diff --git a/docs/api/swagger.yaml b/docs/api/swagger.yaml
index 540a7dbc3..25527439d 100644
--- a/docs/api/swagger.yaml
+++ b/docs/api/swagger.yaml
@@ -2582,7 +2582,7 @@ paths:
                 See: https://webfinger.net/
             operationId: webfingerGet
             produces:
-                - application/json
+                - application/jrd+json
             responses:
                 "200":
                     description: ""
diff --git a/internal/api/util/mime.go b/internal/api/util/mime.go
index 89aa23741..edd0dcecf 100644
--- a/internal/api/util/mime.go
+++ b/internal/api/util/mime.go
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 // MIME represents a mime-type.
 type MIME string
 
-// MIME type
 const (
 	AppJSON           MIME = `application/json`
 	AppXML            MIME = `application/xml`
@@ -28,6 +27,7 @@
 	AppRSSXML         MIME = `application/rss+xml`
 	AppActivityJSON   MIME = `application/activity+json`
 	AppActivityLDJSON MIME = `application/ld+json; profile="https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams"`
+	AppJRDJSON        MIME = `application/jrd+json` // https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7033#section-10.2
 	AppForm           MIME = `application/x-www-form-urlencoded`
 	MultipartForm     MIME = `multipart/form-data`
 	TextXML           MIME = `text/xml`
diff --git a/internal/api/util/negotiate.go b/internal/api/util/negotiate.go
index 0889e0346..1a4df7c40 100644
--- a/internal/api/util/negotiate.go
+++ b/internal/api/util/negotiate.go
@@ -35,6 +35,15 @@
 	AppJSON,
 }
 
+// WebfingerJSONAcceptHeaders is a slice of offers that prefers the
+// jrd+json content type, but will be chill and fall back to app/json.
+// This is to be used specifically for webfinger responses.
+// See https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7033#section-10.2
+var WebfingerJSONAcceptHeaders = []MIME{
+	AppJRDJSON,
+	AppJSON,
+}
+
 // HTMLOrJSONAcceptHeaders is a slice of offers that prefers TextHTML and will
 // fall back to JSON if necessary. This is useful for error handling, since it can
 // be used to serve a nice HTML page if the caller accepts that, or just JSON if not.
diff --git a/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfinger_test.go b/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfinger_test.go
index 1d7902708..26143942c 100644
--- a/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfinger_test.go
+++ b/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfinger_test.go
@@ -18,12 +18,7 @@
 package webfinger_test
 
 import (
-	"crypto/rand"
-	"crypto/rsa"
-	"time"
-
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
-	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/ap"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/db"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/email"
@@ -103,34 +98,3 @@ func (suite *WebfingerStandardTestSuite) TearDownTest() {
 	testrig.StandardStorageTeardown(suite.storage)
 	testrig.StopWorkers(&suite.state)
 }
-
-func accountDomainAccount() *gtsmodel.Account {
-	privateKey, err := rsa.GenerateKey(rand.Reader, 2048)
-	if err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
-	publicKey := &privateKey.PublicKey
-
-	acct := &gtsmodel.Account{
-		ID:                    "01FG1K8EA7SYHEC7V6XKVNC4ZA",
-		CreatedAt:             time.Now(),
-		UpdatedAt:             time.Now(),
-		Username:              "aaaaa",
-		Domain:                "",
-		Privacy:               gtsmodel.VisibilityDefault,
-		Language:              "en",
-		URI:                   "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa",
-		URL:                   "http://gts.example.org/@aaaaa",
-		InboxURI:              "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa/inbox",
-		OutboxURI:             "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa/outbox",
-		FollowingURI:          "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa/following",
-		FollowersURI:          "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa/followers",
-		FeaturedCollectionURI: "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa/collections/featured",
-		ActorType:             ap.ActorPerson,
-		PrivateKey:            privateKey,
-		PublicKey:             publicKey,
-		PublicKeyURI:          "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa/main-key",
-	}
-
-	return acct
-}
diff --git a/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget.go b/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget.go
index 5cd0a7a35..02f366ea6 100644
--- a/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget.go
+++ b/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 package webfinger
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
@@ -48,14 +49,14 @@
 //	- .well-known
 //
 //	produces:
-//	- application/json
+//	- application/jrd+json
 //
 //	responses:
 //		'200':
 //			schema:
 //				"$ref": "#/definitions/wellKnownResponse"
 func (m *Module) WebfingerGETRequest(c *gin.Context) {
-	if _, err := apiutil.NegotiateAccept(c, apiutil.JSONAcceptHeaders...); err != nil {
+	if _, err := apiutil.NegotiateAccept(c, apiutil.WebfingerJSONAcceptHeaders...); err != nil {
 		apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, gtserror.NewErrorNotAcceptable(err, err.Error()), m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
 		return
 	}
@@ -86,5 +87,13 @@ func (m *Module) WebfingerGETRequest(c *gin.Context) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	c.JSON(http.StatusOK, resp)
+	b, err := json.Marshal(resp)
+	if err != nil {
+		apiutil.ErrorHandler(c, gtserror.NewErrorInternalError(err), m.processor.InstanceGetV1)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Always return "application/jrd+json" regardless of negotiated
+	// format. See https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7033#section-10.2
+	c.Data(http.StatusOK, string(apiutil.AppJRDJSON), b)
 }
diff --git a/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget_test.go b/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget_test.go
index 36244dee0..5b1cc47dd 100644
--- a/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget_test.go
+++ b/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger/webfingerget_test.go
@@ -20,16 +20,21 @@
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/rsa"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
+	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/ap"
+	apiutil "github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/util"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/api/wellknown/webfinger"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/config"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/gtsmodel"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/processing"
 	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/testrig"
 )
@@ -38,31 +43,85 @@ type WebfingerGetTestSuite struct {
 	WebfingerStandardTestSuite
 }
 
-func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) TestFingerUser() {
-	targetAccount := suite.testAccounts["local_account_1"]
-
-	// setup request
-	host := config.GetHost()
-	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=acct:%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, host)
-
+func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) finger(requestPath string) string {
+	// Set up the request.
 	recorder := httptest.NewRecorder()
 	ctx, _ := testrig.CreateGinTestContext(recorder, nil)
-	ctx.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, requestPath, nil) // the endpoint we're hitting
-	ctx.Request.Header.Set("accept", "application/json")
+	ctx.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, requestPath, nil)
+	ctx.Request.Header.Set("accept", "application/jrd+json")
 
-	// trigger the function being tested
+	// Trigger the handler.
 	suite.webfingerModule.WebfingerGETRequest(ctx)
 
-	// check response
-	suite.EqualValues(http.StatusOK, recorder.Code)
-
+	// Read the result + return it
+	// as nicely indented JSON.
 	result := recorder.Result()
 	defer result.Body.Close()
-	b, err := ioutil.ReadAll(result.Body)
-	suite.NoError(err)
-	dst := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	err = json.Indent(dst, b, "", "  ")
-	suite.NoError(err)
+
+	// Result should always use the
+	// webfinger content-type.
+	if ct := result.Header.Get("content-type"); ct != string(apiutil.AppJRDJSON) {
+		suite.FailNow("", "expected content type %s, got %s", apiutil.AppJRDJSON, ct)
+	}
+
+	b, err := io.ReadAll(result.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		suite.FailNow(err.Error())
+	}
+
+	var dst bytes.Buffer
+	if err := json.Indent(&dst, b, "", "  "); err != nil {
+		suite.FailNow(err.Error())
+	}
+
+	return dst.String()
+}
+
+func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) funkifyAccountDomain(host string, accountDomain string) *gtsmodel.Account {
+	// Reset suite structs + config
+	// to new host + account domain.
+	config.SetHost(host)
+	config.SetAccountDomain(accountDomain)
+	suite.processor = processing.NewProcessor(suite.tc, suite.federator, testrig.NewTestOauthServer(suite.db), testrig.NewTestMediaManager(&suite.state), &suite.state, suite.emailSender)
+	suite.webfingerModule = webfinger.New(suite.processor)
+
+	// Generate a new account for the
+	// tester, which uses the new host.
+	privateKey, err := rsa.GenerateKey(rand.Reader, 2048)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	publicKey := &privateKey.PublicKey
+
+	targetAccount := &gtsmodel.Account{
+		ID:                    "01FG1K8EA7SYHEC7V6XKVNC4ZA",
+		Username:              "new_account_domain_user",
+		Privacy:               gtsmodel.VisibilityDefault,
+		URI:                   "http://" + host + "/users/new_account_domain_user",
+		URL:                   "http://" + host + "/@new_account_domain_user",
+		InboxURI:              "http://" + host + "/users/new_account_domain_user/inbox",
+		OutboxURI:             "http://" + host + "/users/new_account_domain_user/outbox",
+		FollowingURI:          "http://" + host + "/users/new_account_domain_user/following",
+		FollowersURI:          "http://" + host + "/users/new_account_domain_user/followers",
+		FeaturedCollectionURI: "http://" + host + "/users/new_account_domain_user/collections/featured",
+		ActorType:             ap.ActorPerson,
+		PrivateKey:            privateKey,
+		PublicKey:             publicKey,
+		PublicKeyURI:          "http://" + host + "/users/new_account_domain_user/main-key",
+	}
+
+	if err := suite.db.PutAccount(context.Background(), targetAccount); err != nil {
+		suite.FailNow(err.Error())
+	}
+
+	return targetAccount
+}
+
+func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) TestFingerUser() {
+	targetAccount := suite.testAccounts["local_account_1"]
+	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=acct:%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, config.GetHost())
+
+	resp := suite.finger(requestPath)
 	suite.Equal(`{
   "subject": "acct:the_mighty_zork@localhost:8080",
   "aliases": [
@@ -81,144 +140,68 @@ func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) TestFingerUser() {
       "href": "http://localhost:8080/users/the_mighty_zork"
     }
   ]
-}`, dst.String())
+}`, resp)
 }
 
 func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) TestFingerUserWithDifferentAccountDomainByHost() {
-	config.SetHost("gts.example.org")
-	config.SetAccountDomain("example.org")
+	targetAccount := suite.funkifyAccountDomain("gts.example.org", "example.org")
+	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=acct:%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, config.GetHost())
 
-	suite.processor = processing.NewProcessor(suite.tc, suite.federator, testrig.NewTestOauthServer(suite.db), testrig.NewTestMediaManager(&suite.state), &suite.state, suite.emailSender)
-	suite.webfingerModule = webfinger.New(suite.processor)
-
-	targetAccount := accountDomainAccount()
-	if err := suite.db.Put(context.Background(), targetAccount); err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
-
-	// setup request
-	host := config.GetHost()
-	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=acct:%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, host)
-
-	recorder := httptest.NewRecorder()
-	ctx, _ := testrig.CreateGinTestContext(recorder, nil)
-	ctx.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, requestPath, nil) // the endpoint we're hitting
-	ctx.Request.Header.Set("accept", "application/json")
-
-	// trigger the function being tested
-	suite.webfingerModule.WebfingerGETRequest(ctx)
-
-	// check response
-	suite.EqualValues(http.StatusOK, recorder.Code)
-
-	result := recorder.Result()
-	defer result.Body.Close()
-	b, err := ioutil.ReadAll(result.Body)
-	suite.NoError(err)
-	dst := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	err = json.Indent(dst, b, "", "  ")
-	suite.NoError(err)
+	resp := suite.finger(requestPath)
 	suite.Equal(`{
-  "subject": "acct:aaaaa@example.org",
+  "subject": "acct:new_account_domain_user@example.org",
   "aliases": [
-    "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa",
-    "http://gts.example.org/@aaaaa"
+    "http://gts.example.org/users/new_account_domain_user",
+    "http://gts.example.org/@new_account_domain_user"
   ],
   "links": [
     {
       "rel": "http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page",
       "type": "text/html",
-      "href": "http://gts.example.org/@aaaaa"
+      "href": "http://gts.example.org/@new_account_domain_user"
     },
     {
       "rel": "self",
       "type": "application/activity+json",
-      "href": "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa"
+      "href": "http://gts.example.org/users/new_account_domain_user"
     }
   ]
-}`, dst.String())
+}`, resp)
 }
 
 func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) TestFingerUserWithDifferentAccountDomainByAccountDomain() {
-	config.SetHost("gts.example.org")
-	config.SetAccountDomain("example.org")
+	targetAccount := suite.funkifyAccountDomain("gts.example.org", "example.org")
+	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=acct:%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, config.GetAccountDomain())
 
-	suite.processor = processing.NewProcessor(suite.tc, suite.federator, testrig.NewTestOauthServer(suite.db), testrig.NewTestMediaManager(&suite.state), &suite.state, suite.emailSender)
-	suite.webfingerModule = webfinger.New(suite.processor)
-
-	targetAccount := accountDomainAccount()
-	if err := suite.db.Put(context.Background(), targetAccount); err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
-
-	// setup request
-	accountDomain := config.GetAccountDomain()
-	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=acct:%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, accountDomain)
-
-	recorder := httptest.NewRecorder()
-	ctx, _ := testrig.CreateGinTestContext(recorder, nil)
-	ctx.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, requestPath, nil) // the endpoint we're hitting
-	ctx.Request.Header.Set("accept", "application/json")
-
-	// trigger the function being tested
-	suite.webfingerModule.WebfingerGETRequest(ctx)
-
-	// check response
-	suite.EqualValues(http.StatusOK, recorder.Code)
-
-	result := recorder.Result()
-	defer result.Body.Close()
-	b, err := ioutil.ReadAll(result.Body)
-	suite.NoError(err)
-	dst := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	err = json.Indent(dst, b, "", "  ")
-	suite.NoError(err)
+	resp := suite.finger(requestPath)
 	suite.Equal(`{
-  "subject": "acct:aaaaa@example.org",
+  "subject": "acct:new_account_domain_user@example.org",
   "aliases": [
-    "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa",
-    "http://gts.example.org/@aaaaa"
+    "http://gts.example.org/users/new_account_domain_user",
+    "http://gts.example.org/@new_account_domain_user"
   ],
   "links": [
     {
       "rel": "http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page",
       "type": "text/html",
-      "href": "http://gts.example.org/@aaaaa"
+      "href": "http://gts.example.org/@new_account_domain_user"
     },
     {
       "rel": "self",
       "type": "application/activity+json",
-      "href": "http://gts.example.org/users/aaaaa"
+      "href": "http://gts.example.org/users/new_account_domain_user"
     }
   ]
-}`, dst.String())
+}`, resp)
 }
 
 func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) TestFingerUserWithoutAcct() {
+	// Leave out the 'acct:' part in the request path;
+	// the handler should be generous + still work OK.
 	targetAccount := suite.testAccounts["local_account_1"]
+	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, config.GetHost())
 
-	// setup request -- leave out the 'acct:' prefix, which is prettymuch what pixelfed currently does
-	host := config.GetHost()
-	requestPath := fmt.Sprintf("/%s?resource=%s@%s", webfinger.WebfingerBasePath, targetAccount.Username, host)
-
-	recorder := httptest.NewRecorder()
-	ctx, _ := testrig.CreateGinTestContext(recorder, nil)
-	ctx.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, requestPath, nil) // the endpoint we're hitting
-	ctx.Request.Header.Set("accept", "application/json")
-
-	// trigger the function being tested
-	suite.webfingerModule.WebfingerGETRequest(ctx)
-
-	// check response
-	suite.EqualValues(http.StatusOK, recorder.Code)
-
-	result := recorder.Result()
-	defer result.Body.Close()
-	b, err := ioutil.ReadAll(result.Body)
-	suite.NoError(err)
-	dst := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	err = json.Indent(dst, b, "", "  ")
-	suite.NoError(err)
+	resp := suite.finger(requestPath)
 	suite.Equal(`{
   "subject": "acct:the_mighty_zork@localhost:8080",
   "aliases": [
@@ -237,7 +220,7 @@ func (suite *WebfingerGetTestSuite) TestFingerUserWithoutAcct() {
       "href": "http://localhost:8080/users/the_mighty_zork"
     }
   ]
-}`, dst.String())
+}`, resp)
 }
 
 func TestWebfingerGetTestSuite(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/internal/transport/finger.go b/internal/transport/finger.go
index 4c3cacd7d..f106019b5 100644
--- a/internal/transport/finger.go
+++ b/internal/transport/finger.go
@@ -59,8 +59,10 @@ func prepWebfingerReq(ctx context.Context, loc, domain, username string) (*http.
 	value := url.QueryEscape("acct:" + username + "@" + domain)
 	req.URL.RawQuery = "resource=" + value
 
+	// Prefer application/jrd+json, fall back to application/json.
+	// See https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7033#section-10.2.
+	req.Header.Add("Accept", string(apiutil.AppJRDJSON))
 	req.Header.Add("Accept", string(apiutil.AppJSON))
-	req.Header.Add("Accept", "application/jrd+json")
 	req.Header.Set("Host", req.URL.Host)
 
 	return req, nil