.pug
index 1da20871..5d599cb0 100644
--- a/src/templates/projects/sharing.pug
+++ b/src/templates/projects/sharing.pug
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 						user-id="{{ user['_id'] }}",
 						class="{% if current_user.objectid == user['_id'] %}self{% endif %}")
 						.sharing-users-avatar
-							img(src="{{ user['avatar'] }}")
+							img(src="{{ user['avatar_url'] }}")
 						.sharing-users-details
 							span.sharing-users-name
 								| {{user['full_name']}}
diff --git a/src/templates/users/settings/profile.pug b/src/templates/users/settings/profile.pug
index 686ea4cf..b975ba8c 100644
--- a/src/templates/users/settings/profile.pug
+++ b/src/templates/users/settings/profile.pug
@@ -21,38 +21,50 @@ style.
 | {% block settings_page_content %}
 .settings-form
 	form#settings-form(method='POST', action="{{url_for('settings.profile')}}")
-		.pb-3
-			.form-group
+		.row
+			.form-group.col-md-6
 				| {{ form.username.label }}
 				| {{ form.username(size=20, class='form-control') }}
 				| {% if form.username.errors %}
 				| {% for error in form.username.errors %}{{ error|e }}{% endfor %}
 				| {% endif %}
 
-			.form-group
-				label {{ _("Full name") }}
-				p {{ current_user.full_name }}
-			.form-group
-				label {{ _("E-mail") }}
-				p {{ current_user.email }}
+				button.mt-3.btn.btn-outline-success.px-5.button-submit(type='submit')
+					i.pi-check.pr-2
+					| {{ _("Save Changes") }}
 
-			.form-group
-				| {{ _("Change your full name, email, and password at") }} #[a(href="{{ blender_profile_url }}",target='_blank') Blender ID].
+		.row.mt-3
+			.col-md-9
+				.form-group
+					label {{ _("Full name") }}
+					p {{ current_user.full_name }}
+				.form-group
+					label {{ _("E-mail") }}
+					p {{ current_user.email }}
+				.form-group
+					| {{ _("Change your full name, email, avatar, and password at") }} #[a(href="{{ blender_profile_url }}",target='_blank') Blender ID].
 
-			| {% if current_user.badges_html %}
-			.form-group
-				p Your Blender ID badges:
-				| {{ current_user.badges_html|safe }}
-				p.hint-text Note that updates to these badges may take a few minutes to be visible here.
-			| {% endif %}
+				| {% if current_user.badges_html %}
+				.form-group
+					p Your Blender ID badges:
+					| {{ current_user.badges_html|safe }}
+					p.hint-text Note that updates to these badges may take a few minutes to be visible here.
+				| {% endif %}
 
-		.py-3
-			a(href="https://gravatar.com/")
-				img.rounded-circle(src="{{ current_user.gravatar }}")
-				span.p-3 {{ _("Change Gravatar") }}
+			.col-md-3
+				a(href="{{ blender_profile_url }}",target='_blank')
+					current-user-avatar
+				p
+					small Your #[a(href="{{ blender_profile_url }}",target='_blank') Blender ID] avatar
+				//- Avatar Sync button is commented out here, because it's not used by Blender Cloud.
+				//- This tag, and the commented-out script tag below, are just examples.
+				//- avatar-sync-button
 
-		.py-3
-			button.btn.btn-outline-success.px-5.button-submit(type='submit')
-				i.pi-check.pr-2
-				| {{ _("Save Changes") }}
+| {% endblock %}
+
+| {% block footer_scripts %}
+| {{ super() }}
+//- script(src="{{ url_for('static_pillar', filename='assets/js/avatar.min.js') }}")
+script.
+	new Vue({el:'#settings-form'});
 | {% endblock %}
diff --git a/tests/test_api/test_auth.py b/tests/test_api/test_auth.py
index 09c13d91..764d2f00 100644
--- a/tests/test_api/test_auth.py
+++ b/tests/test_api/test_auth.py
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ class UserListTests(AbstractPillarTest):
 
         user_info = json.loads(resp.data)
         regular_info = remove_private_keys(user_info)
-        self.assertEqual(PUBLIC_USER_FIELDS, set(regular_info.keys()))
+        self.assertEqual(set(), set(regular_info.keys()) - PUBLIC_USER_FIELDS)
 
     def test_own_user_subscriber(self):
         # Regular access should result in only your own info.
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ class UserListTests(AbstractPillarTest):
         self.assertNotIn('auth', user_info)
 
         regular_info = remove_private_keys(user_info)
-        self.assertEqual(PUBLIC_USER_FIELDS, set(regular_info.keys()))
+        self.assertEqual(set(), set(regular_info.keys()) - PUBLIC_USER_FIELDS)
 
     def test_put_user(self):
         from pillar.api.utils import remove_private_keys