diff --git a/avatar/__init__.py b/avatar/__init__.py
index 4519e63..59b34a8 100644
--- a/avatar/__init__.py
+++ b/avatar/__init__.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ AVATAR_DEFAULT_URL = getattr(settings, 'AVATAR_DEFAULT_URL',
 AVATAR_MAX_AVATARS_PER_USER = getattr(settings, 'AVATAR_MAX_AVATARS_PER_USER', 42)
 AVATAR_MAX_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'AVATAR_MAX_SIZE', 1024 * 1024)
 AVATAR_THUMB_FORMAT = getattr(settings, 'AVATAR_THUMB_FORMAT', "JPEG")
-AVATAR_DONT_SAVE_DUPLICATES = getattr(settings, 'AVATAR_DONT_SAVE_DUPLICATES', 0)
+AVATAR_DONT_SAVE_DUPLICATES = getattr(settings, 'AVATAR_DONT_SAVE_DUPLICATES', False)
 
 from django.db.models import signals
 from django.contrib.auth.models import User