diff --git a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
index e0e50c25b..678f4b7aa 100644
--- a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
@@ -87,6 +87,6 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
   end
 
   def set_time_zone(&block)
-    Time.use_zone(current_user.time_zone, &block)
+    Time.use_zone(current_user.settings[:time_zone], &block)
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/controllers/users/invitations_controller.rb b/app/controllers/users/invitations_controller.rb
index bd199cd7a..2e34622bc 100644
--- a/app/controllers/users/invitations_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/users/invitations_controller.rb
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ module Users
         message: sanitize_input(message)
       )
 
-      if target_user.assignments_notification
+      if target_user.settings[:notifications][:assignments]
         UserNotification.create(notification: notification, user: target_user)
       end
     end
diff --git a/app/controllers/users/settings/account/preferences_controller.rb b/app/controllers/users/settings/account/preferences_controller.rb
index ac85f0148..4cfc94463 100644
--- a/app/controllers/users/settings/account/preferences_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/users/settings/account/preferences_controller.rb
@@ -77,15 +77,15 @@ module Users
         end
 
         def notifications_settings
-          @user.assignments_notification =
+          @user.settings[:notifications][:assignments] =
             params[:assignments_notification] ? true : false
-          @user.recent_notification =
+          @user.settings[:notifications][:recent] =
             params[:recent_notification] ? true : false
-          @user.recent_notification_email =
+          @user.settings[:notifications][:recent_email] =
             params[:recent_notification_email] ? true : false
-          @user.assignments_notification_email =
+          @user.settings[:notifications][:assignments_email] =
             params[:assignments_notification_email] ? true : false
-          @user.system_message_notification_email =
+          @user.settings[:notifications][:system_message_email] =
             params[:system_message_notification_email] ? true : false
 
           if @user.save
diff --git a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
index 501fa65ac..1713b706c 100644
--- a/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/application_helper.rb
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ module ApplicationHelper
       title: sanitize_input(title),
       message: sanitize_input(message)
     )
-    if target_user.assignments_notification
+    if target_user.settings[:notifications][:assignments]
       UserNotification.create(notification: notification, user: target_user)
     end
   end
diff --git a/app/helpers/notifications_helper.rb b/app/helpers/notifications_helper.rb
index f41eb90ac..248fd5b11 100644
--- a/app/helpers/notifications_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/notifications_helper.rb
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ module NotificationsHelper
       message: sanitize_input(message)
     )
 
-    if target_user.assignments_notification
+    if target_user.settings[:notifications][:assignments]
       UserNotification.create(notification: notification, user: target_user)
     end
   end
diff --git a/app/models/activity.rb b/app/models/activity.rb
index e4dd2d029..ea4eaa90a 100644
--- a/app/models/activity.rb
+++ b/app/models/activity.rb
@@ -118,9 +118,9 @@ class Activity < ApplicationRecord
 
     project.users.each do |project_user|
       next if project_user == user
-      next if !project_user.assignments_notification &&
+      next if !project_user.settings[:notifications][:assignments] &&
               notification.type_of == 'assignment'
-      next if !project_user.recent_notification &&
+      next if !project_user.settings[:notifications][:recent] &&
               notification.type_of == 'recent_changes'
       UserNotification.create(notification: notification, user: project_user)
     end
diff --git a/app/models/concerns/settings_model.rb b/app/models/concerns/settings_model.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c74425422
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/concerns/settings_model.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+module SettingsModel
+  extend ActiveSupport::Concern
+
+  @@default_settings = HashWithIndifferentAccess.new
+
+  included do
+    serialize :settings, JsonbHashSerializer
+    after_initialize :init_default_settings, if: :new_record?
+  end
+
+  class_methods do
+    def default_settings(dfs)
+      @@default_settings.merge!(dfs)
+    end
+  end
+
+  protected
+
+  def init_default_settings
+    self.settings = @@default_settings
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index c7c5fb3dd..ec10c4b30 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 class User < ApplicationRecord
   include SearchableModel
+  include SettingsModel
 
   acts_as_token_authenticatable
   devise :invitable, :confirmable, :database_authenticatable, :registerable,
@@ -33,9 +34,21 @@ class User < ApplicationRecord
   validates_attachment :avatar,
     :content_type => { :content_type => ["image/jpeg", "image/png"] },
     size: { less_than: Constants::AVATAR_MAX_SIZE_MB.megabytes }
-  validates :time_zone, presence: true
   validate :time_zone_check
 
+  store_accessor :settings, :time_zone
+
+  default_settings(
+    time_zone: 'UTC',
+    notifications: {
+      assignments: true,
+      assignments_email: false,
+      recent: true,
+      recent_email: false,
+      system_message_email: false
+    }
+  )
+
   # Relations
   has_many :user_teams, inverse_of: :user
   has_many :teams, through: :user_teams
@@ -384,7 +397,8 @@ class User < ApplicationRecord
   end
 
   def time_zone_check
-    if time_zone.nil? or ActiveSupport::TimeZone.new(time_zone).nil?
+    if time_zone.nil? ||
+       ActiveSupport::TimeZone.new(time_zone).nil?
       errors.add(:time_zone)
     end
   end
diff --git a/app/models/user_notification.rb b/app/models/user_notification.rb
index 98593e5d7..ba9e494e3 100644
--- a/app/models/user_notification.rb
+++ b/app/models/user_notification.rb
@@ -40,17 +40,17 @@ class UserNotification < ApplicationRecord
       send_email_notification(
         user,
         notification
-      ) if user.system_message_notification_email
+      ) if user.settings[:notifications][:system_message_email]
     when 'assignment'
       send_email_notification(
         user,
         notification
-      ) if user.assignments_notification_email
+      ) if user.settings[:notifications][:assignments_email]
     when 'recent_changes'
       send_email_notification(
         user,
         notification
-      ) if user.recent_notification_email
+      ) if user.settings[:notifications][:recent_email]
     when 'deliver'
       send_email_notification(
         user,
diff --git a/app/serializers/jsonb_hash_serializer.rb b/app/serializers/jsonb_hash_serializer.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f01f29560
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/serializers/jsonb_hash_serializer.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+class JsonbHashSerializer
+  def self.dump(hash)
+    hash.to_json
+  end
+
+  def self.load(hash)
+    hash ||= {}
+    hash = JSON.parse(hash) if hash.instance_of? String
+    hash.with_indifferent_access
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/views/users/settings/account/preferences/index.html.erb b/app/views/users/settings/account/preferences/index.html.erb
index 18ed8eeae..e982e6522 100644
--- a/app/views/users/settings/account/preferences/index.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/users/settings/account/preferences/index.html.erb
@@ -12,7 +12,11 @@
         <%= form_for(@user,
                      url: update_preferences_path(format: :json),
                      remote: true,
-                     html: { method: :put, 'data-for' => 'time_zone' }) do |f| %>
+                     html: {
+                      method: :put,
+                      'data-for' => 'settings[time_zone]',
+                      'data-turbolinks' => false
+                    }) do |f| %>
           <div data-part="view">
             <div class="form-group">
               <%= f.label t("users.settings.account.preferences.edit.time_zone_label") %>
@@ -21,9 +25,9 @@
                        disabled="disabled"
                        autocomplete="off"
                        type="text"
-                       value="<%= @user.time_zone %>"
-                       name="fake_user[time_zone]"
-                       id="fake_user_time_zone">
+                       value="<%= @user.settings[:time_zone] %>"
+                       name="fake_user[settings][time_zone]"
+                       id="fake_user_settings_time_zone">
                 <span class="input-group-btn">
                   <a href="#" class="btn btn-default" data-action="edit"><%=t "general.edit" %></a>
                 </span>
@@ -35,7 +39,7 @@
             <div class="well">
               <h4><%=t "users.settings.account.preferences.edit.time_zone_title" %></h4>
               <div class="form-group" style="max-width: 500px;">
-                <%= f.select :time_zone, ActiveSupport::TimeZone.all.collect { |tz|
+                <%= f.select :time_zone , ActiveSupport::TimeZone.all.collect { |tz|
                       [tz.formatted_offset + " " + tz.name, tz.name]
                     }, {}, {class: 'form-control selectpicker', 'ata-role' => 'clear'} %>
                 <small><%= t("users.settings.account.preferences.edit.time_zone_sublabel") %></small>
@@ -75,7 +79,7 @@
                   <%=t 'notifications.form.notification_scinote' %>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-sm-8">
-                  <%= check_box_tag :assignments_notification, @user.assignments_notification %>
+                  <%= check_box_tag :assignments_notification, @user.settings[:notifications][:assignments] %>
                 </div>
               </div>
               <div class="row">
@@ -83,7 +87,7 @@
                   <%=t 'notifications.form.notification_email' %>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-sm-8">
-                  <%= check_box_tag :assignments_notification_email, @user.assignments_notification_email %>
+                  <%= check_box_tag :assignments_notification_email, @user.settings[:notifications][:assignments_email] %>
                 </div>
               </div>
             </div>
@@ -100,7 +104,7 @@
                     <%=t 'notifications.form.notification_scinote' %>
                   </div>
                   <div class="col-sm-8">
-                    <%= check_box_tag :recent_notification, @user.recent_notification %>
+                    <%= check_box_tag :recent_notification, @user.settings[:notifications][:recent] %>
                   </div>
                 </div>
                 <div class="row">
@@ -108,7 +112,7 @@
                     <%=t 'notifications.form.notification_email' %>
                   </div>
                   <div class="col-sm-8">
-                    <%= check_box_tag :recent_notification_email, @user.recent_notification_email %>
+                    <%= check_box_tag :recent_notification_email, @user.settings[:notifications][:recent_email] %>
                   </div>
                 </div>
             </div>
@@ -133,7 +137,7 @@
                   <%=t 'notifications.form.notification_email' %>
                 </div>
                 <div class="col-sm-8">
-                  <%= check_box_tag :system_message_notification_email, @user.system_message_notification_email %>
+                  <%= check_box_tag :system_message_notification_email, @user.settings[:notifications][:system_message_email] %>
                 </div>
               </div>
             </div>
diff --git a/db/migrate/20170809131000_refactor_user_settings.rb b/db/migrate/20170809131000_refactor_user_settings.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4dd54cf8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20170809131000_refactor_user_settings.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+class RefactorUserSettings < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.1]
+  def up
+    add_column :users, :settings, :jsonb, default: {}, null: false
+
+    User.find_each do |user|
+      settings = {
+        time_zone: user['time_zone'],
+        notifications: {
+          assignments: user['assignments_notification'],
+          assignments_email: user['assignments_notification_email'],
+          recent: user['recent_notification'],
+          recent_email: user['recent_notification_email'],
+          system_message_email: user['system_message_notification_email']
+        }
+      }
+      user.update(settings: settings)
+    end
+
+    remove_column :users, :time_zone, :string
+    remove_column :users, :assignments_notification, :boolean
+    remove_column :users, :assignments_notification_email, :boolean
+    remove_column :users, :recent_notification, :boolean
+    remove_column :users, :recent_notification_email, :boolean
+    remove_column :users, :system_message_notification_email, :boolean
+  end
+
+  def down
+    add_column :users, :time_zone, :string, default: false
+    add_column :users, :assignments_notification, :boolean, default: false
+    add_column :users, :assignments_notification_email, :boolean, default: false
+    add_column :users, :recent_notification, :boolean, default: false
+    add_column :users, :recent_notification_email, :boolean, default: false
+    add_column :users,
+               :system_message_notification_email, :boolean, default: false
+
+    User.find_each do |user|
+      user.time_zone = user.settings[:time_zone]
+      user.assignments_notification =
+        user.settings[:notifications][:assignments]
+      user.assignments_notification_email =
+        user.settings[:notifications][:assignments_email]
+      user.recent_notification =
+        user.settings[:notifications][:recent]
+      user.recent_notification_email =
+        user.settings[:notifications][:recent_email]
+      user.system_message_notification_email =
+        user.settings[:notifications][:system_message_email]
+      user.save
+    end
+
+    remove_column :users, :settings, :jsonb
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/models/user_spec.rb b/spec/models/user_spec.rb
index aa55b0a06..b4c1515d7 100644
--- a/spec/models/user_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/user_spec.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ describe User, type: :model do
     it { should have_db_column :confirmed_at }
     it { should have_db_column :confirmation_sent_at }
     it { should have_db_column :unconfirmed_email }
-    it { should have_db_column :time_zone }
     it { should have_db_column :invitation_token }
     it { should have_db_column :invitation_created_at }
     it { should have_db_column :invitation_sent_at }
@@ -38,12 +37,8 @@ describe User, type: :model do
     it { should have_db_column :invited_by_type }
     it { should have_db_column :invitations_count }
     it { should have_db_column :tutorial_status }
-    it { should have_db_column :assignments_notification }
-    it { should have_db_column :recent_notification }
-    it { should have_db_column :assignments_notification_email }
-    it { should have_db_column :recent_notification_email }
+    it { should have_db_column :settings }
     it { should have_db_column :current_team_id }
-    it { should have_db_column :system_message_notification_email }
     it { should have_db_column :authentication_token }
   end
 
@@ -115,7 +110,7 @@ describe User, type: :model do
     it { should validate_presence_of :full_name }
     it { should validate_presence_of :initials  }
     it { should validate_presence_of :email }
-    it { should validate_presence_of :time_zone }
+    it { should validate_presence_of :settings }
 
     it do
       should validate_length_of(:full_name).is_at_most(