diff --git a/bramble-core/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/mailbox/OwnMailboxContactListWorker.java b/bramble-core/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/mailbox/OwnMailboxContactListWorker.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d457f6026
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bramble-core/src/main/java/org/briarproject/bramble/mailbox/OwnMailboxContactListWorker.java
@@ -0,0 +1,351 @@
+package org.briarproject.bramble.mailbox;
+
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.Cancellable;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.contact.Contact;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.contact.ContactId;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.contact.event.ContactAddedEvent;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.contact.event.ContactRemovedEvent;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.db.DatabaseComponent;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.db.DbException;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.db.NoSuchContactException;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.event.Event;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.event.EventBus;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.event.EventExecutor;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.event.EventListener;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.lifecycle.IoExecutor;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.mailbox.MailboxProperties;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.mailbox.MailboxUpdate;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.mailbox.MailboxUpdateManager;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.mailbox.MailboxUpdateWithMailbox;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.api.nullsafety.NotNullByDefault;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.mailbox.ConnectivityChecker.ConnectivityObserver;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.mailbox.MailboxApi.ApiException;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.mailbox.MailboxApi.MailboxContact;
+import org.briarproject.bramble.mailbox.MailboxApi.TolerableFailureException;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+import java.util.Queue;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+import javax.annotation.concurrent.GuardedBy;
+import javax.annotation.concurrent.ThreadSafe;
+
+import static java.util.logging.Level.INFO;
+import static java.util.logging.Level.WARNING;
+import static java.util.logging.Logger.getLogger;
+import static org.briarproject.bramble.api.nullsafety.NullSafety.requireNonNull;
+import static org.briarproject.bramble.util.LogUtils.logException;
+
+@ThreadSafe
+@NotNullByDefault
+class OwnMailboxContactListWorker
+		implements MailboxWorker, ConnectivityObserver, EventListener {
+
+	/**
+	 * When the worker is started it waits for a connectivity check, then
+	 * fetches the remote contact list and compares it to the local contact
+	 * list.
+	 * <p>
+	 * Any contacts that are missing from the remote list are added to the
+	 * mailbox's contact list, while any contacts that are missing from the
+	 * local list are removed from the mailbox's contact list.
+	 * <p>
+	 * Once the remote contact list has been brought up to date, the worker
+	 * waits for events indicating that contacts have been added or removed.
+	 * Each time an event is received, the worker updates the mailbox's
+	 * contact list and then goes back to waiting.
+	 */
+	private enum State {
+		CREATED,
+		CONNECTIVITY_CHECK,
+		FETCHING_CONTACT_LIST,
+		UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST,
+		WAITING_FOR_CHANGES,
+		DESTROYED
+	}
+
+	private static final Logger LOG =
+			getLogger(OwnMailboxContactListWorker.class.getName());
+
+	private final Executor ioExecutor;
+	private final DatabaseComponent db;
+	private final EventBus eventBus;
+	private final ConnectivityChecker connectivityChecker;
+	private final MailboxApiCaller mailboxApiCaller;
+	private final MailboxApi mailboxApi;
+	private final MailboxUpdateManager mailboxUpdateManager;
+	private final MailboxProperties mailboxProperties;
+	private final Object lock = new Object();
+
+	@GuardedBy("lock")
+	private State state = State.CREATED;
+
+	@GuardedBy("lock")
+	@Nullable
+	private Cancellable apiCall = null;
+
+	@GuardedBy("lock")
+	private final Queue<Update> updates = new LinkedList<>();
+
+	OwnMailboxContactListWorker(@IoExecutor Executor ioExecutor,
+			DatabaseComponent db,
+			EventBus eventBus,
+			ConnectivityChecker connectivityChecker,
+			MailboxApiCaller mailboxApiCaller,
+			MailboxApi mailboxApi,
+			MailboxUpdateManager mailboxUpdateManager,
+			MailboxProperties mailboxProperties) {
+		this.ioExecutor = ioExecutor;
+		this.db = db;
+		this.connectivityChecker = connectivityChecker;
+		this.mailboxApiCaller = mailboxApiCaller;
+		this.mailboxApi = mailboxApi;
+		this.mailboxUpdateManager = mailboxUpdateManager;
+		this.mailboxProperties = mailboxProperties;
+		this.eventBus = eventBus;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void start() {
+		LOG.info("Started");
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.CREATED) return;
+			state = State.CONNECTIVITY_CHECK;
+		}
+		// Avoid leaking observer in case destroy() is called concurrently
+		// before observer is added
+		connectivityChecker.checkConnectivity(mailboxProperties, this);
+		boolean destroyed;
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			destroyed = state == State.DESTROYED;
+		}
+		if (destroyed) connectivityChecker.removeObserver(this);
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void destroy() {
+		LOG.info("Destroyed");
+		Cancellable apiCall;
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			state = State.DESTROYED;
+			apiCall = this.apiCall;
+			this.apiCall = null;
+		}
+		if (apiCall != null) apiCall.cancel();
+		connectivityChecker.removeObserver(this);
+		eventBus.removeListener(this);
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void onConnectivityCheckSucceeded() {
+		LOG.info("Connectivity check succeeded");
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.CONNECTIVITY_CHECK) return;
+			state = State.FETCHING_CONTACT_LIST;
+			apiCall = mailboxApiCaller.retryWithBackoff(
+					new SimpleApiCall(this::apiCallFetchContactList));
+		}
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void apiCallFetchContactList() throws IOException, ApiException {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.FETCHING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+		}
+		LOG.info("Fetching remote contact list");
+		Collection<ContactId> remote =
+				mailboxApi.getContacts(mailboxProperties);
+		ioExecutor.execute(() -> loadLocalContactList(remote));
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void loadLocalContactList(Collection<ContactId> remote) {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.FETCHING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+			apiCall = null;
+		}
+		LOG.info("Loading local contact list");
+		try {
+			db.transaction(true, txn -> {
+				Collection<Contact> local = db.getContacts(txn);
+				// Handle the result on the event executor to avoid races with
+				// incoming events
+				txn.attach(() -> reconcileContactLists(local, remote));
+			});
+		} catch (DbException e) {
+			logException(LOG, WARNING, e);
+		}
+	}
+
+	@EventExecutor
+	private void reconcileContactLists(Collection<Contact> local,
+			Collection<ContactId> remote) {
+		Set<ContactId> localIds = new HashSet<>();
+		for (Contact c : local) localIds.add(c.getId());
+		remote = new HashSet<>(remote);
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.FETCHING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+			for (ContactId c : localIds) {
+				if (!remote.contains(c)) updates.add(new Update(true, c));
+			}
+			for (ContactId c : remote) {
+				if (!localIds.contains(c)) updates.add(new Update(false, c));
+			}
+			if (updates.isEmpty()) {
+				LOG.info("Contact list is up to date");
+				state = State.WAITING_FOR_CHANGES;
+			} else {
+				if (LOG.isLoggable(INFO)) {
+					LOG.info(updates.size() + " updates to apply");
+				}
+				state = State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST;
+				ioExecutor.execute(this::updateContactList);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void updateContactList() {
+		Update update;
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+			update = updates.poll();
+			if (update == null) {
+				LOG.info("Contact list is up to date");
+				state = State.WAITING_FOR_CHANGES;
+				apiCall = null;
+				return;
+			}
+		}
+		if (update.add) loadMailboxProperties(update.contactId);
+		else removeContact(update.contactId);
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void loadMailboxProperties(ContactId c) {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+		}
+		LOG.info("Loading mailbox properties for contact");
+		try {
+			MailboxUpdate mailboxUpdate = db.transactionWithResult(true, txn ->
+					mailboxUpdateManager.getLocalUpdate(txn, c));
+			if (mailboxUpdate instanceof MailboxUpdateWithMailbox) {
+				addContact(c, (MailboxUpdateWithMailbox) mailboxUpdate);
+			} else {
+				// Our own mailbox was concurrently unpaired. This worker will
+				// be destroyed soon, so we can stop here
+				LOG.info("Own mailbox was unpaired");
+			}
+		} catch (NoSuchContactException e) {
+			// Contact was removed concurrently. Move on to the next update.
+			// Later we may process a removal update for this contact, which
+			// was never added to the mailbox's contact list. The removal API
+			// call should fail safely with a TolerableFailureException
+			LOG.info("No such contact");
+			updateContactList();
+		} catch (DbException e) {
+			logException(LOG, WARNING, e);
+		}
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void addContact(ContactId c, MailboxUpdateWithMailbox withMailbox) {
+		MailboxProperties props = withMailbox.getMailboxProperties();
+		MailboxContact contact = new MailboxContact(c, props.getAuthToken(),
+				requireNonNull(props.getInboxId()),
+				requireNonNull(props.getOutboxId()));
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+			apiCall = mailboxApiCaller.retryWithBackoff(new SimpleApiCall(() ->
+					apiCallAddContact(contact)));
+		}
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void apiCallAddContact(MailboxContact contact)
+			throws IOException, ApiException, TolerableFailureException {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+		}
+		LOG.info("Adding contact to remote contact list");
+		mailboxApi.addContact(mailboxProperties, contact);
+		updateContactList();
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void removeContact(ContactId c) {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+			apiCall = mailboxApiCaller.retryWithBackoff(new SimpleApiCall(() ->
+					apiCallRemoveContact(c)));
+		}
+	}
+
+	@IoExecutor
+	private void apiCallRemoveContact(ContactId c)
+			throws IOException, ApiException, TolerableFailureException {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST) return;
+		}
+		LOG.info("Removing contact from remote contact list");
+		mailboxApi.deleteContact(mailboxProperties, c);
+		updateContactList();
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void eventOccurred(Event e) {
+		if (e instanceof ContactAddedEvent) {
+			LOG.info("Contact added");
+			onContactAdded(((ContactAddedEvent) e).getContactId());
+		} else if (e instanceof ContactRemovedEvent) {
+			LOG.info("Contact removed");
+			onContactRemoved(((ContactRemovedEvent) e).getContactId());
+		}
+	}
+
+	@EventExecutor
+	private void onContactAdded(ContactId c) {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST &&
+					state != State.WAITING_FOR_CHANGES) {
+				return;
+			}
+			updates.add(new Update(true, c));
+			if (state == State.WAITING_FOR_CHANGES) {
+				ioExecutor.execute(this::updateContactList);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	@EventExecutor
+	private void onContactRemoved(ContactId c) {
+		synchronized (lock) {
+			if (state != State.UPDATING_CONTACT_LIST &&
+					state != State.WAITING_FOR_CHANGES) {
+				return;
+			}
+			updates.add(new Update(false, c));
+			if (state == State.WAITING_FOR_CHANGES) {
+				ioExecutor.execute(this::updateContactList);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	private static class Update {
+
+		private final boolean add;
+		private final ContactId contactId;
+
+		private Update(boolean add, ContactId contactId) {
+			this.add = add;
+			this.contactId = contactId;
+		}
+	}
+}