diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c29aca2..f03e966 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -58,7 +58,9 @@ http://cachet.dunkirk.sh {
 
 ### Usage
 
-The api is pretty simple. You can get a profile picture by calling `GET /profile/:id` where `:id` is the slack user id. You can get an emoji by calling `GET /emoji/:name` where `:name` is the name of the emoji. You can also get a list of all emojis by calling `GET /emojis`.
+The api is pretty simple. You can get a profile picture by calling `GET /users/:id` where `:id` is the slack user id. You can get a redirect to the profile image directly with `GET /users/:id/r`. You can get an emoji by calling `GET /emoji/:name` where `:name` is the name of the emoji. You can also get a list of all emojis by calling `GET /emojis`.
+
+On cache miss, `GET /users/:id` returns `202 Accepted` with a placeholder image URL and queues a background fetch. Retry after a few seconds to get the real profile data.
 
 Additionally, you can manually purge a specific user's cache with `POST /users/:user/purge` (requires authentication with a bearer token).
 
diff --git a/src/handlers/index.ts b/src/handlers/index.ts
index d7e73a3..05efba6 100644
--- a/src/handlers/index.ts
+++ b/src/handlers/index.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 // These will be injected by the route system
 import type { SlackCache } from "../cache";
 import type { RouteHandlerWithAnalytics } from "../lib/analytics-wrapper";
-import type { SlackUser } from "../slack";
 import type { SlackWrapper } from "../slackWrapper";
 
 let cache!: SlackCache;
@@ -72,40 +71,19 @@ export const handleGetUser: RouteHandlerWithAnalytics = async (
 	const userId = url.pathname.split("/").pop() || "";
 	const user = await cache.getUser(userId);
 
-	if (!user || !user.imageUrl) {
-		let slackUser: SlackUser;
-		try {
-			slackUser = await slackApp.getUserInfo(userId);
-		} catch (e) {
-			if (e instanceof Error && e.message === "user_not_found") {
-				recordAnalytics(404);
-				return Response.json({ message: "User not found" }, { status: 404 });
-			}
-
-			recordAnalytics(500);
-			return Response.json(
-				{ message: "Internal server error" },
-				{ status: 500 },
-			);
-		}
-
-		const resolvedId = userId.toUpperCase();
-		await cache.insertUser(
-			resolvedId,
-			slackUser.real_name || slackUser.name || "Unknown",
-			slackUser.profile?.pronouns || "",
-			slackUser.profile?.image_512 || slackUser.profile?.image_192 || "",
+	if (!user?.imageUrl) {
+		cache.queueUserUpdate(userId);
+		recordAnalytics(202);
+		return Response.json(
+			{
+				id: userId.toUpperCase(),
+				userId: userId.toUpperCase(),
+				displayName: "Unknown",
+				pronouns: "",
+				imageUrl: "https://l4.dunkirk.sh/i/5DjfoBI58Pfw.webp",
+			},
+			{ status: 202 },
 		);
-
-		recordAnalytics(200);
-		return Response.json({
-			id: resolvedId,
-			userId: resolvedId,
-			displayName: slackUser.real_name || slackUser.name || "Unknown",
-			pronouns: slackUser.profile?.pronouns || "",
-			imageUrl:
-				slackUser.profile?.image_512 || slackUser.profile?.image_192 || "",
-		});
 	}
 
 	recordAnalytics(200);
diff --git a/src/routes/api-routes.ts b/src/routes/api-routes.ts
index 1d8d883..7c466b7 100644
--- a/src/routes/api-routes.ts
+++ b/src/routes/api-routes.ts
@@ -145,7 +145,19 @@ export function createApiRoutes(cache: SlackCache, slackApp: SlackWrapper) {
 								},
 							},
 						}),
-						apiResponse(404, "User not found"),
+						apiResponse(202, "User not yet cached; background fetch queued. Returns placeholder image.", {
+							type: "object",
+							properties: {
+								id: { type: "string", example: "U062UG485EE" },
+								userId: { type: "string", example: "U062UG485EE" },
+								displayName: { type: "string", example: "Unknown" },
+								pronouns: { type: "string", example: "" },
+								imageUrl: {
+									type: "string",
+									example: "https://l4.dunkirk.sh/i/5DjfoBI58Pfw.webp",
+								},
+							},
+						}),
 					]),
 				},
 			),