diff --git a/docs/api/swagger.yaml b/docs/api/swagger.yaml
index 25527439d..ddb31bc68 100644
--- a/docs/api/swagger.yaml
+++ b/docs/api/swagger.yaml
@@ -4651,6 +4651,47 @@ paths:
             summary: Clear/delete all notifications for currently authorized user.
             tags:
                 - notifications
+    /api/v1/preferences:
+        get:
+            description: |-
+                Example:
+
+                ```
+
+                {
+                "posting:default:visibility": "public",
+                "posting:default:sensitive": false,
+                "posting:default:language": "en",
+                "reading:expand:media": "default",
+                "reading:expand:spoilers": false,
+                "reading:autoplay:gifs": false
+                }
+
+                ````
+            operationId: preferencesGet
+            produces:
+                - application/json
+            responses:
+                "200":
+                    description: ""
+                    schema:
+                        type: object
+                "400":
+                    description: bad request
+                "401":
+                    description: unauthorized
+                "404":
+                    description: not found
+                "406":
+                    description: not acceptable
+                "500":
+                    description: internal server error
+            security:
+                - OAuth2 Bearer:
+                    - read:accounts
+            summary: Return an object of user preferences.
+            tags:
+                - preferences
     /api/v1/reports:
         get:
             description: |-
diff --git a/internal/api/client.go b/internal/api/client.go
index 3750b41d4..59fa0cf96 100644
--- a/internal/api/client.go
+++ b/internal/api/client.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/client/lists"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/client/media"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/client/notifications"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/client/preferences"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/client/reports"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/client/search"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/client/statuses"
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ type Client struct {
 	lists          *lists.Module          // api/v1/lists
 	media          *media.Module          // api/v1/media, api/v2/media
 	notifications  *notifications.Module  // api/v1/notifications
+	preferences    *preferences.Module    // api/v1/preferences
 	reports        *reports.Module        // api/v1/reports
 	search         *search.Module         // api/v1/search, api/v2/search
 	statuses       *statuses.Module       // api/v1/statuses
@@ -101,6 +103,7 @@ func (c *Client) Route(r router.Router, m ...gin.HandlerFunc) {
 	c.lists.Route(h)
 	c.media.Route(h)
 	c.notifications.Route(h)
+	c.preferences.Route(h)
 	c.reports.Route(h)
 	c.search.Route(h)
 	c.statuses.Route(h)
@@ -128,6 +131,7 @@ func NewClient(db db.DB, p *processing.Processor) *Client {
 		lists:          lists.New(p),
 		media:          media.New(p),
 		notifications:  notifications.New(p),
+		preferences:    preferences.New(p),
 		reports:        reports.New(p),
 		search:         search.New(p),
 		statuses:       statuses.New(p),
diff --git a/internal/api/client/preferences/preferences.go b/internal/api/client/preferences/preferences.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4a1ba8fe6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/api/client/preferences/preferences.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+// GoToSocial
+// Copyright (C) GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package preferences
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+
+	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/processing"
+)
+
+const (
+	// BasePath is the base URI path for serving preferences, minus the api prefix.
+	BasePath = "/v1/preferences"
+)
+
+type Module struct {
+	processor *processing.Processor
+}
+
+func New(processor *processing.Processor) *Module {
+	return &Module{
+		processor: processor,
+	}
+}
+
+func (m *Module) Route(attachHandler func(method string, path string, f ...gin.HandlerFunc) gin.IRoutes) {
+	attachHandler(http.MethodGet, BasePath, m.PreferencesGETHandler)
+}
diff --git a/internal/api/client/preferences/preferencesget.go b/internal/api/client/preferences/preferencesget.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2834134de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/api/client/preferences/preferencesget.go
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+// GoToSocial
+// Copyright (C) GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package preferences
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+
+	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+	apiutil "github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/util"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/gtserror"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/oauth"
+)
+
+// PreferencesGETHandler swagger:operation GET /api/v1/preferences preferencesGet
+//
+// Return an object of user preferences.
+//
+// Example:
+//
+// ```
+//
+//	{
+//		 "posting:default:visibility": "public",
+//		 "posting:default:sensitive": false,
+//		 "posting:default:language": "en",
+//		 "reading:expand:media": "default",
+//		 "reading:expand:spoilers": false,
+//		 "reading:autoplay:gifs": false
+//	}
+//
+// ````
+//
+//	---
+//	tags:
+//	- preferences
+//
+//	produces:
+//	- application/json
+//
+//	security:
+//	- OAuth2 Bearer:
+//		- read:accounts
+//
+//	responses:
+//		'200':
+//			schema:
+//				type: object
+//		'400':
+//			description: bad request
+//		'401':
+//			description: unauthorized
+//		'404':
+//			description: not found
+//		'406':
+//			description: not acceptable
+//		'500':
+//			description: internal server error
+func (m *Module) PreferencesGETHandler(c *gin.Context) {
+	authed, err := oauth.Authed(c, false, false, false, true)
+	if err != nil {
+		apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, gtserror.NewErrorUnauthorized(err, err.Error()), m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
+		return
+	}
+
+	if _, err := apiutil.NegotiateAccept(c, apiutil.JSONAcceptHeaders...); err != nil {
+		apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, gtserror.NewErrorNotAcceptable(err, err.Error()), m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
+		return
+	}
+
+	resp, errWithCode := m.processor.PreferencesGet(c.Request.Context(), authed.Account.ID)
+	if errWithCode != nil {
+		apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, errWithCode, m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
+		return
+	}
+	c.JSON(http.StatusOK, resp)
+}
diff --git a/internal/api/model/preferences.go b/internal/api/model/preferences.go
index 7a4c96b18..35ad040a2 100644
--- a/internal/api/model/preferences.go
+++ b/internal/api/model/preferences.go
@@ -36,4 +36,6 @@ type Preferences struct {
 	ReadingExpandMedia string `json:"reading:expand:media"`
 	// Whether CWs should be expanded by default.
 	ReadingExpandSpoilers bool `json:"reading:expand:spoilers"`
+	// Whether gifs should automatically play.
+	ReadingAutoPlayGifs bool `json:"reading:autoplay:gifs"`
 }
diff --git a/internal/processing/preferences.go b/internal/processing/preferences.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..90fc86430
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/processing/preferences.go
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+// GoToSocial
+// Copyright (C) GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package processing
+
+import (
+	"context"
+
+	apimodel "github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/model"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/gtserror"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/gtsmodel"
+)
+
+func (p *Processor) PreferencesGet(ctx context.Context, accountID string) (*apimodel.Preferences, gtserror.WithCode) {
+	act, err := p.state.DB.GetAccountByID(ctx, accountID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, gtserror.NewErrorInternalError(err)
+	}
+
+	return &apimodel.Preferences{
+		PostingDefaultVisibility: mastoPrefVisibility(act.Privacy),
+		PostingDefaultSensitive:  *act.Sensitive,
+		PostingDefaultLanguage:   act.Language,
+		// The Reading* preferences don't appear to actually be settable by the
+		// client, so forcing some sensible defaults here
+		ReadingExpandMedia:    "default",
+		ReadingExpandSpoilers: false,
+		ReadingAutoPlayGifs:   false,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func mastoPrefVisibility(vis gtsmodel.Visibility) string {
+	switch vis {
+	case gtsmodel.VisibilityPublic, gtsmodel.VisibilityDirect:
+		return string(vis)
+	case gtsmodel.VisibilityUnlocked:
+		return "unlisted"
+	default:
+		// this will catch gtsmodel.VisibilityMutualsOnly and other types Mastodon doesn't
+		// have and map them to the most restrictive state
+		return "private"
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/processing/preferences_test.go b/internal/processing/preferences_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..be88b5edf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/processing/preferences_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+// GoToSocial
+// Copyright (C) GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package processing_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/model"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/gtsmodel"
+)
+
+type PreferencesTestSuite struct {
+	ProcessingStandardTestSuite
+}
+
+func (suite *PreferencesTestSuite) TestPreferencesGet() {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	tests := []struct {
+		act   *gtsmodel.Account
+		prefs *model.Preferences
+	}{
+		{
+			act: suite.testAccounts["local_account_1"],
+			prefs: &model.Preferences{
+				PostingDefaultVisibility: "public",
+				PostingDefaultSensitive:  false,
+				PostingDefaultLanguage:   "en",
+				ReadingExpandMedia:       "default",
+				ReadingExpandSpoilers:    false,
+				ReadingAutoPlayGifs:      false,
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			act: suite.testAccounts["local_account_2"],
+			prefs: &model.Preferences{
+				PostingDefaultVisibility: "private",
+				PostingDefaultSensitive:  true,
+				PostingDefaultLanguage:   "fr",
+				ReadingExpandMedia:       "default",
+				ReadingExpandSpoilers:    false,
+				ReadingAutoPlayGifs:      false,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		suite.Run(tt.act.ID, func() {
+			prefs, err := suite.processor.PreferencesGet(ctx, tt.act.ID)
+			suite.NoError(err)
+			suite.Equal(tt.prefs, prefs)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreferencesTestSuite(t *testing.T) {
+	suite.Run(t, &PreferencesTestSuite{})
+}
diff --git a/testrig/testmodels.go b/testrig/testmodels.go
index 269bc9470..6638acbde 100644
--- a/testrig/testmodels.go
+++ b/testrig/testmodels.go
@@ -487,8 +487,8 @@ func NewTestAccounts() map[string]*gtsmodel.Account {
 			Locked:                  TrueBool(),
 			Discoverable:            FalseBool(),
 			Privacy:                 gtsmodel.VisibilityFollowersOnly,
-			Sensitive:               FalseBool(),
-			Language:                "en",
+			Sensitive:               TrueBool(),
+			Language:                "fr",
 			URI:                     "http://localhost:8080/users/1happyturtle",
 			URL:                     "http://localhost:8080/@1happyturtle",
 			FetchedAt:               time.Time{},