diff --git a/Signal/src/ViewControllers/ConversationView/ConversationViewController.m b/Signal/src/ViewControllers/ConversationView/ConversationViewController.m
index 7ff1f1805..2926a492d 100644
--- a/Signal/src/ViewControllers/ConversationView/ConversationViewController.m
+++ b/Signal/src/ViewControllers/ConversationView/ConversationViewController.m
@@ -5134,7 +5134,7 @@ interactionControllerForAnimationController:(id<UIViewControllerAnimatedTransiti
     }
 
     BOOL isProfileAvatar = NO;
-    NSData *_Nullable avatarImageData = contact.imageData;
+    NSData *_Nullable avatarImageData = [self.contactsManager avatarDataForCNContactId:cnContact.identifier];
     for (NSString *recipientId in contact.textSecureIdentifiers) {
         if (avatarImageData) {
             break;
diff --git a/Signal/src/views/ContactCell.swift b/Signal/src/views/ContactCell.swift
index d2442c5dd..b9591edc5 100644
--- a/Signal/src/views/ContactCell.swift
+++ b/Signal/src/views/ContactCell.swift
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ class ContactCell: UITableViewCell {
         titleLabel.attributedText = cnContact?.formattedFullName(font: titleLabel.font)
         updateSubtitle(subtitleType: subtitleType, contact: contact)
 
-        if let contactImage = contact.image {
+        if let contactImage = contactsManager.avatarImage(forCNContactId: contact.cnContactId) {
             contactImageView.image = contactImage
         } else {
             let contactIdForDeterminingBackgroundColor: String
diff --git a/SignalMessaging/attachments/SharingThreadPickerViewController.m b/SignalMessaging/attachments/SharingThreadPickerViewController.m
index 19acabc23..9eb1763b6 100644
--- a/SignalMessaging/attachments/SharingThreadPickerViewController.m
+++ b/SignalMessaging/attachments/SharingThreadPickerViewController.m
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ typedef void (^SendMessageBlock)(SendCompletionBlock completion);
     }
 
     BOOL isProfileAvatar = NO;
-    NSData *_Nullable avatarImageData = contact.imageData;
+    NSData *_Nullable avatarImageData = [self.contactsManager avatarDataForCNContactId:contact.cnContactId];
     for (NSString *recipientId in contact.textSecureIdentifiers) {
         if (avatarImageData) {
             break;
diff --git a/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.h b/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.h
index 8ab416be8..3a34898ba 100644
--- a/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.h
+++ b/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.h
@@ -59,8 +59,6 @@ extern NSString *const OWSContactsManagerSignalAccountsDidChangeNotification;
 // contacts haven't changed, and will clear out any stale cached SignalAccounts
 - (void)userRequestedSystemContactsRefreshWithCompletion:(void (^)(NSError *_Nullable error))completionHandler;
 
-- (nullable CNContact *)cnContactWithId:(nullable NSString *)contactId;
-
 #pragma mark - Util
 
 - (BOOL)isSystemContact:(NSString *)recipientId;
diff --git a/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.m b/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.m
index 13057afc4..95859de7a 100644
--- a/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.m
+++ b/SignalMessaging/contacts/OWSContactsManager.m
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ NSString *const OWSContactsManagerSignalAccountsDidChangeNotification
 @property (nonatomic, readonly) YapDatabaseConnection *dbReadConnection;
 @property (nonatomic, readonly) YapDatabaseConnection *dbWriteConnection;
 @property (nonatomic, readonly) AnyLRUCache *cnContactCache;
+@property (nonatomic, readonly) AnyLRUCache *cnContactAvatarCache;
 
 @end
 
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ NSString *const OWSContactsManagerSignalAccountsDidChangeNotification
     _systemContactsFetcher = [SystemContactsFetcher new];
     _systemContactsFetcher.delegate = self;
     _cnContactCache = [[AnyLRUCache alloc] initWithMaxSize:50];
+    _cnContactAvatarCache = [[AnyLRUCache alloc] initWithMaxSize:25];
 
     OWSSingletonAssert();
 
@@ -135,6 +137,8 @@ NSString *const OWSContactsManagerSignalAccountsDidChangeNotification
     return self.systemContactsFetcher.supportsContactEditing;
 }
 
+#pragma mark - CNContacts
+
 - (nullable CNContact *)cnContactWithId:(nullable NSString *)contactId
 {
     OWSAssert(contactId.length > 0);
@@ -158,6 +162,38 @@ NSString *const OWSContactsManagerSignalAccountsDidChangeNotification
     return cnContact;
 }
 
+- (nullable NSData *)avatarDataForCNContactId:(nullable NSString *)contactId
+{
+    // Don't bother to cache avatar data.
+    CNContact *_Nullable cnContact = [self cnContactWithId:contactId];
+    return [Contact avatarDataForCNContact:cnContact];
+}
+
+- (nullable UIImage *)avatarImageForCNContactId:(nullable NSString *)contactId
+{
+    OWSAssert(self.cnContactAvatarCache);
+
+    if (!contactId) {
+        return nil;
+    }
+
+    UIImage *_Nullable avatarImage;
+    @synchronized(self.cnContactAvatarCache) {
+        avatarImage = (UIImage * _Nullable)[self.cnContactAvatarCache getWithKey:contactId];
+        if (!avatarImage) {
+            NSData *_Nullable avatarData = [self avatarDataForCNContactId:contactId];
+            if (avatarData) {
+                avatarImage = [UIImage imageWithData:avatarData];
+            }
+            if (avatarImage) {
+                [self.cnContactAvatarCache setWithKey:contactId value:avatarImage];
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    return avatarImage;
+}
+
 #pragma mark - SystemContactsFetcherDelegate
 
 - (void)systemContactsFetcher:(SystemContactsFetcher *)systemsContactsFetcher
@@ -257,6 +293,8 @@ NSString *const OWSContactsManagerSignalAccountsDidChangeNotification
         dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
             self.allContacts = contacts;
             self.allContactsMap = [allContactsMap copy];
+            [self.cnContactCache clear];
+            [self.cnContactAvatarCache clear];
 
             [self.avatarCache removeAllImages];
 
@@ -791,7 +829,7 @@ NSString *const OWSContactsManagerSignalAccountsDidChangeNotification
         contact = [self signalAccountForRecipientId:identifier].contact;
     }
 
-    return contact.image;
+    return [self avatarImageForCNContactId:contact.cnContactId];
 }
 
 - (nullable UIImage *)profileImageForPhoneIdentifier:(nullable NSString *)identifier
diff --git a/SignalMessaging/utils/LRUCache.swift b/SignalMessaging/utils/LRUCache.swift
index 4321d6845..9a252dcee 100644
--- a/SignalMessaging/utils/LRUCache.swift
+++ b/SignalMessaging/utils/LRUCache.swift
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 @objc
 public class AnyLRUCache: NSObject {
 
-    let backingCache: LRUCache<NSObject, NSObject>
+    private let backingCache: LRUCache<NSObject, NSObject>
 
     @objc
     public init(maxSize: Int) {
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ public class AnyLRUCache: NSObject {
     public func set(key: NSObject, value: NSObject) {
         self.backingCache.set(key: key, value: value)
     }
+
+    @objc
+    public func clear() {
+        self.backingCache.clear()
+    }
 }
 
 // A simple LRU cache bounded by the number of entries.
@@ -47,8 +52,7 @@ public class LRUCache<KeyType: Hashable & Equatable, ValueType> {
     @objc func didReceiveMemoryWarning() {
         SwiftAssertIsOnMainThread(#function)
 
-        cacheMap.removeAll()
-        cacheOrder.removeAll()
+        clear()
     }
 
     private func updateCacheOrder(key: KeyType) {
@@ -82,4 +86,10 @@ public class LRUCache<KeyType: Hashable & Equatable, ValueType> {
             cacheMap.removeValue(forKey: staleKey)
         }
     }
+
+    @objc
+    public func clear() {
+        cacheMap.removeAll()
+        cacheOrder.removeAll()
+    }
 }
diff --git a/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.h b/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.h
index d46624548..1663fd8ee 100644
--- a/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.h
+++ b/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.h
@@ -28,10 +28,6 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 @property (readonly, nonatomic) NSArray<NSString *> *emails;
 @property (nonatomic, readonly) BOOL isSignalContact;
 @property (nonatomic, readonly) NSString *cnContactId;
-#if TARGET_OS_IOS
-@property (nullable, readonly, nonatomic) UIImage *image;
-@property (nullable, readonly, nonatomic) NSData *imageData;
-#endif // TARGET_OS_IOS
 
 - (NSArray<SignalRecipient *> *)signalRecipientsWithTransaction:(YapDatabaseReadTransaction *)transaction;
 // TODO: Remove this method.
@@ -39,7 +35,7 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
 #if TARGET_OS_IOS
 
-- (instancetype)initWithSystemContact:(CNContact *)contact NS_AVAILABLE_IOS(9_0);
+- (instancetype)initWithSystemContact:(CNContact *)cnContact NS_AVAILABLE_IOS(9_0);
 + (nullable Contact *)contactWithVCardData:(NSData *)data;
 + (nullable CNContact *)cnContactWithVCardData:(NSData *)data;
 
@@ -54,6 +50,8 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 + (CNContact *)mergeCNContact:(CNContact *)oldCNContact
                  newCNContact:(CNContact *)newCNContact NS_SWIFT_NAME(merge(cnContact:newCNContact:));
 
++ (nullable NSData *)avatarDataForCNContact:(nullable CNContact *)cnContact;
+
 @end
 
 NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_END
diff --git a/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.m b/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.m
index be582d401..e079d2afa 100644
--- a/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.m
+++ b/SignalServiceKit/src/Contacts/Contact.m
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #import "PhoneNumber.h"
 #import "SignalRecipient.h"
 #import "TSAccountManager.h"
+#import "TextSecureKitEnv.h"
 
 @import Contacts;
 
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 @interface Contact ()
 
 @property (nonatomic, readonly) NSMutableDictionary<NSString *, NSString *> *phoneNumberNameMap;
+@property (nonatomic, readonly) NSUInteger imageHash;
 
 @end
 
@@ -26,25 +28,24 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
 @synthesize comparableNameFirstLast = _comparableNameFirstLast;
 @synthesize comparableNameLastFirst = _comparableNameLastFirst;
-@synthesize image = _image;
 
 #if TARGET_OS_IOS
 
-- (instancetype)initWithSystemContact:(CNContact *)contact
+- (instancetype)initWithSystemContact:(CNContact *)cnContact
 {
     self = [super init];
     if (!self) {
         return self;
     }
 
-    _cnContactId = contact.identifier;
-    _firstName = contact.givenName.ows_stripped;
-    _lastName = contact.familyName.ows_stripped;
-    _fullName = [Contact formattedFullNameWithCNContact:contact];
+    _cnContactId = cnContact.identifier;
+    _firstName = cnContact.givenName.ows_stripped;
+    _lastName = cnContact.familyName.ows_stripped;
+    _fullName = [Contact formattedFullNameWithCNContact:cnContact];
 
     NSMutableArray<NSString *> *phoneNumbers = [NSMutableArray new];
     NSMutableDictionary<NSString *, NSString *> *phoneNumberNameMap = [NSMutableDictionary new];
-    for (CNLabeledValue *phoneNumberField in contact.phoneNumbers) {
+    for (CNLabeledValue *phoneNumberField in cnContact.phoneNumbers) {
         if ([phoneNumberField.value isKindOfClass:[CNPhoneNumber class]]) {
             CNPhoneNumber *phoneNumber = (CNPhoneNumber *)phoneNumberField.value;
             [phoneNumbers addObject:phoneNumber.stringValue];
@@ -96,18 +97,21 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
         [self parsedPhoneNumbersFromUserTextPhoneNumbers:phoneNumbers phoneNumberNameMap:phoneNumberNameMap];
 
     NSMutableArray<NSString *> *emailAddresses = [NSMutableArray new];
-    for (CNLabeledValue *emailField in contact.emailAddresses) {
+    for (CNLabeledValue *emailField in cnContact.emailAddresses) {
         if ([emailField.value isKindOfClass:[NSString class]]) {
             [emailAddresses addObject:(NSString *)emailField.value];
         }
     }
     _emails = [emailAddresses copy];
 
-    if (contact.thumbnailImageData) {
-        _imageData = [contact.thumbnailImageData copy];
-    } else if (contact.imageData) {
-        // This only occurs when sharing a contact via the share extension
-        _imageData = [contact.imageData copy];
+    NSData *_Nullable avatarData = [Contact avatarDataForCNContact:cnContact];
+    if (avatarData) {
+        NSUInteger hashValue = 0;
+        NSData *hashData = [Cryptography computeSHA256Digest:avatarData truncatedToBytes:sizeof(hashValue)];
+        [hashData getBytes:&hashValue length:sizeof(hashValue)];
+        _imageHash = hashValue;
+    } else {
+        _imageHash = 0;
     }
 
     return self;
@@ -124,29 +128,6 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
     return [[self alloc] initWithSystemContact:cnContact];
 }
 
-- (nullable UIImage *)image
-{
-    if (_image) {
-        return _image;
-    }
-
-    if (!self.imageData) {
-        return nil;
-    }
-
-    _image = [UIImage imageWithData:self.imageData];
-    return _image;
-}
-
-+ (MTLPropertyStorage)storageBehaviorForPropertyWithKey:(NSString *)propertyKey
-{
-    if ([propertyKey isEqualToString:@"cnContact"] || [propertyKey isEqualToString:@"image"]) {
-        return MTLPropertyStorageTransitory;
-    } else {
-        return [super storageBehaviorForPropertyWithKey:propertyKey];
-    }
-}
-
 #endif // TARGET_OS_IOS
 
 - (NSArray<PhoneNumber *> *)parsedPhoneNumbersFromUserTextPhoneNumbers:(NSArray<NSString *> *)userTextPhoneNumbers
@@ -277,6 +258,20 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
     return value;
 }
 
++ (nullable NSData *)avatarDataForCNContact:(nullable CNContact *)cnContact
+{
+    if (cnContact.thumbnailImageData) {
+        return cnContact.thumbnailImageData.copy;
+    } else if (cnContact.imageData) {
+        // This only occurs when sharing a contact via the share extension
+        return cnContact.imageData.copy;
+    } else {
+        return nil;
+    }
+}
+
+// This method is used to de-bounce system contact fetch notifications
+// by checking for changes in the contact data.
 - (NSUInteger)hash
 {
     // base hash is some arbitrary number
@@ -284,13 +279,7 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
     hash = hash ^ self.fullName.hash;
 
-    if (self.imageData) {
-        NSUInteger thumbnailHash = 0;
-        NSData *thumbnailHashData =
-            [Cryptography computeSHA256Digest:self.imageData truncatedToBytes:sizeof(thumbnailHash)];
-        [thumbnailHashData getBytes:&thumbnailHash length:sizeof(thumbnailHash)];
-        hash = hash ^ thumbnailHash;
-    }
+    hash = hash ^ self.imageHash;
 
     for (PhoneNumber *phoneNumber in self.parsedPhoneNumbers) {
         hash = hash ^ phoneNumber.toE164.hash;
diff --git a/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.h b/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.h
index 4f59766c7..1f9734102 100644
--- a/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.h
+++ b/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.h
@@ -1,19 +1,22 @@
 //
-//  Copyright (c) 2017 Open Whisper Systems. All rights reserved.
+//  Copyright (c) 2018 Open Whisper Systems. All rights reserved.
 //
 
 #import "OWSChunkedOutputStream.h"
 
 NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
-@class SignalAccount;
 @class OWSRecipientIdentity;
+@class SignalAccount;
+
+@protocol ContactsManagerProtocol;
 
 @interface OWSContactsOutputStream : OWSChunkedOutputStream
 
 - (void)writeSignalAccount:(SignalAccount *)signalAccount
          recipientIdentity:(nullable OWSRecipientIdentity *)recipientIdentity
-            profileKeyData:(nullable NSData *)profileKeyData;
+            profileKeyData:(nullable NSData *)profileKeyData
+           contactsManager:(id<ContactsManagerProtocol>)contactsManager;
 
 @end
 
diff --git a/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.m b/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.m
index 50470f7d2..6b66f838a 100644
--- a/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.m
+++ b/SignalServiceKit/src/Devices/OWSContactsOutputStream.m
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 #import "OWSContactsOutputStream.h"
 #import "Contact.h"
+#import "ContactsManagerProtocol.h"
 #import "Cryptography.h"
 #import "MIMETypeUtil.h"
 #import "NSData+keyVersionByte.h"
@@ -22,9 +23,11 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 - (void)writeSignalAccount:(SignalAccount *)signalAccount
          recipientIdentity:(nullable OWSRecipientIdentity *)recipientIdentity
             profileKeyData:(nullable NSData *)profileKeyData
+           contactsManager:(id<ContactsManagerProtocol>)contactsManager
 {
     OWSAssert(signalAccount);
     OWSAssert(signalAccount.contact);
+    OWSAssert(contactsManager);
 
     OWSSignalServiceProtosContactDetailsBuilder *contactBuilder = [OWSSignalServiceProtosContactDetailsBuilder new];
     [contactBuilder setName:signalAccount.contact.fullName];
@@ -38,15 +41,18 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
         contactBuilder.verifiedBuilder = verifiedBuilder;
     }
 
-    NSData *avatarPng;
-    if (signalAccount.contact.image) {
-        OWSSignalServiceProtosContactDetailsAvatarBuilder *avatarBuilder =
-            [OWSSignalServiceProtosContactDetailsAvatarBuilder new];
-
-        [avatarBuilder setContentType:OWSMimeTypeImagePng];
-        avatarPng = UIImagePNGRepresentation(signalAccount.contact.image);
-        [avatarBuilder setLength:(uint32_t)avatarPng.length];
-        [contactBuilder setAvatarBuilder:avatarBuilder];
+    UIImage *_Nullable rawAvatar = [contactsManager avatarImageForCNContactId:signalAccount.contact.cnContactId];
+    NSData *_Nullable avatarPng;
+    if (rawAvatar) {
+        avatarPng = UIImagePNGRepresentation(rawAvatar);
+        if (avatarPng) {
+            OWSSignalServiceProtosContactDetailsAvatarBuilder *avatarBuilder =
+                [OWSSignalServiceProtosContactDetailsAvatarBuilder new];
+
+            [avatarBuilder setContentType:OWSMimeTypeImagePng];
+            [avatarBuilder setLength:(uint32_t)avatarPng.length];
+            [contactBuilder setAvatarBuilder:avatarBuilder];
+        }
     }
 
     if (profileKeyData) {
@@ -79,7 +85,7 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
     [self.delegateStream writeRawVarint32:contactDataLength];
     [self.delegateStream writeRawData:contactData];
 
-    if (signalAccount.contact.image) {
+    if (avatarPng) {
         [self.delegateStream writeRawData:avatarPng];
     }
 }
diff --git a/SignalServiceKit/src/Messages/DeviceSyncing/OWSSyncContactsMessage.m b/SignalServiceKit/src/Messages/DeviceSyncing/OWSSyncContactsMessage.m
index 05d07f93b..0612d2bc1 100644
--- a/SignalServiceKit/src/Messages/DeviceSyncing/OWSSyncContactsMessage.m
+++ b/SignalServiceKit/src/Messages/DeviceSyncing/OWSSyncContactsMessage.m
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #import "SignalAccount.h"
 #import "TSAttachment.h"
 #import "TSAttachmentStream.h"
+#import "TextSecureKitEnv.h"
 
 NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
@@ -71,6 +72,8 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
 - (NSData *)buildPlainTextAttachmentData
 {
+    id<ContactsManagerProtocol> contactsManager = TextSecureKitEnv.sharedEnv.contactsManager;
+
     // TODO use temp file stream to avoid loading everything into memory at once
     // First though, we need to re-engineer our attachment process to accept streams (encrypting with stream,
     // and uploading with streams).
@@ -82,10 +85,11 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
         OWSRecipientIdentity *_Nullable recipientIdentity =
             [self.identityManager recipientIdentityForRecipientId:signalAccount.recipientId];
         NSData *_Nullable profileKeyData = [self.profileManager profileKeyDataForRecipientId:signalAccount.recipientId];
-        
+
         [contactsOutputStream writeSignalAccount:signalAccount
                                recipientIdentity:recipientIdentity
-                                  profileKeyData:profileKeyData];
+                                  profileKeyData:profileKeyData
+                                 contactsManager:contactsManager];
     }
 
     [contactsOutputStream flush];
diff --git a/SignalServiceKit/src/Protocols/ContactsManagerProtocol.h b/SignalServiceKit/src/Protocols/ContactsManagerProtocol.h
index 7a6e5cc69..4954610d5 100644
--- a/SignalServiceKit/src/Protocols/ContactsManagerProtocol.h
+++ b/SignalServiceKit/src/Protocols/ContactsManagerProtocol.h
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 
+@class CNContact;
 @class Contact;
 @class PhoneNumber;
 @class SignalAccount;
@@ -20,6 +21,12 @@ NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_BEGIN
 - (NSComparisonResult)compareSignalAccount:(SignalAccount *)left
                          withSignalAccount:(SignalAccount *)right NS_SWIFT_NAME(compare(signalAccount:with:));
 
+#pragma mark - CNContacts
+
+- (nullable CNContact *)cnContactWithId:(nullable NSString *)contactId;
+- (nullable NSData *)avatarDataForCNContactId:(nullable NSString *)contactId;
+- (nullable UIImage *)avatarImageForCNContactId:(nullable NSString *)contactId;
+
 @end
 
 NS_ASSUME_NONNULL_END