diff --git a/changelog.d/dedupe-sharding.change b/changelog.d/dedupe-sharding.change
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2e140d8a2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/dedupe-sharding.change
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Dedupe upload filter now uses a three-level sharding directory structure
diff --git a/lib/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe.ex b/lib/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe.ex
index ef793d390a..7b278d299e 100644
--- a/lib/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe.ex
+++ b/lib/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe.ex
@@ -17,8 +17,16 @@ def filter(%Upload{name: name, tempfile: tempfile} = upload) do
       |> Base.encode16(case: :lower)
 
     filename = shasum <> "." <> extension
-    {:ok, :filtered, %Upload{upload | id: shasum, path: filename}}
+
+    {:ok, :filtered, %Upload{upload | id: shasum, path: shard_path(filename)}}
   end
 
   def filter(_), do: {:ok, :noop}
+
+  @spec shard_path(String.t()) :: String.t()
+  def shard_path(
+        <<a::binary-size(2), b::binary-size(2), c::binary-size(2), _::binary>> = filename
+      ) do
+    Path.join([a, b, c, filename])
+  end
 end
diff --git a/test/pleroma/object_test.exs b/test/pleroma/object_test.exs
index b3c528e32f..ed5c2b6c80 100644
--- a/test/pleroma/object_test.exs
+++ b/test/pleroma/object_test.exs
@@ -174,8 +174,9 @@ test "with dedupe enabled" do
 
       filename = Path.basename(href)
 
-      assert {:ok, files} = File.ls(uploads_dir)
-      assert filename in files
+      expected_path = Path.join([uploads_dir, Pleroma.Upload.Filter.Dedupe.shard_path(filename)])
+
+      assert File.exists?(expected_path)
 
       Object.delete(note)
 
@@ -183,8 +184,7 @@ test "with dedupe enabled" do
 
       assert Object.get_by_id(note.id).data["deleted"]
       assert Object.get_by_id(attachment.id) == nil
-      assert {:ok, files} = File.ls(uploads_dir)
-      refute filename in files
+      refute File.exists?(expected_path)
     end
 
     test "with objects that have legacy data.url attribute" do
diff --git a/test/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe_test.exs b/test/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe_test.exs
index 29c1815090..cd5ce121b4 100644
--- a/test/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe_test.exs
+++ b/test/pleroma/upload/filter/dedupe_test.exs
@@ -23,10 +23,12 @@ test "adds shasum" do
       tempfile: Path.absname("test/fixtures/image_tmp.jpg")
     }
 
+    expected_path = Dedupe.shard_path(@shasum <> ".jpg")
+
     assert {
              :ok,
              :filtered,
-             %Pleroma.Upload{id: @shasum, path: @shasum <> ".jpg"}
+             %Pleroma.Upload{id: @shasum, path: ^expected_path}
            } = Dedupe.filter(upload)
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/pleroma/upload_test.exs b/test/pleroma/upload_test.exs
index facb634c3f..5fd62fa431 100644
--- a/test/pleroma/upload_test.exs
+++ b/test/pleroma/upload_test.exs
@@ -149,6 +149,9 @@ test "returns a media url" do
 
     test "copies the file to the configured folder with deduping" do
       File.cp!("test/fixtures/image.jpg", "test/fixtures/image_tmp.jpg")
+      expected_filename = "e30397b58d226d6583ab5b8b3c5defb0c682bda5c31ef07a9f57c1c4986e3781.jpg"
+
+      expected_path = Pleroma.Upload.Filter.Dedupe.shard_path(expected_filename)
 
       file = %Plug.Upload{
         content_type: "image/jpeg",
@@ -159,8 +162,7 @@ test "copies the file to the configured folder with deduping" do
       {:ok, data} = Upload.store(file, filters: [Pleroma.Upload.Filter.Dedupe])
 
       assert List.first(data["url"])["href"] ==
-               Pleroma.Upload.base_url() <>
-                 "e30397b58d226d6583ab5b8b3c5defb0c682bda5c31ef07a9f57c1c4986e3781.jpg"
+               Path.join([Pleroma.Upload.base_url(), expected_path])
     end
 
     test "copies the file to the configured folder without deduping" do