diff --git a/pkg/modules/background/background.go b/pkg/modules/background/background.go
index 17f25157..bb24b0fc 100644
--- a/pkg/modules/background/background.go
+++ b/pkg/modules/background/background.go
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import (
 type Image struct {
 	ID    string `json:"id"`
 	URL   string `json:"url"`
-	Thumb string `json:"thumb"`
+	Thumb string `json:"thumb,omitempty"`
 	// This can be used to supply extra information from an image provider to clients
 	Info interface{} `json:"info,omitempty"`
 }
diff --git a/pkg/modules/background/unsplash/proxy.go b/pkg/modules/background/unsplash/proxy.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6a66503
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/modules/background/unsplash/proxy.go
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+// Vikunja is a to-do list application to facilitate your life.
+// Copyright 2018-2020 Vikunja and contributors. All rights reserved.
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU 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 General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package unsplash
+
+import (
+	"github.com/labstack/echo/v4"
+	"net/http"
+)
+
+// ProxyUnsplashImage proxies a thumbnail from unsplash for privacy reasons.
+// @Summary Get an unsplash image
+// @Description Get an unsplash image. **Returns json on error.**
+// @tags list
+// @Produce octet-stream
+// @Param thumb path int true "Unsplash Image ID"
+// @Security JWTKeyAuth
+// @Success 200 {} string "The image"
+// @Failure 404 {object} models.Message "The image does not exist."
+// @Failure 500 {object} models.Message "Internal error"
+// @Router /backgrounds/unsplash/image/{image} [get]
+func ProxyUnsplashImage(c echo.Context) error {
+	imageID := c.Param("image")
+	resp, err := http.Get("https://images.unsplash.com/photo-" + imageID + "?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&fm=jpg&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjcyODAwfQ")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if resp.StatusCode > 399 {
+		return echo.ErrNotFound
+	}
+	return c.Stream(http.StatusOK, "image/jpg", resp.Body)
+}
+
+// ProxyUnsplashThumb proxies a thumbnail from unsplash for privacy reasons.
+// @Summary Get an unsplash thumbnail image
+// @Description Get an unsplash thumbnail image. The thumbnail is cropped to a max width of 200px. **Returns json on error.**
+// @tags list
+// @Produce octet-stream
+// @Param thumb path int true "Unsplash Image ID"
+// @Security JWTKeyAuth
+// @Success 200 {} string "The thumbnail"
+// @Failure 404 {object} models.Message "The image does not exist."
+// @Failure 500 {object} models.Message "Internal error"
+// @Router /backgrounds/unsplash/image/{image}/thumb [get]
+func ProxyUnsplashThumb(c echo.Context) error {
+	imageID := c.Param("image")
+	resp, err := http.Get("https://images.unsplash.com/photo-" + imageID + "?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&w=200&fit=max&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjcyODAwfQ")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if resp.StatusCode > 399 {
+		return echo.ErrNotFound
+	}
+	return c.Stream(http.StatusOK, "image/jpg", resp.Body)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/modules/background/unsplash/unsplash.go b/pkg/modules/background/unsplash/unsplash.go
index 73df0936..b2ddd1f4 100644
--- a/pkg/modules/background/unsplash/unsplash.go
+++ b/pkg/modules/background/unsplash/unsplash.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
+	"strings"
 )
 
 // Provider represents an unsplash image provider
@@ -90,6 +91,18 @@ func doGet(url string, result interface{}) (err error) {
 	return
 }
 
+func getImageID(fullURL string) string {
+	// Unsplash image urls have the form
+	// https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1590622878565-c662a7fd1394?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&w=200&fit=max&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjcyODAwfQ
+	// We only need the "photo-*" part of it.
+	parts := strings.Split(strings.Split(fullURL, "?")[0], "photo-")
+	if len(parts) < 2 {
+		log.Errorf("Unsplash thumb url does not contain enough parts [parts: %v]", parts)
+		return ""
+	}
+	return parts[1]
+}
+
 // Search is the implementation to search on unsplash
 // @Summary Search for a background from unsplash
 // @Description Search for a list background from unsplash
@@ -114,9 +127,8 @@ func (p *Provider) Search(search string, page int64) (result []*background.Image
 		result = []*background.Image{}
 		for _, p := range collectionResult {
 			result = append(result, &background.Image{
-				ID:    p.ID,
-				URL:   p.Urls.Raw,
-				Thumb: p.Urls.Thumb,
+				ID:  p.ID,
+				URL: getImageID(p.Urls.Raw),
 				Info: &models.UnsplashPhoto{
 					UnsplashID: p.ID,
 					Author:     p.User.Username,
@@ -137,9 +149,8 @@ func (p *Provider) Search(search string, page int64) (result []*background.Image
 	result = []*background.Image{}
 	for _, p := range searchResult.Results {
 		result = append(result, &background.Image{
-			ID:    p.ID,
-			URL:   p.Urls.Raw,
-			Thumb: p.Urls.Thumb,
+			ID:  p.ID,
+			URL: getImageID(p.Urls.Raw),
 			Info: &models.UnsplashPhoto{
 				UnsplashID: p.ID,
 				Author:     p.User.Username,
diff --git a/pkg/routes/routes.go b/pkg/routes/routes.go
index 9f5376ea..dc41778c 100644
--- a/pkg/routes/routes.go
+++ b/pkg/routes/routes.go
@@ -459,6 +459,8 @@ func registerAPIRoutes(a *echo.Group) {
 			}
 			a.GET("/backgrounds/unsplash/search", unsplashBackgroundProvider.SearchBackgrounds)
 			a.POST("/lists/:list/backgrounds/unsplash", unsplashBackgroundProvider.SetBackground)
+			a.GET("/backgrounds/unsplash/images/:image/thumb", unsplash.ProxyUnsplashThumb)
+			a.GET("/backgrounds/unsplash/images/:image", unsplash.ProxyUnsplashImage)
 		}
 	}
 }