diff --git a/boot.php b/boot.php
index 8434d34c70..adfeeb415f 100644
--- a/boot.php
+++ b/boot.php
@@ -1896,31 +1896,6 @@ function is_site_admin() {
 	return false;
 }
 
-
-function load_contact_links($uid) {
-
-	$a = get_app();
-
-	$ret = array();
-
-	if(! $uid || x($a->contacts,'empty'))
-		return;
-
-	$r = q("SELECT `id`,`network`,`url`,`thumb`, `rel` FROM `contact` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `self` = 0 AND `blocked` = 0 AND `thumb` != ''",
-			intval($uid)
-	);
-	if(count($r)) {
-		foreach($r as $rr){
-			$url = normalise_link($rr['url']);
-			$ret[$url] = $rr;
-		}
-	} else
-		$ret['empty'] = true;
-
-	$a->contacts = $ret;
-	return;
-}
-
 /**
  * @brief Returns querystring as string from a mapped array.
  *
diff --git a/include/Contact.php b/include/Contact.php
index 79a14ab581..6297cdbe74 100644
--- a/include/Contact.php
+++ b/include/Contact.php
@@ -192,72 +192,86 @@ function unmark_for_death($contact) {
 	);
 }}
 
-function get_contact_details_by_url($url, $uid = -1) {
+/**
+ * @brief Get contact data for a given profile link
+ *
+ * The function looks at several places (contact table and gcontact table) for the contact
+ *
+ * @param string $url The profile link
+ * @param int $uid User id
+ * @param array $default If not data was found take this data as default value
+ *
+ * @return array Contact data
+ */
+function get_contact_details_by_url($url, $uid = -1, $default = array()) {
 	if ($uid == -1)
 		$uid = local_user();
 
-	$r = q("SELECT `id` AS `gid`, `url`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `photo`, `location`, `about`, `keywords`, `gender`, `community`, `network` FROM `gcontact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
-		dbesc(normalise_link($url)));
+	// Fetch contact data from the contact table for the user and given network
+	$r = q("SELECT `id`, `id` AS `cid`, 0 AS `gid`, `uid`, `url`, `nurl`, `alias`, `network`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`,
+			`keywords`, `gender`, `photo`, `thumb`, `forum`, `prv`, (`forum` | `prv`) AS `community`, `bd` AS `birthday`, `self`
+		FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d AND `network` IN ('%s', '')",
+			dbesc(normalise_link($url)), intval($uid), dbesc($profile["network"]));
+
+	// Is the contact present for the user in a different network? (Can happen with OStatus and the "Statusnet" addon)
+	if (!count($r) AND !isset($profile))
+		$r = q("SELECT `id`, `id` AS `cid`, 0 AS `gid`, `uid`, `url`, `nurl`, `alias`, `network`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`,
+				`keywords`, `gender`, `photo`, `thumb`, `forum`, `prv`, (`forum` | `prv`) AS `community`, `bd` AS `birthday`, `self`
+			FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d",
+				dbesc(normalise_link($url)), intval($uid));
+
+	// Fetch the data from the contact table with "uid=0" (which is filled automatically)
+	if (!count($r) AND !isset($profile))
+		$r = q("SELECT `id`, 0 AS `cid`, 0 AS `gid`, `uid`, `url`, `nurl`, `alias`, `network`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`,
+				`keywords`, `gender`, `photo`, `thumb`, `forum`, `prv`, (`forum` | `prv`) AS `community`, `bd` AS `birthday`, 0 AS `self`
+			FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = 0",
+				dbesc(normalise_link($url)));
+
+	// Fetch the data from the gcontact table
+	if (!count($r) AND !isset($profile))
+		$r = q("SELECT 0 AS `id`, 0 AS `cid`, `id` AS `gid`, 0 AS `uid`, `url`, `nurl`, `alias`, `network`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`,
+				`keywords`, `gender`, `photo`, `photo` AS `thumb`, `community` AS `forum`, 0 AS `prv`, `community`, `birthday`, 0 AS `self`
+			FROM `gcontact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
+				dbesc(normalise_link($url)));
 
 	if ($r) {
 		$profile = $r[0];
 
-		if ((($profile["addr"] == "") OR ($profile["name"] == "")) AND
-			in_array($profile["network"], array(NETWORK_DFRN, NETWORK_DIASPORA, NETWORK_OSTATUS)))
-			proc_run('php',"include/update_gcontact.php", $profile["gid"]);
+		// "bd" always contains the upcoming birthday of a contact.
+		// "birthday" might contain the birthday including the year of birth.
+		if ($profile["birthday"] != "0000-00-00") {
+			$bd_timestamp = strtotime($profile["birthday"]);
+			$month = date("m", $bd_timestamp);
+			$day = date("d", $bd_timestamp);
+
+			$current_timestamp = time();
+			$current_year = date("Y", $current_timestamp);
+			$current_month = date("m", $current_timestamp);
+			$current_day = date("d", $current_timestamp);
+
+			$profile["bd"] = $current_year."-".$month."-".$day;
+			$current = $current_year."-".$current_month."-".$current_day;
+
+			if ($profile["bd"] < $current)
+				$profile["bd"] = (++$current_year)."-".$month."-".$day;
+		} else
+			$profile["bd"] = "0000-00-00";
+	} else {
+		$profile = $default;
+		if (!isset($profile["thumb"]) AND isset($profile["photo"]))
+			$profile["thumb"] = $profile["photo"];
 	}
 
-	// Fetching further contact data from the contact table
-	$r = q("SELECT `id`, `uid`, `url`, `network`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`, `keywords`, `gender`, `photo`, `thumb`, `addr`, `forum`, `prv`, `bd`, `self` FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d AND `network` IN ('%s', '')",
-		dbesc(normalise_link($url)), intval($uid), dbesc($profile["network"]));
-
-	if (!count($r) AND !isset($profile))
-		$r = q("SELECT `id`, `uid`, `url`, `network`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`, `keywords`, `gender`, `photo`, `thumb`, `addr`, `forum`, `prv`, `bd`, `self` FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d",
-			dbesc(normalise_link($url)), intval($uid));
-
-	if (!count($r) AND !isset($profile))
-		$r = q("SELECT `id`, `uid`, `url`, `network`, `name`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`, `keywords`, `gender`, `photo`, `thumb`, `addr`, `forum`, `prv`, `bd` FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = 0",
-			dbesc(normalise_link($url)));
-
-	if ($r) {
-		if (!isset($profile["url"]) AND $r[0]["url"])
-			$profile["url"] = $r[0]["url"];
-		if (!isset($profile["name"]) AND $r[0]["name"])
-			$profile["name"] = $r[0]["name"];
-		if (!isset($profile["nick"]) AND $r[0]["nick"])
-			$profile["nick"] = $r[0]["nick"];
-		if (!isset($profile["addr"]) AND $r[0]["addr"])
-			$profile["addr"] = $r[0]["addr"];
-		if ((!isset($profile["photo"]) OR $r[0]["self"]) AND $r[0]["photo"])
-			$profile["photo"] = $r[0]["photo"];
-		if (!isset($profile["location"]) AND $r[0]["location"])
-			$profile["location"] = $r[0]["location"];
-		if (!isset($profile["about"]) AND $r[0]["about"])
-			$profile["about"] = $r[0]["about"];
-		if (!isset($profile["keywords"]) AND $r[0]["keywords"])
-			$profile["keywords"] = $r[0]["keywords"];
-		if (!isset($profile["gender"]) AND $r[0]["gender"])
-			$profile["gender"] = $r[0]["gender"];
-		if (isset($r[0]["forum"]) OR isset($r[0]["prv"]))
-			$profile["community"] = ($r[0]["forum"] OR $r[0]["prv"]);
-		if (!isset($profile["network"]) AND $r[0]["network"])
-			$profile["network"] = $r[0]["network"];
-		if (!isset($profile["addr"]) AND $r[0]["addr"])
-			$profile["addr"] = $r[0]["addr"];
-		if (!isset($profile["bd"]) AND $r[0]["bd"])
-			$profile["bd"] = $r[0]["bd"];
-		if (isset($r[0]["thumb"]))
-			$profile["thumb"] = $r[0]["thumb"];
-		if ($r[0]["uid"] == 0)
-			$profile["cid"] = 0;
-		else
-			$profile["cid"] = $r[0]["id"];
-	} else
-		$profile["cid"] = 0;
+	if ((($profile["addr"] == "") OR ($profile["name"] == "")) AND ($profile["gid"] != 0) AND
+		in_array($profile["network"], array(NETWORK_DFRN, NETWORK_DIASPORA, NETWORK_OSTATUS)))
+		proc_run('php',"include/update_gcontact.php", $profile["gid"]);
 
+	// Show contact details of Diaspora contacts only if connected
 	if (($profile["cid"] == 0) AND ($profile["network"] == NETWORK_DIASPORA)) {
 		$profile["location"] = "";
 		$profile["about"] = "";
+		$profile["gender"] = "";
+		$profile["birthday"] = "0000-00-00";
 	}
 
 	return($profile);
diff --git a/include/api.php b/include/api.php
index 488e858445..f32dc97c6c 100644
--- a/include/api.php
+++ b/include/api.php
@@ -270,8 +270,6 @@
 							api_login($a);
 					}
 
-					load_contact_links(api_user());
-
 					logger('API call for ' . $a->user['username'] . ': ' . $a->query_string);
 					logger('API parameters: ' . print_r($_REQUEST,true));
 
diff --git a/include/conversation.php b/include/conversation.php
index d889ba0020..38f6e76862 100644
--- a/include/conversation.php
+++ b/include/conversation.php
@@ -389,6 +389,7 @@ if(!function_exists('conversation')) {
 function conversation(&$a, $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false) {
 
 	require_once('include/bbcode.php');
+	require_once('include/Contact.php');
 	require_once('mod/proxy.php');
 
 	$ssl_state = ((local_user()) ? true : false);
@@ -494,8 +495,6 @@ function conversation(&$a, $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false) {
 	else
 		$return_url = $_SESSION['return_url'] = $a->query_string;
 
-	load_contact_links(local_user());
-
 	$cb = array('items' => $items, 'mode' => $mode, 'update' => $update, 'preview' => $preview);
 	call_hooks('conversation_start',$cb);
 
@@ -610,11 +609,12 @@ function conversation(&$a, $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false) {
 				else
 					$profile_link = zrl($profile_link);
 
-				$normalised = normalise_link((strlen($item['author-link'])) ? $item['author-link'] : $item['url']);
-				if(($normalised != 'mailbox') && (x($a->contacts[$normalised])))
-					$profile_avatar = $a->contacts[$normalised]['thumb'];
+				// Don't rely on the author-avatar. It is better to use the data from the contact table
+				$author_contact = get_contact_details_by_url($item['author-link'], $profile_owner);
+				if ($author_contact["thumb"])
+					$profile_avatar = $author_contact["thumb"];
 				else
-					$profile_avatar = $a->remove_baseurl(((strlen($item['author-avatar'])) ? $item['author-avatar'] : $item['thumb']));
+					$profile_avatar = $item['author-avatar'];
 
 				$locate = array('location' => $item['location'], 'coord' => $item['coord'], 'html' => '');
 				call_hooks('render_location',$locate);
@@ -682,7 +682,7 @@ function conversation(&$a, $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false) {
 					'name' => $profile_name_e,
 					'sparkle' => $sparkle,
 					'lock' => $lock,
-					'thumb' => proxy_url($profile_avatar, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+					'thumb' => App::remove_baseurl(proxy_url($profile_avatar, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB)),
 					'title' => $item['title_e'],
 					'body' => $body_e,
 					'tags' => $tags_e,
@@ -812,15 +812,7 @@ function best_link_url($item,&$sparkle,$ssl_state = false) {
 
 	$clean_url = normalise_link($item['author-link']);
 
-	if((local_user()) && (local_user() == $item['uid'])) {
-		if(isset($a->contacts) && x($a->contacts,$clean_url)) {
-			if($a->contacts[$clean_url]['network'] === NETWORK_DFRN) {
-				$best_url = 'redir/'.$a->contacts[$clean_url]['id'];
-				$sparkle = true;
-			} else
-				$best_url = $a->contacts[$clean_url]['url'];
-		}
-	} elseif (local_user()) {
+	if (local_user()) {
 		$r = q("SELECT `id` FROM `contact` WHERE `network` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d AND `nurl` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
 			dbesc(NETWORK_DFRN), intval(local_user()), dbesc(normalise_link($clean_url)));
 		if ($r) {
@@ -845,11 +837,9 @@ function item_photo_menu($item){
 
 	$ssl_state = false;
 
-	if(local_user()) {
+	if(local_user())
 		$ssl_state = true;
-		 if(! count($a->contacts))
-			load_contact_links(local_user());
-	}
+
 	$sub_link="";
 	$poke_link="";
 	$contact_url="";
@@ -857,6 +847,7 @@ function item_photo_menu($item){
 	$status_link="";
 	$photos_link="";
 	$posts_link="";
+	$network = "";
 
 	if((local_user()) && local_user() == $item['uid'] && $item['parent'] == $item['id'] && (! $item['self'])) {
 		$sub_link = 'javascript:dosubthread(' . $item['id'] . '); return false;';
@@ -867,46 +858,32 @@ function item_photo_menu($item){
 	if($profile_link === 'mailbox')
 		$profile_link = '';
 
+	$cid = 0;
+	$network = "";
+	$rel = 0;
+	$r = q("SELECT `id`, `network`, `rel` FROM `contact` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `nurl` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
+		intval(local_user()), dbesc(normalise_link($item['author-link'])));
+	if ($r) {
+		$cid = $r[0]["id"];
+		$network = $r[0]["network"];
+		$rel = $r[0]["rel"];
+	}
+
 	if($sparkle) {
-		$cid = intval(basename($profile_link));
-		$status_link = $profile_link . "?url=status";
-		$photos_link = $profile_link . "?url=photos";
-		$profile_link = $profile_link . "?url=profile";
-		$pm_url = 'message/new/' . $cid;
+		$status_link = $profile_link."?url=status";
+		$photos_link = $profile_link."?url=photos";
+		$profile_link = $profile_link."?url=profile";
 		$zurl = '';
-	}
-	else {
+	} else
 		$profile_link = zrl($profile_link);
-		if(local_user() && local_user() == $item['uid'] && link_compare($item['url'],$item['author-link'])) {
-			$cid = $item['contact-id'];
-		} else {
-			$r = q("SELECT `id`, `network` FROM `contact` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `nurl` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
-				intval(local_user()), dbesc(normalise_link($item['author-link'])));
-			if ($r) {
-				$cid = $r[0]["id"];
 
-				if ($r[0]["network"] == NETWORK_DIASPORA)
-					$pm_url = 'message/new/' . $cid;
-
-			} else
-				$cid = 0;
-		}
-	}
-	if(($cid) && (! $item['self'])) {
-		$poke_link = 'poke/?f=&c=' . $cid;
-		$contact_url = 'contacts/' . $cid;
-		$posts_link = 'contacts/' . $cid . '/posts';
-
-		$clean_url = normalise_link($item['author-link']);
-
-		if((local_user()) && (local_user() == $item['uid'])) {
-			if(isset($a->contacts) && x($a->contacts,$clean_url)) {
-				if($a->contacts[$clean_url]['network'] === NETWORK_DIASPORA) {
-					$pm_url = 'message/new/' . $cid;
-				}
-			}
-		}
+	if($cid && !$item['self']) {
+		$poke_link = 'poke/?f=&c='.$cid;
+		$contact_url = 'contacts/'.$cid;
+		$posts_link = 'contacts/'.$cid.'/posts';
 
+		if (in_array($network, array(NETWORK_DFRN, NETWORK_DIASPORA)))
+			$pm_url = 'message/new/'.$cid;
 	}
 
 	if (local_user()) {
@@ -920,10 +897,10 @@ function item_photo_menu($item){
 			t("Send PM") => $pm_url
 		);
 
-		if ($a->contacts[$clean_url]['network'] === NETWORK_DFRN)
+		if ($network == NETWORK_DFRN)
 			$menu[t("Poke")] = $poke_link;
 
-		if ((($cid == 0) OR ($a->contacts[$clean_url]['rel'] == CONTACT_IS_FOLLOWER)) AND
+		if ((($cid == 0) OR ($rel == CONTACT_IS_FOLLOWER)) AND
 			in_array($item['network'], array(NETWORK_DFRN, NETWORK_OSTATUS, NETWORK_DIASPORA)))
 			$menu[t("Connect/Follow")] = "follow?url=".urlencode($item['author-link']);
 	} else
diff --git a/include/identity.php b/include/identity.php
index 580539c071..48a6c5bbf7 100644
--- a/include/identity.php
+++ b/include/identity.php
@@ -345,18 +345,21 @@ function profile_sidebar($profile, $block = 0) {
 			? trim(substr($profile['name'],0,strpos($profile['name'],' '))) : $profile['name']);
 	$lastname = (($firstname === $profile['name']) ? '' : trim(substr($profile['name'],strlen($firstname))));
 
-	$diaspora = array(
-		'guid' => $profile['guid'],
-		'podloc' => $a->get_baseurl(),
-		'searchable' => (($profile['publish'] && $profile['net-publish']) ? 'true' : 'false' ),
-		'nickname' => $profile['nickname'],
-		'fullname' => $profile['name'],
-		'firstname' => $firstname,
-		'lastname' => $lastname,
-		'photo300' => $a->get_baseurl() . '/photo/custom/300/' . $profile['uid'] . '.jpg',
-		'photo100' => $a->get_baseurl() . '/photo/custom/100/' . $profile['uid'] . '.jpg',
-		'photo50' => $a->get_baseurl() . '/photo/custom/50/'  . $profile['uid'] . '.jpg',
-	);
+	if ($profile['guid'] != "")
+		$diaspora = array(
+			'guid' => $profile['guid'],
+			'podloc' => $a->get_baseurl(),
+			'searchable' => (($profile['publish'] && $profile['net-publish']) ? 'true' : 'false' ),
+			'nickname' => $profile['nickname'],
+			'fullname' => $profile['name'],
+			'firstname' => $firstname,
+			'lastname' => $lastname,
+			'photo300' => $a->get_baseurl() . '/photo/custom/300/' . $profile['uid'] . '.jpg',
+			'photo100' => $a->get_baseurl() . '/photo/custom/100/' . $profile['uid'] . '.jpg',
+			'photo50' => $a->get_baseurl() . '/photo/custom/50/'  . $profile['uid'] . '.jpg',
+		);
+	else
+		$diaspora = false;
 
 	if (!$block){
 		$contact_block = contact_block();
diff --git a/mod/allfriends.php b/mod/allfriends.php
index 356a389b83..360b222b50 100644
--- a/mod/allfriends.php
+++ b/mod/allfriends.php
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ function allfriends_content(&$a) {
 	foreach($r as $rr) {
 
 		//get further details of the contact
-		$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr['url'], $uid);
+		$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr['url'], $uid, $rr);
 
 		$photo_menu = '';
 
@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ function allfriends_content(&$a) {
 		$entry = array(
 			'url'		=> $rr['url'],
 			'itemurl'	=> (($contact_details['addr'] != "") ? $contact_details['addr'] : $rr['url']),
-			'name'		=> htmlentities($rr['name']),
-			'thumb'		=> proxy_url($rr['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
-			'img_hover'	=> htmlentities($rr['name']),
+			'name'		=> htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
+			'thumb'		=> proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'img_hover'	=> htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
 			'details'	=> $contact_details['location'],
 			'tags'		=> $contact_details['keywords'],
 			'about'		=> $contact_details['about'],
diff --git a/mod/common.php b/mod/common.php
index 62a5185fed..9b2c69f6d7 100644
--- a/mod/common.php
+++ b/mod/common.php
@@ -109,14 +109,14 @@ function common_content(&$a) {
 		$rr[id] = $rr[cid];
 
 		$photo_menu = '';
-		$photo_menu = contact_photo_menu ($rr);
+		$photo_menu = contact_photo_menu($rr);
 
 		$entry = array(
 			'url'		=> $rr['url'],
 			'itemurl'	=> (($contact_details['addr'] != "") ? $contact_details['addr'] : $rr['url']),
-			'name'		=> $rr['name'],
-			'thumb'		=> proxy_url($rr['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
-			'img_hover'	=> htmlentities($rr['name']),
+			'name'		=> $contact_details['name'],
+			'thumb'		=> proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'img_hover'	=> htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
 			'details'	=> $contact_details['location'],
 			'tags'		=> $contact_details['keywords'],
 			'about'		=> $contact_details['about'],
diff --git a/mod/content.php b/mod/content.php
index 49cff74d2d..71ed927636 100644
--- a/mod/content.php
+++ b/mod/content.php
@@ -416,11 +416,12 @@ function render_content(&$a, $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false) {
 				else
 					$profile_link = zrl($profile_link);
 
-				$normalised = normalise_link((strlen($item['author-link'])) ? $item['author-link'] : $item['url']);
-				if(($normalised != 'mailbox') && (x($a->contacts[$normalised])))
-					$profile_avatar = $a->contacts[$normalised]['thumb'];
+				// Don't rely on the author-avatar. It is better to use the data from the contact table
+				$author_contact = get_contact_details_by_url($item['author-link'], $profile_owner);
+				if ($author_contact["thumb"])
+					$profile_avatar = $author_contact["thumb"];
 				else
-					$profile_avatar = $a->remove_baseurl(((strlen($item['author-avatar'])) ? $item['author-avatar'] : $item['thumb']));
+					$profile_avatar = $item['author-avatar'];
 
 				$locate = array('location' => $item['location'], 'coord' => $item['coord'], 'html' => '');
 				call_hooks('render_location',$locate);
@@ -787,11 +788,12 @@ function render_content(&$a, $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false) {
 				else
 					$profile_link = zrl($profile_link);
 
-				$normalised = normalise_link((strlen($item['author-link'])) ? $item['author-link'] : $item['url']);
-				if(($normalised != 'mailbox') && (x($a->contacts,$normalised)))
-					$profile_avatar = $a->contacts[$normalised]['thumb'];
+				// Don't rely on the author-avatar. It is better to use the data from the contact table
+				$author_contact = get_contact_details_by_url($item['author-link'], $profile_owner);
+				if ($author_contact["thumb"])
+					$profile_avatar = $author_contact["thumb"];
 				else
-					$profile_avatar = $a->remove_baseurl(((strlen($item['author-avatar']) && $diff_author) ? $item['author-avatar'] : $thumb));
+					$profile_avatar = $item['author-avatar'];
 
 				$like    = ((x($alike,$item['uri'])) ? format_like($alike[$item['uri']],$alike[$item['uri'] . '-l'],'like',$item['uri']) : '');
 				$dislike = ((x($dlike,$item['uri'])) ? format_like($dlike[$item['uri']],$dlike[$item['uri'] . '-l'],'dislike',$item['uri']) : '');
@@ -805,9 +807,9 @@ function render_content(&$a, $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false) {
 
 				$shiny = "";
 				if(strcmp(datetime_convert('UTC','UTC',$item['created']),datetime_convert('UTC','UTC','now - 12 hours')) > 0)
-					$shiny = 'shiny'; 
+					$shiny = 'shiny';
 
-				// 
+				//
 				localize_item($item);
 
 
diff --git a/mod/dirfind.php b/mod/dirfind.php
index 106c4c76a6..0d89f56f82 100644
--- a/mod/dirfind.php
+++ b/mod/dirfind.php
@@ -133,6 +133,8 @@ function dirfind_content(&$a, $prefix = "") {
 				if (poco_alternate_ostatus_url($result["url"]))
 					 continue;
 
+				$result = get_contact_details_by_url($result["url"], local_user(), $result);
+
 				if ($result["name"] == "") {
 					$urlparts = parse_url($result["url"]);
 					$result["name"] = end(explode("/", $urlparts["path"]));
diff --git a/mod/display.php b/mod/display.php
index 21fff7866c..949ba5ab46 100644
--- a/mod/display.php
+++ b/mod/display.php
@@ -112,6 +112,8 @@ function display_init(&$a) {
 
 function display_fetchauthor($a, $item) {
 
+	require_once("include/Contact.php");
+
 	$profiledata = array();
 	$profiledata["uid"] = -1;
 	$profiledata["nickname"] = $item["author-name"];
@@ -176,61 +178,9 @@ function display_fetchauthor($a, $item) {
 		$profiledata["about"] = "";
 	}
 
-	// Don't show details from Diaspora contacts if you don't follow the contact
-	$showdetails = ($profiledata["network"] != NETWORK_DIASPORA);
+	$profiledata = get_contact_details_by_url($profiledata["url"], local_user(), $profiledata);
 
-	// Fetching further contact data from the contact table
-	$r = q("SELECT `uid`, `network`, `name`, `photo`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`, `gender`, `keywords`
-		FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d AND `network` = '%s' AND `rel` IN (%d, %d)",
-		dbesc(normalise_link($profiledata["url"])), intval(local_user()), dbesc($item["network"]),
-		intval(CONTACT_IS_SHARING), intval(CONTACT_IS_FRIEND));
-	if (!count($r))
-		$r = q("SELECT `uid`, `network`, `name`, `photo`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`, `gender`, `keywords`
-			FROM `contact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d AND `rel` IN (%d, %d)",
-			dbesc(normalise_link($profiledata["url"])), intval(local_user()),
-			intval(CONTACT_IS_SHARING), intval(CONTACT_IS_FRIEND));
-
-	if (count($r)) {
-		$profiledata["name"] = $r[0]["name"];
-		$profiledata["photo"] = $r[0]["photo"];
-		$profiledata["nickname"] = $r[0]["nick"];
-		$profiledata["addr"] = $r[0]["addr"];
-		$profiledata["keywords"] = $r[0]["keywords"];
-		$profiledata["network"] = $r[0]["network"];
-
-		if (local_user() OR $showdetails) {
-			$showdetails = true;
-			$profiledata["address"] = $r[0]["location"];
-			$profiledata["about"] = $r[0]["about"];
-			$profiledata["gender"] = $r[0]["gender"];
-		}
-	}
-
-	// Fetching profile data from global contacts
-	if ($profiledata["network"] != NETWORK_FEED) {
-		$r = q("SELECT `name`, `photo`, `nick`, `addr`, `location`, `about`, `gender`, `keywords`, `network` FROM `gcontact` WHERE `nurl` = '%s'", dbesc(normalise_link($profiledata["url"])));
-		if (count($r)) {
-			$profiledata["name"] = $r[0]["name"];
-			$profiledata["photo"] = $r[0]["photo"];
-			$profiledata["nickname"] = $r[0]["nick"];
-			$profiledata["addr"] = $r[0]["addr"];
-			$profiledata["network"] = $r[0]["network"];
-
-			if ($r[0]["keywords"])
-				$profiledata["keywords"] = $r[0]["keywords"];
-
-			if ($showdetails) {
-				if ($r[0]["location"])
-					$profiledata["address"] = $r[0]["location"];
-
-				if ($r[0]["about"])
-					$profiledata["about"] = $r[0]["about"];
-
-				if ($r[0]["gender"])
-					$profiledata["gender"] = $r[0]["gender"];
-			}
-		}
-	}
+	$profiledata["photo"] = App::remove_baseurl($profiledata["photo"]);
 
 	if (local_user()) {
 		if (in_array($profiledata["network"], array(NETWORK_DFRN, NETWORK_DIASPORA, NETWORK_OSTATUS)))
@@ -482,9 +432,7 @@ function display_content(&$a, $update = 0) {
 		$title = trim(html2plain(bbcode($r[0]["title"], false, false), 0, true));
 		$author_name = $r[0]["author-name"];
 
-		$image = "";
-		if ($image == "")
-			$image = $r[0]["thumb"];
+		$image = $a->remove_baseurl($r[0]["thumb"]);
 
 		if ($title == "")
 			$title = $author_name;
diff --git a/mod/hovercard.php b/mod/hovercard.php
index f5c410e111..4a6619b788 100644
--- a/mod/hovercard.php
+++ b/mod/hovercard.php
@@ -48,11 +48,6 @@ function hovercard_content() {
 	if($nurl) {
 		// Search for contact data
 		$contact = get_contact_details_by_url($nurl);
-
-		// Get_contact_details_by_url() doesn't provide the nurl but we
-		// need it for the photo_menu, so we copy it to the contact array
-		if (!isset($contact["nurl"]))
-			$contact["nurl"] = $nurl;
 	}
 
 	if(!is_array($contact))
@@ -69,7 +64,7 @@ function hovercard_content() {
 		'name' => $contact["name"],
 		'nick'	=> $contact["nick"],
 		'addr'	=> (($contact["addr"] != "") ? $contact["addr"] : $contact["url"]),
-		'thumb' => proxy_url($contact["photo"], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+		'thumb' => proxy_url($contact["thumb"], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
 		'url' => ($cid ? ("redir/".$cid) : zrl($contact["url"])),
 		'nurl' => $contact["nurl"], // We additionally store the nurl as identifier
 //		'alias' => $contact["alias"],
diff --git a/mod/message.php b/mod/message.php
index f0ab7d2ac9..b5c6c064dc 100644
--- a/mod/message.php
+++ b/mod/message.php
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ function message_content(&$a) {
 				'from_name' => $from_name_e,
 				'from_url' => $from_url,
 				'sparkle' => $sparkle,
-				'from_photo' => $message['from-photo'],
+				'from_photo' => proxy_url($message['from-photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
 				'subject' => $subject_e,
 				'body' => $body_e,
 				'delete' => t('Delete message'),
diff --git a/mod/nogroup.php b/mod/nogroup.php
index 9f6e978433..2f0985c9db 100644
--- a/mod/nogroup.php
+++ b/mod/nogroup.php
@@ -35,18 +35,18 @@ function nogroup_content(&$a) {
 	if(count($r)) {
 		foreach($r as $rr) {
 
-			$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr['url'], local_user());
+			$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr['url'], local_user(), $rr);
 
 			$contacts[] = array(
-				'img_hover' => sprintf( t('Visit %s\'s profile [%s]'),$rr['name'],$rr['url']),
+				'img_hover' => sprintf(t('Visit %s\'s profile [%s]'), $contact_details['name'], $rr['url']),
 				'edit_hover' => t('Edit contact'),
 				'photo_menu' => contact_photo_menu($rr),
 				'id' => $rr['id'],
 				'alt_text' => $alt_text,
 				'dir_icon' => $dir_icon,
-				'thumb' => $rr['thumb'],
-				'name' => $rr['name'],
-				'username' => $rr['name'],
+				'thumb' => proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+				'name' => $contact_details['name'],
+				'username' => $contact_details['name'],
 				'details'       => $contact_details['location'],
 				'tags'          => $contact_details['keywords'],
 				'about'         => $contact_details['about'],
diff --git a/mod/suggest.php b/mod/suggest.php
index b73c2cd1b6..bb8823d9ec 100644
--- a/mod/suggest.php
+++ b/mod/suggest.php
@@ -81,14 +81,14 @@ function suggest_content(&$a) {
 		$photo_menu = array(array(t("View Profile"), zrl($rr["url"])));
 		$photo_menu[] = array(t("Connect/Follow"), $connlnk);
 		$photo_menu[] = array(t('Ignore/Hide'), $ignlnk);
-		$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr["url"], local_user());
+		$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr["url"], local_user(), $rr);
 
 		$entry = array(
 			'url' => zrl($rr['url']),
 			'itemurl' => (($contact_details['addr'] != "") ? $contact_details['addr'] : $rr['url']),
 			'img_hover' => $rr['url'],
-			'name' => $rr['name'],
-			'thumb' => proxy_url($rr['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'name' => $contact_details['name'],
+			'thumb' => proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
 			'details'       => $contact_details['location'],
 			'tags'          => $contact_details['keywords'],
 			'about'         => $contact_details['about'],
diff --git a/mod/viewcontacts.php b/mod/viewcontacts.php
index 04520e0d93..2e36a3bd7a 100644
--- a/mod/viewcontacts.php
+++ b/mod/viewcontacts.php
@@ -90,15 +90,15 @@ function viewcontacts_content(&$a) {
 		else
 			$url = zrl($url);
 
-		$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr['url'], $a->profile['uid']);
+		$contact_details = get_contact_details_by_url($rr['url'], $a->profile['uid'], $rr);
 
 		$contacts[] = array(
 			'id' => $rr['id'],
-			'img_hover' => sprintf( t('Visit %s\'s profile [%s]'), $rr['name'], $rr['url']),
+			'img_hover' => sprintf( t('Visit %s\'s profile [%s]'), $contact_details['name'], $rr['url']),
 			'photo_menu' => contact_photo_menu($rr),
-			'thumb' => proxy_url($rr['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
-			'name' => htmlentities(substr($rr['name'],0,20)),
-			'username' => htmlentities($rr['name']),
+			'thumb' => proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'name' => htmlentities(substr($contact_details['name'],0,20)),
+			'username' => htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
 			'details'       => $contact_details['location'],
 			'tags'          => $contact_details['keywords'],
 			'about'         => $contact_details['about'],
diff --git a/object/Item.php b/object/Item.php
index 59659cdaff..a907ff228a 100644
--- a/object/Item.php
+++ b/object/Item.php
@@ -150,11 +150,12 @@ class Item extends BaseObject {
 		else
 			$profile_link = zrl($profile_link);
 
-		$normalised = normalise_link((strlen($item['author-link'])) ? $item['author-link'] : $item['url']);
-		if(($normalised != 'mailbox') && (x($a->contacts,$normalised)))
-			$profile_avatar = $a->contacts[$normalised]['thumb'];
+		// Don't rely on the author-avatar. It is better to use the data from the contact table
+		$author_contact = get_contact_details_by_url($item['author-link'], $profile_owner);
+		if ($author_contact["thumb"])
+			$profile_avatar = $author_contact["thumb"];
 		else
-			$profile_avatar = (((strlen($item['author-avatar'])) && $diff_author) ? $item['author-avatar'] : $a->remove_baseurl($this->get_data_value('thumb')));
+			$profile_avatar = $item['author-avatar'];
 
 		$locate = array('location' => $item['location'], 'coord' => $item['coord'], 'html' => '');
 		call_hooks('render_location',$locate);
@@ -363,7 +364,7 @@ class Item extends BaseObject {
 			'profile_url' => $profile_link,
 			'item_photo_menu' => item_photo_menu($item),
 			'name' => $name_e,
-			'thumb' => proxy_url($profile_avatar, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'thumb' => $a->remove_baseurl(proxy_url($profile_avatar, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB)),
 			'osparkle' => $osparkle,
 			'sparkle' => $sparkle,
 			'title' => $title_e,
diff --git a/view/templates/diaspora_vcard.tpl b/view/templates/diaspora_vcard.tpl
index 58419bd13d..45b9fa4ff7 100644
--- a/view/templates/diaspora_vcard.tpl
+++ b/view/templates/diaspora_vcard.tpl
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-
+{{if $diaspora}}
 <div style="display:none;">
 	<dl class="entity_uid">
 		<dt>Uid</dt>
@@ -61,3 +61,4 @@
 		</dd>
 	</dl>
 </div>
+{{/if}}