diff --git a/src/app/imaging/route.ts b/src/app/imaging/route.ts
index b6b31727..01c0ddc9 100644
--- a/src/app/imaging/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/imaging/route.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,10 @@ export async function GET(request: NextRequest) {
 			status: 200,
 			headers: {
 				"Content-Type": contentType,
-				"Cache-Control": "public, max-age=3600",
+				// s-maxage lets Cloudflare/edge cache avatars (currently DYNAMIC),
+				// stale-while-revalidate keeps them fresh without blocking requests.
+				"Cache-Control":
+					"public, max-age=3600, s-maxage=86400, stale-while-revalidate=86400",
 				"Access-Control-Allow-Origin": "*",
 			},
 		});