diff --git a/migrations/2019_09_28_222800_create_notification_preferences_table.php b/migrations/2019_09_28_222800_create_notification_preferences_table.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cd4a9839c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/2019_09_28_222800_create_notification_preferences_table.php
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Flarum.
+ *
+ * For detailed copyright and license information, please view the
+ * LICENSE file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Builder;
+
+return [
+    'up' => function (Builder $schema) {
+        $schema->create('notification_preferences', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->integer('user_id')->unsigned();
+            $table->string('type');
+            $table->string('channel');
+            $table->boolean('enabled')->default(false);
+
+            $table->foreign('user_id')->references('id')->on('users')->onDelete('cascade');
+        });
+    },
+
+    'down' => function (Builder $schema) {
+        $schema->drop('notification_preferences');
+    }
+];
diff --git a/migrations/2019_09_28_222800_create_users_table_preferences_columns.php b/migrations/2019_09_28_222800_create_users_table_preferences_columns.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bd0c17686
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/2019_09_28_222800_create_users_table_preferences_columns.php
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Flarum.
+ *
+ * For detailed copyright and license information, please view the
+ * LICENSE file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Builder;
+
+return [
+    'up' => function (Builder $schema) {
+        $schema->table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->boolean('disclose_online')->default(false);
+            $table->string('locale')->nullable();
+        });
+    },
+
+    'down' => function (Builder $schema) {
+        $schema->table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->dropColumn('disclose_online');
+            $table->dropColumn('locale');
+        });
+    }
+];
diff --git a/migrations/2019_09_28_222801_migrate_users_table_preferences_columns.php b/migrations/2019_09_28_222801_migrate_users_table_preferences_columns.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5fcb77ef7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/2019_09_28_222801_migrate_users_table_preferences_columns.php
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Flarum.
+ *
+ * For detailed copyright and license information, please view the
+ * LICENSE file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Builder;
+use Illuminate\Support\Str;
+
+return [
+    'up' => function (Builder $builder) {
+        $db = $builder->getConnection();
+
+        $db->table('users')
+            ->select(['id', 'preferences'])
+            ->whereNotNull('preferences')
+            ->orderBy('id')
+            ->each(function ($user) use ($db) {
+                collect(json_decode($user->preferences ?? '{}'))
+                    ->each(function ($value, $key) use ($user, $db) {
+                        if (in_array($key, ['discloseOnline', 'followAfterReply'])) {
+                            $db->table('users')
+                                ->where('id', $user->id)
+                                ->update([Str::snake($key) => (bool) $value]);
+                        }
+                        if ($key === 'locale') {
+                            $db->table('users')
+                                ->where('id', $user->id)
+                                ->update(['locale' => $value]);
+                        }
+                        if (preg_match('/^notify_(?<type>[^_]+)_(?<channel>.*)$/', $key, $matches)) {
+                            $db->table('notification_preferences')
+                                ->insert([
+                                    'user_id' => $user->id,
+                                    'type' => $matches['type'],
+                                    'channel' => $matches['channel'],
+                                    'enabled' => (bool) $value
+                                ]);
+                        }
+                    });
+            });
+    },
+
+    'down' => function (Builder $builder) {
+        $db = $builder->getConnection();
+
+        $db->table('notification_preferences')->truncate();
+    }
+];
diff --git a/migrations/2019_09_28_222810_change_users_drop_preferences.php b/migrations/2019_09_28_222810_change_users_drop_preferences.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..793f18fa8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/2019_09_28_222810_change_users_drop_preferences.php
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Flarum.
+ *
+ * For detailed copyright and license information, please view the
+ * LICENSE file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Builder;
+
+return [
+    'up' => function (Builder $schema) {
+        $schema->table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->dropColumn('preferences');
+        });
+    },
+
+    'down' => function (Builder $schema) {
+        $schema->table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->binary('preferences')->nullable();
+        });
+    }
+];
diff --git a/src/User/Concerns/DeprecatedUserNotificationPreferences.php b/src/User/Concerns/DeprecatedUserNotificationPreferences.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0e36c54fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/User/Concerns/DeprecatedUserNotificationPreferences.php
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Flarum.
+ *
+ * For detailed copyright and license information, please view the
+ * LICENSE file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+namespace Flarum\User\Concerns;
+
+use Illuminate\Support\Arr;
+
+trait DeprecatedUserNotificationPreferences
+{
+
+    /**
+     * Encode an array of preferences for storage in the database.
+     *
+     * @param mixed $value
+     * @deprecated 0.1.0-beta.13: `users.preferences` is no longer used.
+     */
+    public function setPreferencesAttribute($value)
+    {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get the key for a preference which flags whether or not the user will
+     * receive a notification for $type via $method.
+     *
+     * @param string $type
+     * @param string $method
+     * @return string
+     * @deprecated 0.1.0-beta.13: `users.preferences` is no longer used, use NotificationPreference::getPreferenceKey.
+     */
+    public static function getNotificationPreferenceKey($type, $method)
+    {
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/User/Concerns/UserPreferences.php b/src/User/Concerns/UserPreferences.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f7117b246
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/User/Concerns/UserPreferences.php
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Flarum\User\Concerns;
+
+use Illuminate\Support\Arr;
+
+trait UserPreferences
+{
+    /**
+     * An array of registered user preferences. Each preference is defined with
+     * a key, and its value is an array containing the following keys:.
+     *
+     * - transformer: a callback that confines the value of the preference
+     * - default: a default value if the preference isn't set
+     *
+     * @var array
+     */
+    protected static $preferences = [];
+    /**
+     * Get the values of all registered preferences for this user, by
+     * transforming their stored preferences and merging them with the defaults.
+     *
+     * @param string $value
+     * @return array
+     * @deprecated 0.1.0-beta.13: `users.preferences` is no longer used.
+     */
+    public function getPreferencesAttribute($value)
+    {
+        $defaults = array_map(function ($value) {
+            return $value['default'];
+        }, static::$preferences);
+
+        $user = Arr::only($this->notificationPreferences->toArray(), array_keys(static::$preferences));
+
+        return array_merge($defaults, $user);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get the value of a preference for this user.
+     *
+     * @param string $key
+     * @param mixed $default
+     * @return mixed
+     * @deprecated 0.1.0-beta.13: `users.preferences` is no longer used.
+     */
+    public function getPreference($key, $default = null)
+    {
+        return $this->$key ?? $default;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Set the value of a preference for this user.
+     *
+     * @param string $key
+     * @param mixed $value
+     * @return $this
+     * @deprecated 0.1.0-beta.13: `users.preferences` is no longer used.
+     */
+    public function setPreference($key, $value)
+    {
+        $preference = static::$preferences[$key];
+
+        // If a user preference is registered, transform the value.
+        if ($preference) {
+            $value = $value === null ? $preference['default'] : $value;
+            $value = $preference['transformer']($value);
+        }
+
+        $this->{$key} = $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Register a preference with a transformer and a default value.
+     *
+     * @param string $key
+     * @param callable $transformer
+     * @param mixed $default
+     */
+    public static function addPreference($key, callable $transformer = null, $default = null)
+    {
+        static::$preferences[$key] = compact('transformer', 'default');
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/User/NotificationPreference.php b/src/User/NotificationPreference.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ed5538987
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/User/NotificationPreference.php
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Flarum.
+ *
+ * For detailed copyright and license information, please view the
+ * LICENSE file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+namespace Flarum\User;
+
+use Flarum\Database\AbstractModel;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
+use InvalidArgumentException;
+
+/**
+ * @property int $user_id
+ * @property string $type
+ * @property string $channel
+ * @property bool $enabled
+ */
+class NotificationPreference extends AbstractModel
+{
+    protected static $channels = [];
+
+    public function user()
+    {
+        return $this->belongsTo(User::class);
+    }
+
+    public static function addChannel(string $channel)
+    {
+        static::$channels[] = $channel;
+    }
+
+    public static function setNotificationPreference(User $user, string $type, string $channel, bool $enabled = true)
+    {
+        if (in_array($channel, static::$channels)) {
+            $attributes = [
+                'channel' => $channel,
+                'type' => $type
+            ];
+
+            $user->notificationPreferences()->updateOrInsert($attributes, ['enabled' => $enabled]);
+        } else {
+            throw new InvalidArgumentException("Channel '$channel' is not registered.");
+        }
+    }
+
+    public function scopeShouldBeNotified(Builder $query, string $type, string $channel = null)
+    {
+        return $query
+            ->where('enabled', true)
+            ->where('type', $type)
+            ->when($channel, function ($query, $channel) {
+                $query->where('channel', $channel);
+            });
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/User/User.php b/src/User/User.php
index 197657447..ed8e97778 100644
--- a/src/User/User.php
+++ b/src/User/User.php
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ class User extends AbstractModel
 {
     use EventGeneratorTrait;
     use ScopeVisibilityTrait;
+    use Concerns\DeprecatedUserNotificationPreferences;
+    use Concerns\UserPreferences;
 
     /**
      * The attributes that should be mutated to dates.
@@ -82,17 +84,6 @@ class User extends AbstractModel
      */
     protected $session;
 
-    /**
-     * An array of registered user preferences. Each preference is defined with
-     * a key, and its value is an array containing the following keys:.
-     *
-     * - transformer: a callback that confines the value of the preference
-     * - default: a default value if the preference isn't set
-     *
-     * @var array
-     */
-    protected static $preferences = [];
-
     /**
      * The hasher with which to hash passwords.
      *
@@ -446,34 +437,6 @@ class User extends AbstractModel
         })->count();
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Get the values of all registered preferences for this user, by
-     * transforming their stored preferences and merging them with the defaults.
-     *
-     * @param string $value
-     * @return array
-     */
-    public function getPreferencesAttribute($value)
-    {
-        $defaults = array_map(function ($value) {
-            return $value['default'];
-        }, static::$preferences);
-
-        $user = Arr::only((array) json_decode($value, true), array_keys(static::$preferences));
-
-        return array_merge($defaults, $user);
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Encode an array of preferences for storage in the database.
-     *
-     * @param mixed $value
-     */
-    public function setPreferencesAttribute($value)
-    {
-        $this->attributes['preferences'] = json_encode($value);
-    }
-
     /**
      * Check whether or not the user should receive an alert for a notification
      * type.
@@ -498,42 +461,6 @@ class User extends AbstractModel
         return (bool) $this->getPreference(static::getNotificationPreferenceKey($type, 'email'));
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Get the value of a preference for this user.
-     *
-     * @param string $key
-     * @param mixed $default
-     * @return mixed
-     */
-    public function getPreference($key, $default = null)
-    {
-        return Arr::get($this->preferences, $key, $default);
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Set the value of a preference for this user.
-     *
-     * @param string $key
-     * @param mixed $value
-     * @return $this
-     */
-    public function setPreference($key, $value)
-    {
-        if (isset(static::$preferences[$key])) {
-            $preferences = $this->preferences;
-
-            if (! is_null($transformer = static::$preferences[$key]['transformer'])) {
-                $preferences[$key] = call_user_func($transformer, $value);
-            } else {
-                $preferences[$key] = $value;
-            }
-
-            $this->preferences = $preferences;
-        }
-
-        return $this;
-    }
-
     /**
      * Set the user as being last seen just now.
      *
@@ -606,6 +533,11 @@ class User extends AbstractModel
         return $this->belongsToMany(Group::class);
     }
 
+    public function notificationPreferences()
+    {
+        return $this->hasMany(NotificationPreference::class);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Define the relationship with the user's notifications.
      *
@@ -723,31 +655,6 @@ class User extends AbstractModel
         static::$hasher = $hasher;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Register a preference with a transformer and a default value.
-     *
-     * @param string $key
-     * @param callable $transformer
-     * @param mixed $default
-     */
-    public static function addPreference($key, callable $transformer = null, $default = null)
-    {
-        static::$preferences[$key] = compact('transformer', 'default');
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Get the key for a preference which flags whether or not the user will
-     * receive a notification for $type via $method.
-     *
-     * @param string $type
-     * @param string $method
-     * @return string
-     */
-    public static function getNotificationPreferenceKey($type, $method)
-    {
-        return 'notify_'.$type.'_'.$method;
-    }
-
     /**
      * Refresh the user's comments count.
      *