diff --git a/app/models/profile.rb b/app/models/profile.rb
index 573dcb6f3..82413ccd2 100644
--- a/app/models/profile.rb
+++ b/app/models/profile.rb
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ class Profile < ActiveRecord::Base
     Person.joins(:contacts).where(contacts: {user_id: person.owner_id})
   end
 
+  def public?
+    public_details?
+  end
+
   def diaspora_handle
     #get the parent diaspora handle, unless we want to access a profile without a person
     (self.person) ? self.person.diaspora_handle : self[:diaspora_handle]
diff --git a/spec/models/profile_spec.rb b/spec/models/profile_spec.rb
index 85c630bfe..4d245f7fd 100644
--- a/spec/models/profile_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/profile_spec.rb
@@ -185,6 +185,18 @@ describe Profile, :type => :model do
     end
   end
 
+  describe "public?" do
+    it "is public if public_details is true" do
+      profile = FactoryGirl.build(:profile, public_details: true)
+      expect(profile.public?).to be_truthy
+    end
+
+    it "is not public if public_details is false" do
+      profile = FactoryGirl.build(:profile, public_details: false)
+      expect(profile.public?).to be_falsey
+    end
+  end
+
   describe 'date=' do
     let(:profile) { FactoryGirl.build(:profile) }