diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9980c3c..ac53498 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -96,5 +96,6 @@ These go in `config.json`. See also `config.example.json`.
 |threadTimestamps|false|Whether to show custom timestamps in threads, in addition to Discord's own timestamps. Logs always have accurate timestamps, regardless of this setting.|
 |typingProxy|false|If enabled, any time a user is typing to modmail in their DMs, the modmail thread will show the bot as "typing"|
 |typingProxyReverse|false|If enabled, any time a moderator is typing in a modmail thread, the user will see the bot "typing" in their DMs|
+|updateNotifications|true|Whether to automatically check for bot updates and notify about them in new threads|
 |url|None|URL to use for attachment and log links. Defaults to `IP:PORT`|
 |useNicknames|false|If set to true, mod replies will use their nickname (on the inbox server) instead of their username|
diff --git a/db/migrations/20190609161116_create_updates_table.js b/db/migrations/20190609161116_create_updates_table.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c90e9bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrations/20190609161116_create_updates_table.js
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+exports.up = async function(knex, Promise) {
+  if (! await knex.schema.hasTable('updates')) {
+    await knex.schema.createTable('updates', table => {
+      table.string('available_version', 16).nullable();
+      table.dateTime('last_checked').nullable();
+    });
+  }
+};
+
+exports.down = async function(knex, Promise) {
+  if (await knex.schema.hasTable('updates')) {
+    await knex.schema.dropTable('updates');
+  }
+};
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index b7a72c1..5ad9412 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@
     "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1",
     "lint": "./node_modules/.bin/eslint ./src"
   },
-  "author": "",
+  "repository": {
+    "type": "git",
+    "url": "https://github.com/Dragory/modmailbot"
+  },
   "dependencies": {
     "eris": "github:abalabahaha/eris#dev",
     "humanize-duration": "^3.12.1",
diff --git a/src/config.js b/src/config.js
index 002653a..4d2a45f 100644
--- a/src/config.js
+++ b/src/config.js
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ const defaultConfig = {
 
   "categoryAutomation": {},
 
+  "updateNotifications": true,
+
   "port": 8890,
   "url": null,
 
diff --git a/src/data/threads.js b/src/data/threads.js
index 5b3f903..4275ef7 100644
--- a/src/data/threads.js
+++ b/src/data/threads.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ const bot = require('../bot');
 const knex = require('../knex');
 const config = require('../config');
 const utils = require('../utils');
+const updates = require('./updates');
 
 const Thread = require('./Thread');
 const {THREAD_STATUS} = require('./constants');
@@ -235,6 +236,13 @@ async function createNewThreadForUser(user, quiet = false, ignoreRequirements =
 
   await newThread.postSystemMessage(infoHeader);
 
+  if (config.updateNotifications) {
+    const availableUpdate = await updates.getAvailableUpdate();
+    if (availableUpdate) {
+      await newThread.postNonLogMessage(`📣 New bot version available (${availableUpdate})`);
+    }
+  }
+
   // If there were errors sending a response to the user, note that
   if (responseMessageError) {
     await newThread.postSystemMessage(`**NOTE:** Could not send auto-response to the user. The error given was: \`${responseMessageError.message}\``);
diff --git a/src/data/updates.js b/src/data/updates.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9665a0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/data/updates.js
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+const url = require('url');
+const https = require('https');
+const moment = require('moment');
+const knex = require('../knex');
+const config = require('../config');
+
+const UPDATE_CHECK_FREQUENCY = 12; // In hours
+let updateCheckPromise = null;
+
+async function initUpdatesTable() {
+  const row = await knex('updates').first();
+  if (! row) {
+    await knex('updates').insert({
+      available_version: null,
+      last_checked: null,
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Update current and available versions in the database.
+ * Only works when `repository` in package.json is set to a GitHub repository
+ * @returns {Promise<void>}
+ */
+async function refreshVersions() {
+  await initUpdatesTable();
+  const { last_checked } = await knex('updates').first();
+
+  // Only refresh available version if it's been more than UPDATE_CHECK_FREQUENCY since our last check
+  if (last_checked != null && last_checked > moment.utc().subtract(UPDATE_CHECK_FREQUENCY, 'hours').format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss')) return;
+
+  const packageJson = require('../../package.json');
+  const repositoryUrl = packageJson.repository && packageJson.repository.url;
+  if (! repositoryUrl) return;
+
+  const parsedUrl = url.parse(repositoryUrl);
+  if (parsedUrl.hostname !== 'github.com') return;
+
+  const [, owner, repo] = parsedUrl.pathname.split('/');
+  if (! owner || ! repo) return;
+
+  const apiUrl = `https://api.github.com/repos/${owner}/${repo}/tags`;
+  https.get(
+    apiUrl,
+    {
+      headers: {
+        'User-Agent': `Modmailbot (https://github.com/dragory/modmailbot) (${packageJson.version})`
+      }
+    },
+    async res => {
+      if (res.statusCode !== 200) {
+        await knex('updates').update({
+          last_checked: moment.utc().format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss')
+        });
+        console.warn(`[WARN] Got status code ${res.statusCode} when checking for available updates`);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      let data = '';
+      res.on('data', chunk => data += chunk);
+      res.on('end', async () => {
+        const parsed = JSON.parse(data);
+        let latestVersion = parsed[0].name;
+        await knex('updates').update({
+          available_version: latestVersion,
+          last_checked: moment.utc().format('YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss')
+        });
+      });
+    }
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * @param {String} a Version string, e.g. "2.20.0"
+ * @param {String} b Version string, e.g. "2.20.0"
+ * @returns {Number} 1 if version a is larger than b, -1 is version a is smaller than b, 0 if they are equal
+ */
+function compareVersions(a, b) {
+  const aParts = a.split('.');
+  const bParts = b.split('.');
+  for (let i = 0; i < Math.max(aParts.length, bParts.length); i++) {
+    let aPart = parseInt((aParts[i] || '0').match(/\d+/)[0] || '0', 10);
+    let bPart = parseInt((bParts[i] || '0').match(/\d+/)[0] || '0', 10);
+    if (aPart > bPart) return 1;
+    if (aPart < bPart) return -1;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+async function getAvailableUpdate() {
+  await initUpdatesTable();
+
+  const packageJson = require('../../package.json');
+  const currentVersion = packageJson.version;
+  const { available_version: availableVersion } = await knex('updates').first();
+  if (availableVersion == null) return null;
+  if (currentVersion == null) return availableVersion;
+
+  const versionDiff = compareVersions(currentVersion, availableVersion);
+  if (versionDiff === -1) return availableVersion;
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+async function refreshVersionsLoop() {
+  await refreshVersions();
+  setTimeout(refreshVersionsLoop, UPDATE_CHECK_FREQUENCY * 60 * 60 * 1000);
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  getAvailableUpdate,
+  startVersionRefreshLoop: refreshVersionsLoop
+};
diff --git a/src/main.js b/src/main.js
index 617a73e..6a4b4a0 100644
--- a/src/main.js
+++ b/src/main.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ const {messageQueue} = require('./queue');
 const utils = require('./utils');
 const blocked = require('./data/blocked');
 const threads = require('./data/threads');
+const updates = require('./data/updates');
 
 const reply = require('./modules/reply');
 const close = require('./modules/close');
@@ -196,6 +197,8 @@ module.exports = {
     await idModule(bot);
     await alert(bot);
 
+    updates.startVersionRefreshLoop();
+
     // Connect to Discord
     console.log('Connecting to Discord...');
     await bot.connect();
diff --git a/src/modules/version.js b/src/modules/version.js
index b2b6fcb..a194b76 100644
--- a/src/modules/version.js
+++ b/src/modules/version.js
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ const fs = require('fs');
 const {promisify} = require('util');
 const utils = require("../utils");
 const threadUtils = require("../threadUtils");
+const updates = require('../data/updates');
+const config = require('../config');
 
 const access = promisify(fs.access);
 const readFile = promisify(fs.readFile);
@@ -42,6 +44,13 @@ module.exports = bot => {
       response += ` (${commitHash.slice(0, 7)})`;
     }
 
+    if (config.updateNotifications) {
+      const availableUpdate = await updates.getAvailableUpdate();
+      if (availableUpdate) {
+        response += ` (version ${availableUpdate} available)`;
+      }
+    }
+
     utils.postSystemMessageWithFallback(msg.channel, thread, response);
   });
 };