diff --git a/avatar/conf.py b/avatar/conf.py
index 2af38ab..bb25c4f 100644
--- a/avatar/conf.py
+++ b/avatar/conf.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class AvatarConf(AppConf):
     DEFAULT_URL = "avatar/img/default.jpg"
     MAX_AVATARS_PER_USER = 42
     MAX_SIZE = 1024 * 1024
-    THUMB_FORMAT = "JPEG"
+    THUMB_FORMAT = "PNG"
     THUMB_QUALITY = 85
     HASH_FILENAMES = False
     HASH_USERDIRNAMES = False
diff --git a/docs/index.txt b/docs/index.txt
index d6128ce..e36b250 100644
--- a/docs/index.txt
+++ b/docs/index.txt
@@ -205,14 +205,22 @@ appear on the site. Listed below are those settings:
 .. py:data:: AVATAR_RESIZE_METHOD
 
     The method to use when resizing images, based on the options available in
-    PIL. Defaults to ``Image.ANTIALIAS``.
+    Pillow. Defaults to ``Image.ANTIALIAS``.
 
 .. py:data:: AVATAR_STORAGE_DIR
 
     The directory under ``MEDIA_ROOT`` to store the images. If using a
     non-filesystem storage device, this will simply be appended to the beginning
     of the file name.  Defaults to ``avatars``.
-    PIL. Defaults to ``Image.ANTIALIAS``.
+    Pillow. Defaults to ``Image.ANTIALIAS``.
+
+.. py:data:: AVATAR_THUMB_FORMAT
+    The file format of thumbnails, based on the options available in
+    Pillow. Defaults to `PNG`.
+
+.. py:data:: AVATAR_THUMB_QUALITY
+    The quality of thumbnails, between 0 (worst) to 95 (best) or the string
+    "keep" (only JPEG) as provided by Pillow. Defaults to `85`.
 
 .. py:data:: AVATAR_CLEANUP_DELETED
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index b58b54e..3c03009 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ setup(
         ],
     },
     install_requires=[
-        "Pillow>=2.0",
-        "django-appconf>=0.6",
+        "Pillow>=9.2.0",
+        "django-appconf>=1.0.5",
     ],
     zip_safe=False,
 )
diff --git a/tests/settings.py b/tests/settings.py
index 7dc5607..458c42d 100644
--- a/tests/settings.py
+++ b/tests/settings.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ TEMPLATES = [
             "context_processors": [
                 "django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth",
                 "django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages",
+                "django.template.context_processors.request",
             ]
         },
     }
diff --git a/tests/tests.py b/tests/tests.py
index 6763a5f..c1ca0ca 100644
--- a/tests/tests.py
+++ b/tests/tests.py
@@ -217,7 +217,6 @@ class AvatarTests(TestCase):
         self.assertNotEqual(response.context["upload_avatar_form"].errors, {})
         self.assertEqual(count_before, count_after)
 
-    @override_settings(AVATAR_THUMB_FORMAT="png")
     def test_automatic_thumbnail_creation_RGBA(self):
         upload_helper(self, "django.png")
         avatar = get_primary_avatar(self.user)
@@ -228,6 +227,7 @@ class AvatarTests(TestCase):
         )
         self.assertEqual(image.mode, "RGBA")
 
+    @override_settings(AVATAR_THUMB_FORMAT="JPEG")
     def test_automatic_thumbnail_creation_CMYK(self):
         upload_helper(self, "django_pony_cmyk.jpg")
         avatar = get_primary_avatar(self.user)