diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4538075ee..584868d7c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -188,6 +188,8 @@ Customization details can be found in the [Customization doc](docs/customization
 
 Soapbox FE is based on [Gab Social](https://code.gab.com/gab/social/gab-social)'s frontend which is in turn based on [Mastodon](https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/)'s frontend.
 
+- `static/sounds/chat.mp3` and `static/sounds/chat.oga` are from [notificationsounds.com](https://notificationsounds.com/notification-sounds/intuition-561) licensed under CC BY 4.0.
+
 Soapbox FE 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
diff --git a/app/soapbox/actions/settings.js b/app/soapbox/actions/settings.js
index 4432fa6e0..097265814 100644
--- a/app/soapbox/actions/settings.js
+++ b/app/soapbox/actions/settings.js
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ const defaultSettings = ImmutableMap({
   chats: ImmutableMap({
     panes: ImmutableList(),
     mainWindow: 'minimized',
+    sound: true,
   }),
 
   home: ImmutableMap({
diff --git a/app/soapbox/actions/streaming.js b/app/soapbox/actions/streaming.js
index a581ae0fe..b3ca60fb3 100644
--- a/app/soapbox/actions/streaming.js
+++ b/app/soapbox/actions/streaming.js
@@ -55,7 +55,17 @@ export function connectTimelineStream(timelineId, path, pollingRefresh = null, a
           dispatch(fetchFilters());
           break;
         case 'pleroma:chat_update':
-          dispatch({ type: STREAMING_CHAT_UPDATE, chat: JSON.parse(data.payload), me: getState().get('me') });
+          dispatch((dispatch, getState) => {
+            const chat = JSON.parse(data.payload);
+            const messageOwned = !(chat.last_message && chat.last_message.account_id !== getState().get('me'));
+
+            dispatch({
+              type: STREAMING_CHAT_UPDATE,
+              chat,
+              // Only play sounds for recipient messages
+              meta: !messageOwned && getSettings(getState()).getIn(['chats', 'sound']) && { sound: 'chat' },
+            });
+          });
           break;
         }
       },
diff --git a/app/soapbox/components/helmet.js b/app/soapbox/components/helmet.js
index f3bff8740..c9c1eb5a6 100644
--- a/app/soapbox/components/helmet.js
+++ b/app/soapbox/components/helmet.js
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ class SoapboxHelmet extends React.Component {
       <Helmet
         titleTemplate={this.addCounter(`%s | ${siteTitle}`)}
         defaultTitle={this.addCounter(siteTitle)}
+        defer={false}
       >
         {children}
       </Helmet>
diff --git a/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/audio_toggle.js b/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/audio_toggle.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9b207273a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/audio_toggle.js
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import React from 'react';
+import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
+import { connect } from 'react-redux';
+import { injectIntl, defineMessages } from 'react-intl';
+import ImmutablePropTypes from 'react-immutable-proptypes';
+import Icon from 'soapbox/components/icon';
+import { changeSetting, getSettings } from 'soapbox/actions/settings';
+import SettingToggle from 'soapbox/features/notifications/components/setting_toggle';
+
+const messages = defineMessages({
+  switchToOn: { id: 'chats.audio_toggle_on', defaultMessage: 'Audio notification on' },
+  switchToOff: { id: 'chats.audio_toggle_off', defaultMessage: 'Audio notification off' },
+});
+
+const mapStateToProps = state => {
+  return {
+    settings: getSettings(state),
+  };
+};
+
+const mapDispatchToProps = (dispatch) => ({
+  toggleAudio(setting) {
+    dispatch(changeSetting(['chats', 'sound'], setting));
+  },
+});
+
+export default @connect(mapStateToProps, mapDispatchToProps)
+@injectIntl
+class AudioToggle extends React.PureComponent {
+
+  static propTypes = {
+    intl: PropTypes.object.isRequired,
+    settings: ImmutablePropTypes.map.isRequired,
+    toggleAudio: PropTypes.func,
+    showLabel: PropTypes.bool,
+  };
+
+  handleToggleAudio = () => {
+    this.props.toggleAudio(this.props.settings.getIn(['chats', 'sound']) === true ? false : true);
+  }
+
+  render() {
+    const { intl, settings, showLabel } = this.props;
+    let toggle = (
+      <SettingToggle settings={settings} settingPath={['chats', 'sound']} onChange={this.handleToggleAudio} icons={{ checked: <Icon id='volume-up' />, unchecked: <Icon id='volume-off' /> }} ariaLabel={settings.get('chats', 'sound') === true ? intl.formatMessage(messages.switchToOff) : intl.formatMessage(messages.switchToOn)} />
+    );
+
+    if (showLabel) {
+      toggle = (
+        <SettingToggle settings={settings} settingPath={['chats', 'sound']} onChange={this.handleToggleAudio} icons={{ checked: <Icon id='volume-up' />, unchecked: <Icon id='volume-off' /> }} label={settings.get('chats', 'sound') === true ? intl.formatMessage(messages.switchToOff) : intl.formatMessage(messages.switchToOn)} />
+      );
+    }
+
+    return (
+      <div className='audio-toggle react-toggle--mini'>
+        {toggle}
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_box.js b/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_box.js
index ee2b7cd20..cded7fd70 100644
--- a/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_box.js
+++ b/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_box.js
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ class ChatBox extends ImmutablePureComponent {
   }
 
   handleKeyDown = (e) => {
+    this.markRead();
     if (e.key === 'Enter' && e.shiftKey) {
       this.insertLine();
       e.preventDefault();
@@ -122,17 +123,6 @@ class ChatBox extends ImmutablePureComponent {
     onSetInputRef(el);
   };
 
-  componentDidUpdate(prevProps) {
-    const markReadConditions = [
-      () => this.props.chat !== undefined,
-      () => document.activeElement === this.inputElem,
-      () => this.props.chat.get('unread') > 0,
-    ];
-
-    if (markReadConditions.every(c => c() === true))
-      this.markRead();
-  }
-
   handleRemoveFile = (e) => {
     this.setState({ attachment: undefined, resetFileKey: fileKeyGen() });
   }
diff --git a/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_panes.js b/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_panes.js
index 1bd7167bd..876ff9666 100644
--- a/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_panes.js
+++ b/app/soapbox/features/chats/components/chat_panes.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { makeGetChat } from 'soapbox/selectors';
 import { openChat, toggleMainWindow } from 'soapbox/actions/chats';
 import ChatWindow from './chat_window';
 import { shortNumberFormat } from 'soapbox/utils/numbers';
+import AudioToggle from 'soapbox/features/chats/components/audio_toggle';
 
 const addChatsToPanes = (state, panesData) => {
   const getChat = makeGetChat();
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ class ChatPanes extends ImmutablePureComponent {
           <button className='pane__title' onClick={this.handleMainWindowToggle}>
             <FormattedMessage id='chat_panels.main_window.title' defaultMessage='Chats' />
           </button>
+          <AudioToggle />
         </div>
         <div className='pane__content'>
           <ChatList
diff --git a/app/soapbox/middleware/sounds.js b/app/soapbox/middleware/sounds.js
index 032bc804b..e819a02ee 100644
--- a/app/soapbox/middleware/sounds.js
+++ b/app/soapbox/middleware/sounds.js
@@ -36,6 +36,16 @@ export default function soundsMiddleware() {
         type: 'audio/mpeg',
       },
     ]),
+    chat: createAudio([
+      {
+        src: '/sounds/chat.oga',
+        type: 'audio/ogg',
+      },
+      {
+        src: '/sounds/chat.mp3',
+        type: 'audio/mpeg',
+      },
+    ]),
   };
 
   return () => next => action => {
diff --git a/app/styles/chats.scss b/app/styles/chats.scss
index 5a8752987..6cb6ef929 100644
--- a/app/styles/chats.scss
+++ b/app/styles/chats.scss
@@ -94,6 +94,41 @@
       overflow: hidden;
     }
   }
+
+  .audio-toggle .react-toggle-thumb {
+    height: 14px;
+    width: 14px;
+    border: 1px solid var(--brand-color--med);
+  }
+
+  .audio-toggle .react-toggle {
+    height: 16px;
+    top: 4px;
+  }
+
+  .audio-toggle .react-toggle-track {
+    height: 16px;
+    width: 34px;
+    background-color: var(--accent-color);
+  }
+
+  .audio-toggle .react-toggle-track-check {
+    left: 4px;
+    bottom: 4px;
+  }
+
+  .react-toggle--checked .react-toggle-thumb {
+    left: 19px;
+  }
+
+  .audio-toggle .react-toggle-track-x {
+    right: 4px;
+    bottom: 4px;
+  }
+
+  .fa {
+    font-size: 14px;
+  }
 }
 
 .chat-messages {
diff --git a/static/sounds/chat.mp3 b/static/sounds/chat.mp3
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c86114292
Binary files /dev/null and b/static/sounds/chat.mp3 differ
diff --git a/static/sounds/chat.oga b/static/sounds/chat.oga
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..76d4bda7a
Binary files /dev/null and b/static/sounds/chat.oga differ